August 30, 1986: Shirley Booth was born

Born on August 30th, 1896, Shirley Booth was born as Marjory Ford in New York City. She bagan her career early in her teenage years in stock companies, then known as Thelma Booth Ford. Shirley had her debut in Broadway in the play Hell's Bells. She took on her stagename "Shirley Booth", and ran a number of comedies, dramas, and later musicals. She acted with Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story and with Ralph Bellamy in Tomorrow the World. Shirley soon moved onto bigger roles on Broadway. One of the most famous plays she starred in was the drama Come Back, Little Sheba that was presented by the Theatre Guild at the Booth Theatre. Her dynamic career won two Tony awards before going to Hollywood and to recreated her Tony Best-Actress Award winning drama, Come Back, Little Sheba. After her brief departure to Hollywood, however, she quickly returned back to Broadway. In 1953 she became the first actress to have ever received both Tony and Oscar, winning the Best Actress Oscar Award for her performance in the film Come Back, Little Sheba.

After a very prolific career in both Broadway and Hollywood, Shirley performed voices for Mrs. Santa in The Year Without a Santa Clause (1974), her last public performance before retiring. Shirley Booth died in 1992 at the age of 94, in Northern Chatham, Massachusetts. ☆

Jin Shin, EVHP Staff

August 29, 1896: Origin of Chop Suey

For those who have never heard, had, or seen Chop Suey until today like myself, please refer to the image. Really, Chop Suey's a simple American-Chinese dish consisting of meat (or seafood, increasingly), vegetables and some other ingredients of your choice, poured hot over rice. There are countless types of different Chop Suey today. When in doubt, please visit your local Chinese restaurant.

According to one legend, Chinese ambassador Li Hung Chang's cooks invented the dish for his American guests at a dinner on August 29th, 1896. During the service it is believed that the Chinese diplomat exclaimed "The way to a person's heart is through his or her stomach!" Although the story is doubtful by numerous standards, it is nonetheless true that Ambassador Li Hung Chang's visit to the New York City in 1896 resulted in a great number of Chinese food fans among Americans. His oriental fashion, marked by the yellow jacket he was seen many times wearing, and grand manner grabbed the nation's attention at once. Scholars believe the restaurant owners fabricated the urban myth to borrow this famous ambassador's name as a marketing strategy, and thus there is no truth to the story. Yet, there is no doubt that it was during this time Chinese cuisine enjoyed its heightened popularity more than ever before. ☆

Jin Shin, EVHP Staff

August 28, 1917: Jack Kirby was born on the Suffolk Street!

Today we talk about the King of comics.

YES, on this very day 1917, perhaps one of the most influential figure in the history of comics, the creator of Captain America, Fantastic Four, the original X-man, and Hulk, Jack Kirby was born on the Suffolk Street in Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Jacob Kurtzberg, better known to us by his penname Jack Kirby, started his career as a cartoonist at Fox Feature Syndicate, where he met Joe Simon. They became legendary partners in comic history. Kirby moved to Timely Comics (which later became the Marvel Comics), where he created the patriotic superhero Captain America. The first Captain America issues became million sellers almost instantly. The partners, however, moved to National Comics (the future DC Comics). In 1958 Kirby returned to Atlas Comics (a title Timely Comics took before becoming the Marvel) and in 1961 produced the well-known Fantastic Four series, landing Kirby on stardom. During this period he also created characters such as: the Hulk, Iron Man, the original X-man, Silver Surfer, Galactus, Magneto, Black Panther, and many more. Kirby's legacy leaves us comic lovers all in awe. Jack Kirby died on February 6th, 1994 at the age of 76 in his home and was buried at the Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, Westlake Village, California. ☆

Jin Shin, EVHP Staff

August 27, 1776: The Battle of Long Island

Today in 1776 (as picture above describes) the Battle of Long Island took place. Major General George Washington's American Continental clashed on this now peaceful part of the city.

