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 18, 1664: British takeover of New Amsterdam

King Charles II issued to his brother, James (the Duke of York), a grant of American land that encompassed the colony of New Netherland. Soon after, the plan for the English invasion was prepared. The plan called for three ships and several hundred soldiers from England to be joined by volunteers from New England.
The fleet under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls anchored off the coast of Coney Island on August 18, 1664, taking the Dutch by surprise. From there, Nicolls told New Amsterdam's citizens that they would be given all the rights of English colonists and would be allowed to continue limited relations with the Dutch if they did not resist the British takeover. Stuyvesant made an unsuccessful attempt at diplomacy, but knew he had to surrender. The Dutch army only consisted of 150 soldiers, which was not enough to defend the colony. Stuyvesant surrendered New Netherland to the English peacefully and returned to Amsterdam, ashamed.

New Amsterdam in 1660

August 17, 1807: Robert Fulton's steamboat Clermont begins 1st trip up Hudson River

Robert Fulton (1765-1815) was born on a farm near Little Britain in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He was an inventor, engineer, and artist. Fulton spent his early years in Paris studying painting. In 1786 he went to London, and was received into the family of Benjamin West, under whose instruction he studied for several years
Fulton directed the construction of a steamboat in New York in 1807. Registered as the North River Steam Boat, the ship was generally called the Clermont after the Hudson River home of Robert Livingston. On Aug. 17, 1807, the steamboat started on its first successful trip 150 miles (241 kilometers) up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany, in about 30 hours, including an overnight stop. After extensive rebuilding, the boat began to provide regular passenger service on the Hudson.