ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “HELSINKI (AP) — The great battle of Viipuri continued with undiminished intensity today despite reported efforts of third powers to find a basis for Finnish-Russian peace. Helsinki was flooded with all sorts of rumors from abroad, some going to the extent that fighting had ceased on the Karelian Isthmus. But most of the reports were utterly without foundation. For the first time since Tuesday, Helsinki had an air raid alarm this morning, and workmen continued to board up building fronts along public squares. There was also heavy fighting along the Kollaa River, northeast of Lake Ladoga, where the Soviet invaders were said to have lost in dead and wounded during the week at least the equivalent of a division — 15,000 to 18,000 men. According to official army headquarters figures, 4,200 Russians were killed in three days alone.”
ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — American Communists were barred today by the War Department from holding commissions or undertaking any of the army’s ‘sensitive’ responsibilities. Radar and atomic energy, especially, will be out of bounds. The new policy was announced last night under pressure of inquiry. The Department’s re-examination of its policy relating to disaffected or subversive soldiers apparently coincided with the discovery in Canada of Soviet Union espionage operations. Duties in connection with secret or confidential codes also were specifically barred to soldiers either disaffected or subversive. The Department defined subversive personnel as any engaged in activities of any sort directed against the nation’s military security. Disaffected soldiers are those who lack loyalty to the Government and Constitution of the United States. The Department’s announcement did not mention Communists. A Department spokesman said, however, that membership in the Communist party would be considered as a disqualification for the sensitive duties covered by the new policy. It is possible, also, that former party membership would be construed as disqualifying army personnel.”
ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “MOSCOW (UP) — Soviet Premier Georgi M. Malenkov, speaking at the funeral of Josef Stalin, said today his new government’s policy was peaceful co-existence for capitalism and socialism, but he warned of Russian armed strength and praised Communist Asia’s fight ‘for independence.’ ‘In the sphere of foreign policy our main care consists of not permitting a new war and in living in peace with all countries,’ Malenkov said in his first statement on foreign and domestic policy. He said Russian friendship with Red China and all the countries of the peoples’ democracies was ‘indestructible.’ He praised the battles for ‘freedom and national independence’ being waged by the North Koreans and Vietnamese. Malenkov was followed on the rostrum of [Vladimir] Lenin’s tomb by his Minister of Security and Interior, Lavrenti P. Beria. He said the Russian people approved government changes which made Malenkov chairman of the Council of Ministers — Premier — and head of the Communist party. Stalin was buried in a great demonstration of grief and sorrow. The body of the former Premier was placed alongside that of his teacher, Lenin, in the red and black marble mausoleum in Red Square. The Russian nation paid a tribute of reverent silence to its dead leader. Malenkov in his first address as Premier said, ‘Our sacred duty is to strengthen by every means the mighty Soviet armed forces.’”
ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UPI) — Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin said yesterday Russia will abide by her promise to remove ‘several thousand’ troops from Cuba by next Friday. Dobrynin made his statement at the State Department shortly after Secretary of State Dean Rusk said the Russians already have withdrawn some troops from Cuba and will have enough ships available to remove the entire number promised by next Friday. On Feb. 18, the Soviets said they planned to remove several thousand troops by March 15.”
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former U.S. Sen. James Buckley, who was born in 1923; “The Bad News Bears” star Joyce Van Patten, who was born in 1934; country music star Mickey Gilley, who was born in 1936; “On the Wings of Love” singer Jeffrey Osborne, who was born in 1948; “Men in Black” star Linda Fiorentino, who was born in 1960; former N.Y. Knicks player and coach Darrell Walker, who was born in 1961; Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche, who was born in 1964; lawyer and journalist Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was born in 1969; “Webster” star Emmanuel Lewis, who was born in 1971; “Criminal Minds” star Matthew Gray Gubler, who was born in 1980; skier and Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso, who was born in 1984; and “Pitch Perfect” star Brittany Snow, who was born in 1986.
AMERIGO, AMERIGO: Amerigo Vespucci was born on this day in 1454. The Italian navigator, merchant and explorer, for whom the Americas were named, participated in at least two expeditions between 1499 and 1502 which took him to the coast of South America, where he discovered the Amazon and Plata rivers. Neither Vespucci nor his exploits achieved the fame of Columbus, but the New World was to be named for him by an obscure German geographer and mapmaker, Martin Waldseemuller.
HAMMER TIME: Mickey Spillane was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1918. The Erasmus Hall H.S. graduate was an enormously popular crime novelist. His best-known books include “I, the Jury” (1947) and “Kiss Me, Deadly” (1952), which feature private investigator Mike Hammer, who has been portrayed on radio, in films and on TV, most famously by Stacy Keach in the 1980s. Spillane died in 2006.
Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
“The first chapter sells the book. The last chapter sells the next book.”
— author Mickey Spillane, who was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1918
BIPARTISAN POSTAL REFORM ACT PASSES SENATE: The U.S. Senate yesterday passed the historic Postal Service Reform Act in a bipartisan vote of 79-19.
HELP FOR THOSE BEHIND ON RENT PAYMENTS: Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, Inc., the social services arm of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, was recently awarded a $250,000 “Housing for Everyone” grant from the TD Charitable Foundation.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: PRICE GOUGING IS ILLEGAL: New York Attorney General Letitia James, in response to President Biden’s ban on imports of Russian energy resources, natural gas and coal, immediately warned oil companies and gas stations that price gouging is illegal.
On just the 1.5 miles of Pennsylvania Avenue between the Belt Parkway and New Lots Avenue, there were 2,768 reported crashes over the same eight-year period, or nearly one crash every day, injuring 38 cyclists, 173 pedestrians and 871 motorists, killing five pedestrians and two drivers.
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https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2022/03/09/march-9-on-this-day-in-1933-reopen-all-sound-banks-roosevelt-tells-congress/
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24/7 online and five days a week in print with the motto, “All Brooklyn All the Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is New York City’s only daily devoted exclusively to Brooklyn.
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