The actor is best known for appearing in The Godfather: Part II, MoonStruck, Once Upon a Time in America, and Do the Right Thing.
On this day, June 20th, 1933, Daniel Louis Aiello, Jr, was born in Manhattan. The actor is best known for appearing in The Godfather: Part II, MoonStruck, Once Upon a Time in America, and Do the Right Thing.
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On this day, June 19th, 1964, Boris Johnson was born in New York City. Boris Johnson is the current Mayor of London, UK. His father, Stanley Johnson, was a former Member of the European Parliament, and an employee of both the European Commission and the World Bank. Johnson's Parents were temporarily living in New York City, and returned to Britain shortly after his birth. He has been Mayor of London since May 4, 2008. On this day, June 18th, 1938, Babe Ruth returned to baseball after retiring in 1935. His return was with the Brooklyn Dodgers as Coach. On this day, June 17th, 1943 singer-songwriter Barry Manilow was born. He is best know for songs such as "Mandy" and the "Copacobana." On this day, June 16th, 1884, the first roller coaster was installed in Coney Island. The first roller coaster in America was the "Switchback Railway" It opened at Coney island, as the first roller coaster designed as an amusement ride in the United States. The Switchback Railway was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881, and was loosely based upon the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Pennsylvania. The Mauch Chunk Railroad was a 9 mile gravity railroad that went from Mauch Chunk, (now Jim Thorpe) and Summit Hill. It was originally a freight railroad bult by the Lehigh Coal and 69 Navigation Companys. Built in 1827, to move coal, it became a tourist attraction due to the scenic and exciting ride down the hill. The Switchback Railway would have riders climb a tower to board a bench-like car, which was then pushed off to coast 600 feet down to a second tower at just over 6 mph. Once at the second tower, the car was moved to a return track, or "Switched back." After a short time, the track was changed to an oval more akin to the modern roller coaster. The site became the home of the Cyclone in 1927. On this day, June 15th, 1904, the Passenger Steamboat, General Slocum caught fire, and sank in the East River. The General Slocum was an excursion steamer named after a Civil War General, and New York Congressman, Henry Warner Slocum. She was launched on April 18, 1891, and on June 25, 1891, steamed her maiden voyage. The General Slocum was classified as a Sidewheeler, and was 235 ft long. She required a crew of 22, and had a maximum speed of 16 nots. The General Slocum did not have a peaceful life. Before the end of 1891, she ran aground off Rockaway, requiring tugboats to free her. In July of 1894, she struck a sandbar with sufficient force to deactivate the electrical generator. In August of 1894, a storm ran her aground off Coney Island, requiring passengers to be evacuated by another ship. The next month, September 1894, she collided with a Tugboat, substantially damaging her steering. In July 1894, she suffered a collision with yet another vessel off Battery Park. In August of 1901, a riot began on-board when some of the 900 Paterson Anarchists on board, highly intoxicated, attempted to take control of the vessel. Upon docking at the police pier, 17 men were arrested. A year later, in June 1902, she again ran aground, this time passengers remained on the ship, effectively camping over night. On Wednesday, June 15, 1904, St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, chartered the General Slocum for $350, as they had for 17 years. The trip was to take 1400 passengers up the East River, and into Long Island Sound, where it would bring them to Locust Grove, a picnic site in Eatons Neck, Long Island. The church was based in the "Little Germany" section of Manhattan, on the Lower East Side. This neighborhood was predominantly composed of German immigrants starting in the 1840s. As the 19th century progressed, the German Population was shrinking as non-German Immigrants started settling in the area, and the second-generation German-American families started moving to other communities such as Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Yorkville, on the Upper East side. On the fateful day, the General Slocum, got underway at 9:30 AM. By the time she was even with East 90th Street, a fire had started in the Lamp Room, which was full of straw, oily rags, and lamp oil. There is speculation as to the cause, such as a discarded cigarette or match. For half an hour, the fire was not reported. At 10:00 AM notice of the fire was given. The General Slocum's safety equipment had not fared much better than the rest of the ship in the ensuing years. The crew attempted to put the fire out with the fire hoses on the ship. As they did so, the hoses, which had been allowed to rot, fell apart. The lifeboats were tied up, and possibly even wired and painted in place, and not accessible. Perhaps most egregious was the condition of the life-preservers and life-jackets. The life preservers crumbled as people attempted to use them. The ones that didn't crumble sunk, as iron bars may have been placed inside of them to bring them up to the the weight required. Other preservers were made of granulated cork which was supplimented with iron weights. The Life-jackets were not much better. Mothers, desperate to save their children, put the jackets on their children, only to experience the horror of watching the children sink. Those who did not rely on these life preservers and life jackets did not fare much better. In 1901, few people could swim, especially not women and children who constituted the majority of the passengers. In addition, the heavy wool clothing they were wearing would make swimming impossible. The crew was not much help. No fire drills had ever been held. In addition, Captain Van Schaick continued his course, rather than