ON THIS DAY OF 1937, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported: “SHANGHAI (AP) – Due to the increasing danger for the neutral transport of Chinese and Japanese bombs and shells, the US authorities today closed the port of Shanghai to all ships flying the US flag other than ships. of war. The order of Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, Commander-in-Chief of the Asian Fleet, and Consul General Clarence E. Gauss was the direct result of the bombardment yesterday by Chinese planes of Dollar Liner President Hoover and the murder of a of its sailors. The effect of the action was to block some 2,000 Americans, including 500 women and children, in this city destroyed by war. Twelve miles north of the city, heavy cannons swooped down on the prelude to Japan’s major push to drive Chinese armies out of the region. The Japanese military has issued an ultimatum to civilian authorities ordering all Chinese civilians to evacuate at nightfall the Yangtsepoo and Wayside areas in the northeast area of international settlement. This order from the most senior naval and civilian officers here ordered all US-flagged ships – freighters as well as ocean liners – to indefinitely suspend their stopovers in Shanghai. Due to the lack of suitable warships to evacuate the remaining Americans, authorities have not made a decision on the best means of bringing American citizens to safety. The only naval vessel available is the Gold Star Supply Vessel, from Guam. A small capacity of 60 passengers and a speed of eight knots make it a limited value.
ON THIS DAY OF 1939, the Eagle reported: ‘LONDON (AP) – The’ precautionary ‘evacuation of schoolchildren, mothers and invalids from London and other key cities tomorrow – a move possibly involving several million people – has been ordered today’ hui by the UK Department of Health. The operation will take several days. The Health Ministry statement said this step did not mean war was considered inevitable. It has been estimated that 3,000,000 people would be affected. The total population of the designated evacuation areas is around 11,000,000, but only a part of these residents would belong to the first group to be displaced. School children accompanied by their teachers, preschool children accompanied by their mother or other companions, pregnant women and the blind and disabled adult population are included in the “priority classes” if the removal of the disabled is possible. Meanwhile, the diplomatic exchange on the European crisis has been authoritatively declared as being hampered by Germany’s “reluctance” to recognize the binding nature of British and French guarantees to defend Poland’s independence if Poland is also fighting. “
ON THIS DAY OF 1954, the Eagle reported: “High winds and heavy rain hit Brooklyn and surrounding areas today as a retreating southerly hurricane swept through Long Island and Long Island Sound in Connecticut. Trees were knocked down by the storm, windows smashed, at least 120 power lines were blown down and some 50,000 families in Brooklyn and 25,000 in Queens, the Consolidated Edison Company reported, were left without power. At noon, the sun appeared in a still very cloudy sky and the storm, for Brooklyn, seemed to be over. In Sheepshead Bay, off Gerritsen Beach and in the North River, small boats were pulled from their moorings and put adrift. Some streets and cellars were flooded. Car traffic was slowed down, and in some cases public buses had to detour to avoid fallen trees. On Rockaway Beach, 40 families were stranded, by the rain and the rising tide, in bungalows at the foot of 84th St. Beach, on the shores of Jamaica Bay. Police came to their aid in the launches. On Long Island, the force of the storm, with gusts of up to 70 miles per hour, wreaked more widespread devastation. The inhabitants of the South Shore, warned by the coast guard, left the houses by the sea and, helped by the local police, took refuge inland.
REMARKABLE PEOPLE BORN THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry allison (Les Grillons), born in 1939; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Van Morrison, who was born in 1945; violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, who was born in 1945; former NY Giants coach and two-time Super Bowl champion Tom coughlin, who was born in 1946; Founder of Scorpions Rudolf Schenker, who was born in 1948; The star of the “Pretty Woman” Richard Gere, who was born in 1949; “Earth’s Girls Are Easy” star Julie brun, who was born in 1954; The Go-Go drummer Gina Schock, who was born in 1957; Co-founder of Squeeze Glenn Tilbrook, who was born in 1957; Vocalist of “Lost in Your Eyes” Debbie gibson, who was born in Brooklyn in 1970; Rush hour star Chris Tucker, who was born in 1971; and swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Ian crocker, who was born in 1982.
THE PARTY IS OVER : Solidarity was founded on this day in 1980. The Polish trade union was formed in the Baltic Sea port of Gdansk. It was banned by the Communist government and many of its leaders were arrested. Led by Lech Walesa, Solidarity persisted in its opposition to the Communists, and on August 19, 1989, Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski astonished the world by appointing Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former member of the Polish Assembly and editor-in-chief as Prime Minister. as head of the Solidarity weekly, putting an end to 42 years of domination by the Community Party.
GOODBYE THE ROSE OF ENGLAND: Diana, Princess of Wales, died that day in 1997. The Princess and her companion, Dodi Fayed, were killed in a car crash in Paris. Although press photographers pursued his car, French courts have determined that the paparazzi were not responsible for the accident but rather a driver operating under the influence of alcohol. Diana’s funeral was attended by around 2.5 billion people.
Special thanks to the Chase’s Calendar of Events and the Brooklyn Public Library.
“Winning is what happens when commitment, desire, talent, preparation, hard work and leadership come together. “
– Tom Coughlin, born that day in 1946