May 14: William Donaldson Dickey, who won the Medal of Honor during the Civil War when he “refused to leave the field, remaining in command after being wounded by a piece of shell, and led his command in the assault on the enemy’s works on the following day,” died on this date in 1924.
May 13: On this date in 1847, the 14th Regiment of the New York State Militia, was formed. It would achieve fame in the Civil War as the 14th Brooklyn, and was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Edward Fowler.
May 12: Merchant James M. Constable, who joined with Aaron Arnold to create Arnold, Constable, & Co., a clothier which outfitted New Yorkers for 150 years, died on this date in 1900.
May 11: John M. Bradstreet, whose named was given to the legendary firm of Dun and Bradstreet, which pioneered research on business creditworthiness, died on this date in 1863.
May 10: On this date in 1869, Thomas Durant drove the “Golden Spike” to complete the Transcontinental Railroad.
May 9: Actor John Brougham, dubbed “The American Aristophanes” for the more than 100 plays, mostly comedies, that he wrote, was born on this date in 1814 and died in 1880.
May 8: On this date in 1928, Joseph William Kay, who is credited by some with coining the phrase “Old Glory,” was interred at Green-Wood.
May 7: William Livingston, first governor of the State of New Jersey and delegate to the United States Constitutional Convention, died in 1790 and was interred in New Jersey; his remains were later moved to the Wall Street Church Burial Ground and were finally brought to Green-Wood on this date in 1844.
May 4: On this date in 1891, Charles Pratt, petroleum tycoon who founded and endowed Pratt Institute, died.
May 3: William McKnight, born on this date in 1842, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his steadfast actions as a gun captain aboard the USS Varuna during its April 24, 1862 Civil War attack on Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which protected the entrance to New Orleans, Louisiana.