On July 3rd, the Bitish fleet landed on Staten Island. The congress declared independence the next day, on the celebrated July 4th. On August 26th the British received information about few unguarded areas on the northern side of Long Island, where they launched their attack. The battle lasted through 27th and into 28th; depite the reinforcements General Washington brought, the American troops were forced to withdraw from Brooklyn the next day.

Due to this unexpected attack, the American troops were driven out of Brooklyn and eventually evacuated out of New York State, into New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The British used Manhattan and rest of New York City as its military base until the Evacuation Day (November 25th, 1783) when the last vestiges of British authority in the U.S. departed from Manhattan. ☆

Jin Shin, EVHP Staff

August 26, 1970: Women's Equality Day

On January 9th, 1918, President Wilson announced his support for the suffrage, followed by the passing of Susan B. Anthony Amendment in the congress the next day. On June 4th 1919 the senate passed the amendment by one vote. Finally, On August 26th, 1920, the Amendment became the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, after Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, August 26th, 1970, over 20,000 marchers gathered on the streets of Manhattan to demonstrate for equal rights for women. It was the largest women's rights rally since the suffragists, and the Strike succeeded beyond expectations. As the marchers gathered in Battery Park and marched down the Fifth Avenue, thousands gathered in Washington D.C. to walk down the Connecticut Avenue in demonstration. In L.A., 500 marchers gathered to march down, although confined to the sidewalk. Among the leading marchers were Gloria Steinem, a journalist and founder of the New York Magazine and social and political activist; Betty Friedan, a primary founder and the first president of the National Organization for Women, also the author of The Feminine Mystique; and congresswomen Bella Abzug, who a year later securely declared August 26th as the 'Women's Equality Day'. ☆

Jin Shin, EVHP Staff

August 25, 1835: The Great Moon Hoax

On August 25th 1835, this eye-catching headline was printed on the New York Sun:

GREAT ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES
LATELY MADE
BY SIR JOHN HERSCHEL, L.L.D. F.R.S. &c.

The article described various fantastic lifeforms on Moon, such as bison, unicorns, goats, winged humanoids building temples and more. Forests and oceans were observed, under a supposed 'new principle' and 'telescope'. Supposed narrator was Sir Andrew Grant, describing himself as the companion of, then the most influential astronomer, Sir John Herschel.

The Great Moon Hoax, appearing in six articles on the New York Sun starting on August 25th, drew the New York Sun paper circulation higher than ever, and established the paper as a successful paper. The New York Sun never issued a retraction, and enjoyed its high circulation. The supposed discoverer of these fantastic animals, Sir John Herschel, was at first amused by these articles; however, was annoyed by a few who took the hoax as serious.
Richard A. Locke, a Cambridge-educated reporter, is attributed to the authorship of this article. While working for the New York Sun in 1835 he never publically admitted his authorship. Some others were also speculated to be involved in these articles, but there is no good evidence that indicated anyone but Locke was the author of the story. What was his reason for writing the articles? Probably to increase the paper circulation, or to ridicule some extravagant astronomical theories of the time, some say. Whichever was his reason, the author was extremely successful in both ways. ☆

Jin Shin, EVHP Staff

August 24, 1857: The New York Branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company Failed

On August 24, 1857, the New York Branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company failed due to widespread embezzlement, precipitating the Panic of 1857.  Following this large trust company’s collapse, New York banks placed restrictions on transactions.  Investors interpreted the restrictions as signs of an impending economic disaster and withdrew as much of their money as they could.   

The Panic of 1857 contributed to a sharp economic downturn that lasted for eighteen months and spread to Europe and the Middle East.  Other factors that contributed to the larger downturn included the failure of the overbuilt railroads and the sinking of the SS Central America, a large steamship carrying 30,000 pounds of gold intended for eastern banks.  The loss of so much gold the second major blow to a financial system where banks still dealt in specie.  Economic recovery was slow and uneven and was not complete until the United States had entered the Civil War. 