stop the ship at the nearest landing, or running the ship ashore. The course brought the ship into headwinds, which in effect fanned the fire. The General Slocum finally sank at North Brother Island, Between the Bronx, and Rikers Island. The toll was horrible. There were 321 survivors, and 1,021 people died by drowning or fire. Of the 30 crew members on board, 2 died. The captain went blind in one eye due to the fire, though he managed to desert the ship with several crew members as soon as it settled. There were eight people indicted in Federal court: the Captain and two inspecters, along with the president, secretary, treasurer, and commodore of the Knickerbocker Steamship Company. The only conviction was Captain Van Schaick, for criminal negligence. The jury did not reach a verdict on two counts of manslaughter. Van Shaick was sentenced to 10 years imprisionment, serving three and a half years at Sing Sing before being paroled, and then eventually pardoned by President Taft. President Theodore Roosevelt opted not to pardon the captain. The disaster caused Little Germany to virtually disappear, with the remaining Germans mostly moving uptown. St. Mark's Lutheran Church is now a synagogue. The last surviving passenger, Adella Wortherspoon (nee Liebenow) died on January 26, 2004 at 100 years old. She was six-months old at the time of the incident, and the youngest survivor. On this day, June 16th, 1994, the Rangers won the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden. This marked the first time the Rangers had done so in 54 years. The series ran to the last possible game, seven, with the Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks each coming into the game with three wins a piece. The Rangers won the game. The game was the highest-rated hockey game on cable television. Nationally, and internationally, the game was broadcast on ESPN. However, in New York City, the MSG Network had local rights to the Rangers games, so ESPN was blacked out for the game. In the evening after the game, between 50,000 to 70,000 people gathered in Down-town Vancouver. This eventually developed into a riot. The riot continued into the next morning. It was estimated to have caused CAN$ 1.1 Million, and as many as 200 people injured, with at last one critically injured. Happily there were no deaths. In New York, the celebrations were peaceful, but there was concern due to the riots in Vancouver. On June 17, 1994, a parade was held, with no significant incidents. The aftermath in New York City, was marked with no reports of violence, or arrests related to the Stanley Cup. On this day, June 13th, 1942 on a beach near Amagansett, Long Island New York four men emerged from a German submarine. Like a story out of a spy novel, the German sailors brought enough explosives, primers and incendiaries to last the two years. Their mission was to bring the war to American soil and sabotage defense related production. A few days later on June 17th, four more men arrived. By June 27th all eight men had been captured and tried before a military commission. On this day, June 12th, 1978, David Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam was sentenced to 365 years in prison to be served at Attica Correctional Facility. Berkowtiz terrorized residents of New York City from July 1976 until his arrest in August 1977. Born in Brooklyn, Berkowitz's MO became shooting his victims in parked cars within the Brooklyn and Queens area. After several shootings, Berkowitz taunted police with handwritten letters, daring them to find him. Also known as the .44 Caliber Killer, Berkowtiz was coined the Son of Sam after claiming that he committed the murders because his neighbor's possessed dog commanded him to. Young women with long hair with suitors seemed to be his target and Brooklyn's Shore Road area and other popular "Lovers Lanes" were deserted during his reign of terror. Berkowitz was caught after suspicions arose when a witness saw him loitering in the neighborhood glaring at people passing. Several hours later he was seen taking a parking ticket off his car. Two days later a shooting took place and the witness contacted police. Berkowitz was charged with 15 murders throughout a two year period. His claims of mental illness and at one point, being part of a cult have been a subject of controversy. On this day, June 11th, 1919, Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first winner of Thoroughbred Horse Racing's Triple Crown. Sir Barton was still a maiden as of his entry into the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a new-comer with no real expectations resting on his performance. He was entered into the Derby as a "rabbit" for his stable-mate, Billy-Kelly, who had a higher profile, and greater expectation of winning the Derby. A "rabbit" was a horse who was placed in the race to speed ahead early in the race, to pull the pack fast early, tiring the horses, and setting the race up for the other horse. Apparently Sir Barton was not in on the deal, and handily won the derby by five lengths. Four days later, on May 14, Sir Barton ran in the Preakness Stakes, at Pimlico Race Course, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Trivia: The Preakness was run at Morris Park Racecourse in the Bronx, NY in 1890, and from 1894 to 1908, Gravesend Race Track at Coney Island, hosted the Preakness.) Sir Barton again won the race. With barely any rest, ten days later, Sir Barton was at Belmont Park, winning the one-mile Withers Stakes. Finally, Sir Barton was given a rest, but only until June 11, for the Belmont Stakes. Sir Barton was in a field of only three horses, and ran the mile and three-eighths in a record breaking 2 minutes: 17 2/5 seconds. These four wins were accomplished in a mere 32 days, and in doing so first accomplished a feat that has only been repeated 10 more times in the ensuing 93 years, and has not been done since 1978, when Affirmed won the Triple Crown. |
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