MILESTONES: January 24, birthdays for Neil Diamond, Kristen Schaal, Rachel Crow

Brooklyn Today

January 24, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Neil Diamond. Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 24th day of the year.

On this day in 1939, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that banker Philip A. Benson was honored as the Borough of Brooklyn’s Citizen of the Year. Benson, at the time president of both the Dime Savings Bank and the American Bankers Association, received the Downtown Brooklyn Association’s gold medal at the Bossert Hotel ceremony.

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On this day in 1901, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page provided a detailed report on the proclamation of Edward VII as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and emperor of India. The traditional ceremonies throughout the city of London were “followed exactly the ancient procedure,” and provided a “glimpse of medieval times.” More than 10,000 guards of various sorts lined the streets of London. The king himself was not present, and the British royal family was still in mourning from the death of Queen Victoria just days earlier. According to British tradition, the actual coronation of a the British monarch would take place about a year later, as celebrations were deemed inappropriate during the time of mourning.

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On this day in 1908, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on a major snowstorm that had crippled New York City, including its elevated train system, the outdoor Long Island Railroad and the bridges. The Eagle hailed the “new tunnel”—the subway tunnel from Manhattan to Brooklyn — and the underground subway itself. The tunnel was praised for making it possible for commuters to get to their workplaces even after long delays. And, people clamoring at the Borough Hall station of the IRT called for even more tunnels to be built.

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On this day in 1935, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page carried several large sketch profiles of Bruno Richard Hauptmann and coverage of the first day of his trial at Flemington Court House, where he took the stand in his own defense in the kidnap and murder trial of the Lindbergh baby. The witness just before Hauptmann, Arthur Koehler, a wood expert and detective for the government, had “wrapped the kidnap ladder around Hauptmann’s neck,” according to a prediction from the prosecution team. Koehler testified that the wood on the ladder used in kidnapping the son of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh was the same grade found in Hauptmann’s attic.

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On this day in 1939, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Gen. Francisco Franco’s capture of Barcelona was deemed to be imminent. Following abolition of the monarchy in the early 1930s, a group of independent progressives had formed the Second Spanish Republic. The Basque and Catalonian regions enjoyed almost complete autonomy. However, a large military clique, with the Roman Catholic Church and some aristocracy as their allies, opposed the republic. Franco waged a revolt that divided the Republicans from his nationalist bloc. It was the nationalists who captured Barcelona this week in 1939.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress MISCHA BARTON, who was born in 1986; singer RACHEL CROW, who was born in 1998; singer and composer NEIL DIAMOND, who was born in Brooklyn in 1941; actor ED HELMS, who was born in 1974; actress NASTASSJA KINSKI, who was born in 1960; actor MATTHEW LILLARD, who was born in 1970; singer and songwriter AARON NEVILLE, who was born in 1941; actor MICHAEL ONTKEAN, who was born in 1946; Olympic gymnast MARY LOU RETTON, who was born in 1968; actress and comedian KRISTEN SCHAAL, who was born in 1978; comedian YAKOV SMIRNOFF, who was born in 1951; and acrobat and stunt performer MIK WALLENDA, who was born in 1979.

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JOHN BELUSHI WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1949. The actor and comedian is best remembered for his roles in “Saturday Night Live,” “Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers.” Belushi died in Hollywood in 1982.

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TODAY IS NATIONAL COMPLIMENT DAY. It is a day set aside to compliment at least five people. Not only are compliments appreciated by the receiver, they lift the spirit of the giver. Compliments provide a quick and easy way to connect positively with those you come in contact with. Giving compliments forges bonds and dispels loneliness.

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ELISABETH ACHELIS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1880. The calendar reform advocate and author of “The World Calendar” was born in Brooklyn. Her proposed calendar made every year the same, with equal quarters, each year beginning on Sunday, Jan. 1, and each date falling on the same day of the week every year. Achelis died in 1973 in New York.

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EDITH WHARTON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1862. The New York-born author’s stories and novels specialized in intense examinations of upper-class Manhattan society at the end of the 19th century. Her major novels include
The House of Mirth” and “The Age of Innocence,” which won a Pulitzer Prize. “Ethan Frome” departed from the upper-class society milieu to depict a grim New England love triangle and its tragic consequences. Wharton died in France in 1937.

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THE FIRST CANNED BEER WENT ONSALE ON THIS DAY IN 1935. The American Can Company and the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company collaborated to package 2,000 cans of Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale in Richmond, Virginia. It was an immediate success, and by the end of 1935, most major breweries had begun using cans. More than 200 million cans sold that first year.

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ORAL ROBERTS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1918. Best known as the colorful and controversial religious leader who, through the healing ministry and university he founded, attracted millions of followers worldwide. Roberts was among the first to use TV to deliver Pentecostal, tent-revival faith healing to the masses. He also staged hundreds of healing “crusades” around the globe. Born in Oklahoma, he died in 2009 in California.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

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“Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.” — Edith Warton, who was born on this day in 1862