Laurel Billings, EVHP Staff

August 23, 1974: John Lennon saw a UFO in New York City

The fine print on John Lennon’s album “Walls and Bridges” sparked quite the commotion in the UFO "research" community—and no-doubt little smiles on the faces of millions of fans.  Turning past the front cover, decorated with the marker drawings of an eleven-year-old Lennon, you can see the inscription on the back: “On August 23^rd, at 9 o’clock, I saw a U.F.O. – J.L.”

The summer of 1974 was part of Lennon’s "lost weekend," when he temporarily separated from Yoko Ono.   His then-girlfriend May Pang recalls that the flying saucer hovered little more than an arm’s reach from their East 52^nd Street terrace, shining a soft red light.  Lennon, who had wandered out naked to enjoy the late-summer breeze, called Pang to join him, and the two stood frozen, watching, until the craft pulled away, and headed down the East River toward Brooklyn. 

What really happened that night?  The problem is, the documentation is missing.  There is no police report. Lennon's photographer Bob Gruen tried to develop Lennon’s photos from his terrace, but claims that the film came out blank. Gruenen asked Lennon to call someone, the papers or the police, and remembers Lennon’s response.  “I’m not going to call up the newspaper and say, ‘This is John Lennon and I saw a flying saucer last night.’”  So the truth of what happened on that late-August evening has ended up off the record.

Laurel Billings, EVHP Staff

August 22, 1893: Dorothy Parker's Birthday!

Dorothy Parker was born today!  Yes, it happened at her family’s summerhouse in Long Branch, New Jersey, but her parents got her back to their Manhattan home just after Labor Day, so she’s all right.  The poet, critic, short story writer, and screenwriter remained a New Yorker until1934, when she moved to Los Angeles to become a screenwriter.  Yet for all of her life she remained as sparklingly, grimly witty as New Yorkers come. 

Shortly after landing a job as theater critic for Vanity Fair in 1919, Parker founded the Algonquin Round Table (which she later referred to as the “Vicious Circle”), a group of writers and editors who met for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel.  The group met almost daily from 1919 to 1929, and would undoubtedly have celebrated today with no shortage of highballs and wisecracks.  

Parker was successful in everything she tried, except, as she made so well known, relationships.  (Her success as a screenwriter was only surpassed by her success as a left-wing political advocate, which got her blacklisted and ended her Hollywood career, sending her back to New York--but that's another story.)  The Portable Dorothy Parker was published in 1944 by Viking Press, for servicemen stationed oversees.  It is the only “portable” anthology beside Shakespeare and the Bible to remain continuously in print.   

Laurel Billings, EVHP Staff

August 21, 1887: Mighty Casey Might (or Might Not) Have Struck Out to a New York Giant

In the summer of 1887, “hardball” was emerging in fields around the country, and the face-off between the pitcher and the batter was becoming the crux of the baseball game.  Batters swore that the balls “hopped” and “sank,” and wobbled mid-air, but the fans only saw, in a heartbeat, a strike or a hit.  On August 21st, not too far from New York, the bases were (almost) loaded at was the bottom of the ninth, and Philadelphia pitcher Dan Casey was at bat—until New York Giant Tim Keefe struck him out. 

That was score, and everything seemed settled, until De Wolf Hopper began to recite a short poem called “Casey at the Bat” on Broadway, and poets and ball players scuffled to claim the wildly popular verse.  The identity of the poet turned out to be an easy call.  Ernest L. Thayer, a journalist and Harvard graduate, had signed the first printed version of the poem with his usual pen name, “Phin.” The original Casey, however, was much harder to discern, and might not have existed at all.  The claimants to the title of “Mudville” mud man were numerous, ranging from Mike Kelly to Babe Ruth.  Dan Casey, at least, had a nominally compelling case—and when the Baltimore Orioles celebrated the centennial of our national sport in 1938, nominally compelling was good enough. 

