ON THIS DAY IN 1894, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 9 — The action of Captain Thomas of the United States steamship Bennington in affording asylum aboard his vessel to Salvadorean refugees at La Libertad is giving officials here much concern. Today Secretary Gresham and Secretary Herbert, after talking over the matter themselves, went to the White House to lay the facts before the President and advise with him as to whether Captain Thomas’ conduct shall be approved, or whether he shall be instructed to put the refugees ashore exposed to the tender mercy of the exultant revolutionists. It is believed that it is high time that this question of the right of asylum shall be definitely settled so far as the United States is concerned, in order that naval commanders, as well as United States diplomatic officers, may know just how far they can proceed safely. The practice heretofore has varied. In Chile, United States Minister Egan took a notably strong stand in affording asylum to the adherents of the ill-fated Balmaceda administration, while in Rio Admiral Benham exactly reversed this position. A strong precedent for Captain Thomas’ action is afforded by the conduct of Admiral Jouett about ten years ago, in the case of revolution in Colombia, when the entire American fleet was used to shelter refugees, men, women and children, whose lives were endangered when Colon was burned.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1905, the Eagle reported, “Mayor [George] McClellan has issued orders that the flags shall fly from the City Hall on Wednesday, June 14, in observance of Flag Day, the 125th anniversary of the adoption of the flag of the United States, and Superintendent of Schools Maxwell has requested of all public schools the devoting of part of the opening exercises of the day shall have reference to the flag and the respect and honor due it.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Eagle reported, “Zev all the way! That in a sentence is the history of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park yesterday. The brown son of The Finn-Miss Kearney ran away with the $50,000 stake as he did the Kentucky Derby. This time Zev’s portion of the stakes amounted to $38,000 net — not quite as much as the Derby. But it was sufficient to round out his winnings thus early in the spring to $117,800 — just $7,800 more than his daddy cost W.R. Coe of Great Neck before the racing season began. If Coe, after the five victories of Zev, had tried to buy The Finn, that stallion would probably have cost him many thousands of dollars more than the price that he paid. The seven horses that opposed Zev for the Belmont — Chickvale, Rialto, Messenger, Martingale, Hyperion, All American and Miss Smith — might just as well have remained in the stable. At no stage of the mile and three furlong race did one of the contenders — contenders in name only — have a chance to beat him.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “LEWISPORTE, NFLD. (U.P.) — A forest fire threatened today to explode 2,000,000 gallons of stored gasoline and blast this village of 1,500. A three-mile wall of flame, fanned by a 15 to 25-mile-an-hour wind, rolled toward Lewisporte where oil officials said 2,000,000 gallons of high-octane aviation gasoline was stored. Planes and ships sped here with emergency fire-fighting supplies and were ordered to stand by for possible mass evacuation. All women, children and elderly persons were told to pack and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Every able-bodied man in the area joined forest rangers and woodsmen on firefighting duty. Forecasters said the wind might die out more, but they warned that if it did, there still would be danger from breezes sucked into the fire area by the flames. Then ‘there would be no telling which way they would blow — toward or away from the tanks,’ one forecaster said. Firefighters’ work was hampered by lack of equipment. Additional men and lengths of hose were rushed here in railway flatcars from the Gander Air Base 35 miles away.”
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Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Shirley Owens (the Shirelles), who was born in 1941; “Das Boot” star Jurgen Prochnow, who was born in 1941; former N.Y. Yankees broadcaster Ken Singleton, who was born in 1947; former “Saturday Night Live” star Rich Hall, who was born in 1954; “Riverdale” star Gina Gershon, who was born in 1962; “Big Love” star Jeanne Tripplehorn, who was born in 1963; “Bedazzled” star Elizabeth Hurley, who was born in 1965; “A Walk to Remember” star Shane West, who was born in 1978; Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Tara Lipinski, who was born in 1982; model and actress Kate Upton, who was born in 1992; and former first daughter Sasha Obama, who was born in 2001.
Evan Agostini/AP
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WIND OF CHANGE: Hattie McDaniel was born on this day in 1893. A child of former slaves, the Kansas native began her show business career as a singer and was the first African-American woman to sing on the radio. She moved into films in the 1930s and ’40s and was the first African-American to win an Academy Award, for her role as Mammy in the 1939 blockbuster “Gone With the Wind.” She also appeared in “I’m No Angel,” “Alice Adams” and “Show Boat.” She died in 1952.
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A STAR IS BORN: Judy Garland was born on this day in 1922. The actress and singer is best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and won a juvenile Oscar for her screen work that year. The Minnesota native also starred in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Easter Parade,” “A Star is Born” and many other films. She died in 1969.
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“WILD” MAN: Maurice Sendak born on this day in 1928. The Brooklyn native wrote and illustrated many notable children’s books, including “In the Night Kitchen,” “Kenny’s Window,” and his most famous work, “Where the Wild Things Are.” Widely regarded as the first picture book artist to deal openly with children’s emotions, he received numerous awards, including the Caldecott Medal (1964) and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (1983). He died in 2012.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”
— actress and singer Judy Garland, who was born on this day in 1922
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