MILESTONES: February 27, birthdays for JWoww, Josh Groban, Chelsea Clinton

Brooklyn Today

February 27, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

JWoww. Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 58th day of the year.

On this day in 1922, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the Supreme Court validated the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote. Chief Justice Louis Brandeis, known for his progressive rulings, authored the decision that declared the Women’s Suffrage movement to be constitutional. This decision was in response to a lawsuit by businessman and lawyer Charles F. Fairchild, who had challenged the 19th Amendment’s validity. The Supreme Court ruled that, as a private citizen, Fairchild had no standing on his lawsuit, which charged that the amendment had not been validly adopted. This premise — and Fairchild’s case — were dismissed as inaccurate; several states had already ratified the 19th Amendment.

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On this day in 1910, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page carried the wedding of the acclaimed American actress Eleanor Robson, 30 at the time, to millionaire banker August Belmont, a widower 27 years her senior. Belmont was founder of the Rapid Transit Subway Construction Company in New York and owner of the Belmont racing stables and the racetrack that he named for his father, who was in the same trade. Robson and Belmont had a quiet wedding ceremony at which Roman Catholic priests presided. There was no ornate celebration, as the wedding took place during Lent. The Belmonts then traveled to Italy, Sicily and Greece. August Belmont died in 1924. Mrs. Belmont lived to be 100. Her 1979 New York Times obituary told of her innovations in saving the Metropolitan Opera from going defunct and establishing the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

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On this day in 1931, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that a federal court in Chicago convicted notorious gangster Al Capone for contempt of court and ordered him to serve six months in the county jail. Two years earlier Capone, who was considered a public enemy, had failed to appear before a grand jury. He had sent the court an affidavit claiming to be too ill to travel. The affidavit was proven false; Capone had been spotted at the races.

The Eagle featured a story on the same day’s front page that the New York State Appellate Court, Second Department, rejected then-Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s suggestion that investigations be made of the magistrates’ courts in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The grounds for Roosevelt’s recommendation were complaints and bad publicity that the magistrates’ courts had received. The Appellate Division wanted a chance to vindicate them. Roosevelt had no comment on the court’s decision.

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On this day in 1938, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s William Weer had a report on Pastor Martin Niemoller, whose “Nazi Treason Trial” in Germany had made him the symbol of religious oppression. Niemoller was being tried behind closed doors for being outspoken against totalitarian dictatorship and against Hitler. A quotation box on the front page pointed out that Niemoller and other courageous pastors (Dietrich Bonhoeffer among them) were accused of treason for insisting on preaching the Gospel. The editorial wondered whether the swastika would drive out the cross.

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On this day in 1940, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that an armada of Nazi planes flew over Paris doing reconnaissance missions. British anti-aircraft planes rushed to Berlin. Six Parisians were wounded by an anti-aircraft shell that was fired at the German planes. Locally, City Council Vice Chairman John Cashmore received a surprise boost for the Brooklyn borough presidency left vacant by the death of Raymond Ingersoll. Councilmember Joseph T. Sharkey, himself a strong contender for the borough president, reportedly swung his support over to Cashmore, who did become borough president and served until his own death in May 1961.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor Adam Baldwin, who was born in 1962; philanthropist Chelsea Clinton, who was born in 1980; singer Josh Groban, who was born in 1981; physicist Alan Guth, who was born in 1947; actor Howard Hesseman, who was born in 1940; broadcast journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who was born in 1942; actor Donal Logue, who was born in 1966; reality star JWOWW, who was born in 1986; consumer advocate, lawyer and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who was born in 1934; actor Grant Show, who was born in 1963; Oscar Award-winning actress Joanne Woodward, who was born in 1930; and former basketball player James Ager Worthy, who was born in 1961.

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ELIZABETH TAYLOR WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1932. The child star, film actress, international sex symbol and legendary philanthropist had her breakthrough role in “National Velvet” at the age of 12. She became an enormously popular film star, winning Best Actress Oscars for “Butterfield 8” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and earning nominations for three other roles. Her great beauty assured her a permanent place in the public eye, and her multiple romances, affairs, marriages and divorces were fuel for the tabloids for decades. In her later years, Taylor launched very successful perfume and jewelry lines and was known as a tireless campaigner for AIDS fundraising and research. She died in California in 2011.

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HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1807. The American poet is best remembered for his classic narrative poems, such as “The Song of Hiawatha,” “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Wreck of the Hesperus.” Longfellow died in Massachusetts in 1882.

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THE AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND NATIONAL MONUMENT WAS ESTABLISHED ON THIS DAY IN 2006. Former President George W. Bush signed a proclamation declaring a seven-acre plot at the corners of Duane and Elk streets in Lower Manhattan to be a national monument. From the 1690s to the 1790s, the land served as a cemetery for both free and enslaved Africans and is believed to be the resting place of more than 15,000 people.

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ELLEN TERRY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1847. The actress was best known for her portrayal of Shakespeare’s heroines, especially Portia, and as the theatrical partner of English actor Henry Irving. Together, she and Irving dominated both the British and American theater of their day. She died in England in 1928.

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

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“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.” — poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was born on this day in 1807