Dan Casey re-enacted his notorious strikeout for the Orioles (except he cheated and got a hit), and he fielded interviews.   “I was a left-handed pitcher for the Phillies. I guess you'd call me the Hubbell of my time. We were playing the Giants in the old Philadelphia ball park on August 21, 1887. Tim Keefe was pitching against me and he had a lot of stuff but I was no slow poke myself. It was the last of the ninth and New York was leading 4 to 3.  Two men were out, and there were runners on second and third.  A week before I had busted up a game with a lucky homer and folks thought I could repeat…” seventy-six-year-old Casey, fifty years after what might have been his big moment.

Laurel Billings, EVHP Staff

August 20, 1948: Eleven Communist Leaders Indicted In New York

After a nine-month trial, eleven leaders of the Communist Party USA were indicted under the Smith Act in New York’s Foley Square Courthouse (renamed the Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse in 2003.)  The Smith Act, which made it a crime to encourage the overthrown of the US government or associate with a group that does so, was proposed by Congressman Howard Smith of Virginia, a leader of Congress’s anti-labor bloc.  It was alleged that the eleven men violated the Act by conspiring “to organize as the Communist Party and willfully to advocate and teach the principles of Marxism-Leninism," which could lead to "overthrowing and destroying the government of the United States by force and violence" in the future.  On the day of the New York indictments, four hundred police stood guard in Foley Square, and all of the defendants received prison sentences.  After the Supreme Court upheld the convictions in 1951, the Smith Act was invoked to indict Communist leaders around the country. Theses indictments served to undermine the Communist Party’s legitimacy in the eyes of many Americans, as well as undermining support for the emerging Progressive Party, which was falsely associated with the Communist Party in many people’s minds.  It was not until 1957 that the Supreme Court reaffirmed the ascendancy of free speech and freedom of political association that the trials stopped, though the Smith Act remains in the books.

Laurel Billings, EVHP Staff

August 19, 1948: The New York Herald Breaks the News of the Discovery of Gold in California

On August 19^th, 1948, The New York Herald broke the news of discovery of gold in California, marking the beginning the California Gold Rush.  A mass migrated ensued, drawing hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children from New York and other American cities to try their luck panning for gold in California's rivers and streams.  Many people sailed from New York in ships, but a hardy few make the cross-country trek in covered wagons.  These migrants were known as forty-niners, due to the fact that most of them didn't get moving for several months after the Herald announcement.  While some of them did strike it rich in California, many more returned to their home cities with little more money than they left with.

Laurel Billings, EVHP Staff

August 15, 1858: The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Cathedral was laid

The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the largest decorated Neo-Gothic-style Catholic cathedral in North America, was laid on August 15. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and a parish church, located on Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st streets in Manhattan. At the time of the construction, present-day midtown Manhattan was far north of the populous areas of New York City. During the Civil War, the construction of the cathedral was stopped and resumed in 1865. 20 years later, in 1878 the construction of the cathedral was completed and it was dedicated on May 25, 1879. The towers were added in 1888.

St. Patrick`s Cathedral is one of the masterpieces of famed 19h century architect James Renwick. The building, which is built of white or tan marble from New York and Massachusetts can accomodate 2.200 people and contains alters designed by the Tiffany Company. It is 332ft long and the spires rise 330 feet from street level. The cathedral ranked 11th out of 150 buildings in the recent list of America's Favorite Architecture.

August 14, 2003: The Northeast Blackout

On Thursday, August 14, 2003 a massive power outage caused chaos across the Eastern United States and Canada hitting 8 U.S. states as well as major cities such as New York City and Ottawa. It is thought to be the worst power cut in US history, and has affected more than 50 million people. Traffic lights failed, underground railways were evacuated and people were trapped in lifts in offices and apartments. Since thousands of commuters were unable to get home, they had to spend the night sleeping on the streets. Shortly after 4:00 PM, the power went out and many areas remained in darkness well into the next day and even until Saturday morning. The outage began when several transmission lines owned by FirstEnergy in Ohio automatically shut down because they came too close to trees. Electricity had to be rerouted to other transmission lines, which, in turn, overloaded and failed. Since power plants and high-voltage lines must be in balance, the failures caused a ripple effect that shut down generators and lines across eight states. Because of a computer bug, FirstEnergy was not able to identify the problem. Today, the nation`s electrical system is a lot better equipped to prevent another big outage, but significant shortcomings remain, federal officials, grid operators and consultants agree.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/poweroutage

August 13, 1944: Lucien Carr stabbed David Kammerer twice in the heart with a boy scout knife

Lucien Carr, who was born in 1925 in New York City, was a key member of the original New York City circle of the Beat Generation writers in the 1940s.

