April 10: Henry Bergh
April 10: In 1866, on this date, the ASPCA, the first humane organization in the Americas, was founded by Henry Bergh.
Month: April 2014
April 9: Charlie Ebbets
April 9: On this date in 1913, Ebbets Field, then the new home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were owned by Charlie Ebbets, opened.
Downton Abbey–and Green-Wood
No, Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey is not interred at Green-Wood. But there is something of a connection between Green-Wood and Downton Abbey. At least there is for me. Just about every year, in March, I drive down to Washington for an antique photo show. I have collected stereoscopic views of New York City, and … Read more
April 8: Fred Ebb
April 7: Fred Ebb, lyricist of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb, who wrote “New York, New York,” Caberet, and Chicago, was born on this date in 1928.
April 7: Joey Gallo
April 7: On this day in 1972, mobster Joey Gallo celebrated his 43rd birthday at Umberto’s Restaurant in Little Italy; before the dinner was over, he was shot and killed.
April 6: James Kirke Paulding
April 6: James Kirke Paulding, who coined the tongue-twister “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickles peppers,” and rose to be Secretary of the Navy, died on this date in 1860.
April 5: Eastman Johnson
April 5: Famed painter Eastman Johnson, whose gravestone describes him simply as “ARTIST” and states “HIS WORKS ARE HIS MONUMENT,” died on this date in 1906.
April 4: Samuel Chester Reid
April 4: The Flag Act of 1818, which incorporated the proposal of War of 1812 hero Samuel Chester Reid, that another star be added to the American flag as a new state entered the Union, but that the original 13 stripes remain unchanged, was signed into law by President James Monroe on this date.
April 3: William M. Tweed
April 3: William M. Tweed, “Boss,” whose name became synonymous with civic corruption, was born on this date in 1823.
April 2: Samuel Finley Breese Morse
April 2: On this date in 1872, Samuel Finley Breese Morse, who invented the telegraph and changed the world by creating the first practical means of human communication over a distance, died.