John Taliaferro Beckner, 1898

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June 15 1898

The Cincinnati Post, Cincinnati, Ohio, Wednesday, June 15, 1898

On The Iowa.
Cadet Beckner, of Winchester, KY., Who Is Still Under 20.
(Post Special Service.)
Lexington, KY., June 14.—Cadet John Taliaferro Beckner, is a son of Judge W. M. Beckner, of Winchester, Ky. He was born Sept. 20, 1878, entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis May 20, 1895; assigned to active duty on the Iowa June 1, 1898; has distinguished himself at the academy in mathematics; is 6 feet 2 inches tall and is quite an athlete and gymnast. His brother Seth is the First Lieutenant of Company C, Second Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, now at Chickamauga.

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John Taliaferro Beckner, 1899

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1899

United States Naval Academy 1899 yearbook, page 17 https://archive.org/details/luckybag1899unse/page/14/mode/2up?view=theater

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July 07 1899

Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, Kentucky, Friday, July 07, 1899

PRAISE FROM DEWEY
For Naval Cadet “Tot” Beckner, of Clark County.
Work In The Philippines.
The proudest happiest man in Winchester on the Fourth was undoubtedly Judge W. M. Beckner, says the Winchester Democrat who on that day received information for the first time that his son Naval Cadet John Taliaferro Beckner had had special mention from Admiral George Dewey for “bravery and skill” in action. It seems that a gunboat expedition in charge of Lieut. Ellicott, an officer on the U.S.S. Baltimore was sent up the Pasig river on which Manila is situated to drive out some bodies of insurgents along its banks who had been quite troublesome. Our sailor boy, of whom we are all so proud was one of the officers sent with the expedition and in a fight that took place received a flesh wound. When the boats returned the commander of the Baltimore sent to Admiral Dewey a report of their operations. In acknowledging the receipt of this communication the great hero wrote the following letter:
No 1201-S.
United States Naval Force,
on Asiatic Station,
Flagship Olympia,
Manila, P. I., April 2, 1899.
Sir:
1. The receipt is acknowledged of your letter of the 30th ultimo enclosing Lieut. Ellicott's report of a boat expedition. Your activity and judgment are commended.
2. The Commander-In-Chief desires to commend also the bravery and skill shown by Lieut. Ellicott, Naval Cadet Beckner and the officers and men in the boat expedition.
Very respectfully,
GEORGE DEWEY,
Admiral United States Navy,
Commanding U.S. Naval Force
on Asiatic Station.
Like all that Admiral Dewey does, this letter is direct and clear and uses no superfluous words. It is certainly a great compliment that such a man should single out from the officers and men in the expedition and specially mention by name Lieut. Ellicott and Cadet Beckner. Taliaferro is so modest and unassuming that he had not even written home about the matter. Like his noble grandfather, for whom he was named, he detests the very appearance of bragging. A cop of Dewey's letter was sent to his father by a friend who happened to see it. His wound received on the above expedition has entirely healed. He is attached to the Baltimore, which is the flagship of Rear Admiral Watson, who has succeeded Dewey as commander of our naval forces on the Asiatic Station.

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John Taliaferro Beckner, 1923

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April 28 1923

Marriage Application, John Taliaferro Beckner and Lilian C. Bryant, April 28, 1923

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John Taliaferro Beckner, 1932

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May 15 1932

The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, Sunday, May 15, 1932

Captain J. T. Beckner, formerly of Winchester, Ky., and for a time a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, is now residing in Miami, Fla. The Captain was regarded in this vicinity as a “near” chess master and, next to Showalter, the most powerful player ever turned out in “Old Kentucky.”
Captain Beckner often frequented the Cincinnati Chess Club rooms and has many admirers and friends in this vicinity who will be delighted to learn that the Captain is entertaining a new future world's chess champion at his home, who has been christened John T. Beckner Jr.

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John Taliaferro Beckner, 1944

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October 20 1944

The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, Friday, October 20, 1944

Lt. John T. Beckner, Aide To Admiral Dewey, Dies
Lt. John Taliaferro Beckner, 66, retired Navy officer and a former automobile dealer here, died early yesterday at St. Petersburg, of an illness resulting from Spanish-American War wounds.
A brother of Col. Lucien Beckner, Louisville geologist, he also was a writer and chess expert. Lieutenant Beckner was graduated from Annapolis in 1898. He served first on the battleship Iowa in the Battle of Santiago, then with Admiral Dewey on his flagship, the Baltimore, in the Philippine Insurrection. He suffered a shattered right arm and internal injuries during an engagement in the Gulf of Lingayen.
Before coming here in the 1920's, he was an editorial staff member of The New York Times. From Louisville he moved to Miami and later to St. Petersburg.
Lieutenant Beckner was a volunteer officer with Capt. Bowman McCalla during the siege of Tien Tsin in China's Boxer Rebellion and later marched to Pekin, where he saw the looting of that ancient Manchu capital by the Chinese.
He was the son of the late U. S. Representative William M. Beckner and Elizabeth Taliaferro Beckner, Winchester, Ky.
In addition to his brother, he is survived by his wife, the former Margaret Lee Fitter of Louisville; a son, John T. Beckner, Jr., a daughter, Miss Lillian Beckner; a stepson, Lt. William Gordon Bryant; another brother, Col. William H. Beckner, York, Penn., and two sisters, Mrs. Edward Clark and Mrs. Phoebe B. Worth, both of Lexington.