In 1939, at the age of 14, Carr met the 14 years older David Kammerer, who was leading a youth group, of which Carr was a member, and became friends with him. Kammerer had a profound influence on the course of Carr`s life. Over the next five years, Kammerer pursued Carr, showing up wherever the young man was enrolled at school. Carr would later insist, as would his friends and family, that Kammerer had been hounding Carr sexually with a predatory persistence that would today be considered stalking. Carr moved quickly from school to school and Kammerer followed him to each one. After a suicide attemp while he was studying in Chicago, Carrs mother Marian enrolled him at Columbia University which was close to her own home. She couldn`t protect her son from David Kammerer, who quit his job and followed Lucien to New York City.
At Columbia, Carr became friends with Allen Ginsberg and would soon introduce Ginsberg to his St. Louis friends, William Burroughs and David Kammerer. Soon afterwards, he introduced Kerouac to Ginsberg and Burroughs. Thus, it is through Carr that the three primary Beat Generation writers met each other. Ginsberg was plainly fascinated by Carr, whom he viewed as a self-destructive egoist but also as a possessor of real genius.
On August 13, 1944 Carr and Kammerer went for a walk ending up in Riverside Park on Manhattan's Upper West Side. According to Carr’s version of the night, he and Kammerer were resting near 115th street when Kammerer made yet another sexual advance. When Carr rejected it, he said, Kammerer assaulted him physically, and being larger, gained the upper hand. In desperation and panic, Carr said, he stabbed the older man, using a Boy Scout knife from his St. Louis childhood. Carr then tied his assailant’s hands and feet, wrapped Kammerer’s belt around his arms, weighted the body with rocks, and dumped it in the nearby Hudson River. After seeking advice from Burroughs and Kerouac, Carr turned himself in. He was convicted of 2nd degree manslaughter and sent to the Elmira Reformatory where he stayed for two years before being paroled.
Carr died at George Washington University Hospital in January 2005 after a long battle with bone cancer

(from left to right: William S. Burroughs, Lucien Carr, and the poet Allen Ginsberg in New York City, 1953)

August 12, 1988: Jean-Michel Basquiat died at the age of 27

Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 - August 12, 1988) was the first African American painter to become an international art star. He had accidentally taken an overdose of mixed-drug toxicity and died in his Great Jones Street loft/studio (No. 57) in the East Village, NY at the age of 27.
In 1977, at the age of 17, Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz started spray-painting graffiti art on buildings in Lower Manhattan adding the infamous signature of "SAMO" (i.e. "same old shit") Basquiat attended Edward R. Murrow Highschool in Brooklyn, but he dropped out and left home one year before graduating. By 1981, he had turned from spraying graffiti to selling paintings in SoHo galleries, rapidly becoming one of the most accomplished artists of his generation. Critics noted the originality of his work, its emotional depth, unique iconography, and formal strengths in color, composition, and drawing.
Basquiat's paintings continue to influence modern-day artists and command high prices.

