November 30: George Tilyou

November 30: George Tilyou, who created Steeplechase Park in Coney Island in order to entertain the masses, died on this date in 1914; his epitaph reads, surprisingly for a man in the business of making people laugh, “Great Hopes Lie Buried Here.”

November 26: Francis Bannerman

November 26: Francis Bannerman, who became the world’s largest dealer in used military equipment after the Civil War, storing his merchandise on Bannerman’s Island in the Hudson River, died on this date in 1918.

November 22: Mae West Hoax

November 22: After actress Mae West died on this date in 1980, it falsely was reported that she would be interred at Green-Wood; reporters flocked to Green-Wood, while she was being interred at Cypress Hills.