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October 22 1944

Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Florida, Sunday, October 22, 1944

Funeral services for John T. Beckner, who died Thursday at Bay Pines, will be held Tuesday morning at 10:30 o'clock at Bay Pines. Mr. Beckner was one of two men to receive citations from Adm. Dewey in the Battle of the Philippines in the Spanish-American war and received the highest marks ever given a student of mathematics at Annapolis. He was a world famous chess player and was a member of the local club. Wilhelm's are in charge of arrangements.

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John Taliaferro Beckner, tombstone

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Fritz Brieger, 1929

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March 05 1929

Fritz Brieger, 1929 Daily News, New York, New York, Tuesday, March 05, 1929

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Fritz Brieger, 1930

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April 15 1930

Fritz Brieger, 1930 Daily News, New York, New York, Tuesday, April 15, 1930

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Fritz Brieger, 1918

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September 12 1918

September 12, 1918, Fritz Brieger Military Registration Card

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Fritz Brieger, 1936

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May 16 1936

U.S. Chess Championship, Final Round, Hotel Astor, New York, May 16, 1936. Players and officials at the biennial U.S. Championship Tournament. At left center, Marshall hands the Frank J. Marshall Trophy, emblem of the title, to Samuel Reshevsky, winner of the tournament and the new champion. Seated, left to right, are tournament officials Hermann Helms, L. Walter Stephens, Harold M. Phillips, Fritz Brieger and Theodore S. Barron. Standing behind officials, left to right, are Sidney Bernstein, Samuel D. Factor, Milton Hanauer, F. J. Marshall, G. N. Treysman, Samuel Reshevsky, I. A. Horowitz (rear), Alexander Kevitz, Isaac Kashdan, Arthur W. Dake (rear), Abraham Kupchik. Standing at the top of picture, l. to r., are Reuben Fine, Arnold S. Denker, Albert C. Simonson and Herman Steiner. Reshevsky won the subsequent tournaments in 1938, 1940 and 1942. Original b/w photo by Empire photographers. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://best-in-chess.blogspot.com/p/herman-steiner.html.

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Fritz Brieger, 1948

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November 07 1948

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Sunday, November 07, 1948

Fritz Brieger, 70, Banker, Ex-City Official, Foe of Harvey
Funeral services for Fritz Brieger, 70, prominent Queens banker and builder and former Queens Superintendent of Street Cleaning, who died of thrombosis Thursday night while riding home in an automobile, will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at the Urban Funeral Home, 69th St. and Queens Boulevard, Woodside. Cremation will be at Fresh Pond. He lived at 5302 63rd St., Woodside.
Mr. Brieger, who built a $300 printing business into a wealthy enterprise and then became interested in banking and real estate, was appointed by the late Borough President George U. Harvey as Superintendent of Street Cleaning in December, 1928. He conducted an investigation into the department, using his own funds to pay private investigators. The inquiry, which resulted in the removal of three bureau officials, turned from holdovers to Harvey appointees and expended to other branches of the Harvey administration.
Mr. Brieger resigned in March, 1929, saying he was disillusioned with the Harvey administration. He later made three unsuccessful attempts to have Mr. Harvey removed from office, filing charges with the then Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt and twice with Gov. Herbert H. Lehman. Each time the charges were dismissed.
Mr. Brieger, a native of Glatz, Silesia, was an actor with a wandering troupe of players in Germany before coming to America in 1897. He ran his printing business in Manhattan for 22 years before branching out into real estate and building enterprises in the early 1920s. He built the Woodside National Bank, of which he was vice president and a director; Loew's Woodside Theater, and 89 houses in Woodside.
An expert chess player, Mr. Brieger was influential in chess circles here and abroad. His business interests in Woodside covered a wide range. He was president of the Juber Real Estate and Insurance Agency, owner and president of the Woodbury Wine and Liquor Company and owner and president of the Elmboro Realty Company.
He was a member of the Steuben Society, the Ancient Lodge, F & A. M. and was active in Queens Democratic circles and numerous Queens civic and social organizations, including the Woodside Lions Club and the Queens Elks Club. He was vice president of the New York State Chess Association.
Surviving are his widow, the former Renate Schoen, and three daughters, Mrs. Clara Haddad, Mrs. Margaret Juber and Mrs. William Butler, and seven grandchildren.

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Fritz Brieger, Grave Marker/Tombstone * Erna Schoen was sister-in-law by relation.

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