1095 – Pope Urban II preaches first Crusade 1703 – The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703. 1817 – US soldiers attack Florida Indian village, beginning Seminole War 1826 – John Walker invents friction match in England. Then pours himself a drink 1868 – Battle at Washita River, Oklahoma. General...
On this date in 1889, the president of the New York Parks Department issued the first permit to Curtis P. Brady "to enter upon and pass over the drives of Central Park with his electric automobile runabout." The permit required Brady to "exercise the greatest care" to avoid scaring horses and other users of the park.
Our Sun sets in the southwest at around 4:20 in the afternoon. When twilight gathers, golden Capella, the fourth brightest star in northern skies, commands our attention above the northeastern horizon. Capella, from the Latin for ‘she-goat’, is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga The Charioteer. At nightfall four lesser stars appear, shaping a...
Compare the size of Aldebaran with our sun. (wikipedia)
Evacuation Day is New York City’s most famous celebration you’ve never heard of. While November 25, 1783, marks a significant moment in American history, Evacuation Day never reached national prominence. And while New York embraced it with great enthusiasm-parades, flotillas, fireworks-for more than seventy years, that’s not surprising since it was New York that was...
General George Washington and Governor George Clinton (symbols of military and civilian authority) pass St. Paul's chapel, which miraculously survived the fire of 1776 that destroyed Trinity Church and many buildings west of Broadway. The general would return to worship here as president six years later.
The company that owns the hotel portion of the Ritz-Carlton building in southern Battery Park City has apparently decided to strip the luxury brand name from its hostelry, as part of its ongoing campaign to shut down the lodging facility and convert it to condominium apartments. The 38-story Ritz-Carlton building at the foot of Battery...
845 – 845 : The first King of all Brittany, Nominoe defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon. 1492 – Pinta under Martín Alonso Pinzón separates from Columbus’s fleet 1794 – Strasbourg Alsace-Lorraine, prohibits circumcision and wearing of beards 1809 – Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel...
Circa 1975, a elderly piano teacher on Long Island was trying to guide a not-very-talented pupil, on the cusp of adolescence, through the Largo of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The teacher, who had been a displaced person and refugee during World War Two, had seen and endured unspeakable things before coming to America. Although she...