August 5, 1998: Hells Angels Sue City for NYPD Misconduct

On August 5th, 1998, NYPD Detective Nicholas Cinalli led a raid of the Hells Angels' East 3rd Street clubhouse on the premises of suspected drug trafficking and motorcycle theft. Eleven members of the motorcycle club were roused from their homes, and nine were arrested and taken away in handcuffs

The warrant the police had received stated that they were to search the first floor of the building only. However, a videotape taken by the officers demonstrated in court that the police ignored the boundaries of the warrant and searched the entire building. On the tape, Cinalli states that since the warrant is only for the first floor, the illegal search of the upstairs should be recorded on a separate tape. After the search, the officers apparently forgot about the incriminating evidence and gave the tape to Ron Kuby, the Hells Angels' attorney, who proceeded to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the city for violation of his clients' civil rights. In a Village Voice article on the incident, Kuby accused the police of using the facade of a "drug bust" as an excuse to gather information on the club, noting that not a single piece of evidence suggesting the use or distribution of drugs was found in the clubhouse.

August 4, 1914: Black Tuesday on the Lower East Side

The term "Black Tuesday" is usually associated with the stock market collapse in 1929 that precipitated the Great Depression. However, this phrase has also been used to describe the closing of the Jarmulowsky Bank Building at 54-58 Canal Street (once the tallest building on the Lower East Side) on August 4, 1914. The bank was founded in 1873 by Russian immigrant Sender Jarmulowsky, whose sons took over the business when he died in 1912. Thousands of Lower East Side immigrants had deposited their savings in the bank. But just before World War I, many of these immigrants began to withdraw their money in order to aid relatives who were fleeing Europe. Soon, the bank became unable to pay all of the depositors who demanded their money, and there was a run on the bank. As a result of the panic, the bank was forced to close, and riots broke out among the depositors whose savings were lost. The Jarmulowskys were eventually indicted for banking fraud and the building was sold at a bankruptcy auction in 1920. The ornate building still stands with its original name engraved above its entrance. It is now used for commercial purposes.

Ana MeiLi Carling, EVHP Staff

August 3, 2004: Statue of Liberty Pedestal Reopens After 9/11 Attacks

Liberty Island was closed to the public indefinitely after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. The statue was considered especially unsafe because it failed to meet some fire regulation standards and had sub-par evacuation procedures. In the following years, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF) ran a campaign to raise the money for construction work to improve the Statue's safety and security features. The National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior approved the reopening of the Statue's pedestal for August 3rd, 2004. This would allow visitors to tour the base of the statue, which includes a museum and an observation deck offering a panoramic view, though they would not be able enter the upper levels of statue itself. Tourists would be allowed to view the inside of the statue by looking up through a glass ceiling, as long as they were accompanied by a park ranger. The Statue of Liberty's crown remained closed until about a month ago, when it was reopened to the public on July 4th, 2009. However, the torch, which is the highest point on the statue, is still off limits to visitors.

Ana MeiLi Carling, EVHP Staff

August 2, 1924: The Birth of James Baldwin

James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem on August 2nd, 1924 and grew to become one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, particularly in the areas of civil rights and the black experience in America. The oldest of nine children, he was raised in poverty by his mother and his strict stepfather, a factory worker and storefront preacher. As a child, Baldwin was an avid reader and spent much of his time in the library, developing a passion for writing at an early age. By the time he was twelve, his first story had been published in a church newspaper. As a young adult, Baldwin spent several years as a preacher, an experience which he later recognized had a profound effect on the style and tone of his writing. He had a difficult time starting out as a writer at first, and worked several odd jobs before receiving a grant and leaving for Paris in 1948. From this point on, he would become a constant traveller, moving between Paris, Istanbul, New York, and many other cities of the world.

While in Switzerland, Baldwin finished his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, which was published in 1953. The novel was an autobiographical story about his upbringing in Harlem and gained much critical acclaim, becoming one of the classic novels of American literature. After this, Baldwin went on to publish many more popular works, including Notes of a Native Son (1955), Giovanni's Room (1956), and The Fire Next Time (1963). His work often dealt with controversial topics such as homosexuality and interracial relationships. In the 1960s, Baldwin became a prominent figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. Taking a pacifist approach, Baldwin used his writing to shed light on the racial problems in the United States. Although he spent much of his time abroad, Baldwin's writing is undoubtedly American in essence, and provides an indispensable contribution to American literature.

Ana MeiLi Carling, EVHP Staff