On this day, June 10th, 1959, Eliot Laurence Spitzer was born in the Bronx, New York.

Spitzer is the son of Ann Spitzer (nee Goldhaber) and Bernard Spitzer, a wealthy real estate tycoon.  He was raised in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and attended the Horace Mann School, an independent college preparatory school, which is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League.  He then attended Princeton University's  Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  During his time at Princeton he was chairman of the undergraduate student government.  He graduated Princeton in 1981.  Spitzer then attended Harvard Law School.  Spitzer has claimed to have achieved a perfect LSAT score, and a 1590 out of 1600 SAT score.

After graduating law school, Spitzer clerked for Judge Robert W. Sweet in Manhattan.  He then spent less than two years at a private law firm before joining the New York County District Attorney's office.  There he rose to be chief of the labor-raketeering unit, spending 6 years pursing organized crime.  In 1992, he led an investigation that loosened the Gambino crime family's control of the trucking and garment industries in Manhattan.

Upon this high profile conviction, he left the DA's office, and went to work at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom for two years, and then moved to Constantine and Partners.

In 1994, Spitzer ran for the Democratic nomination for New York State Attorney General.  His bid was unsuccessful.  Four years later in 1998, he successfully obtained the nomination, and unseated 1 term incumbent Dennis Vacco, who was also the former US Attorney for the Western District of NY.

During Spitzer's two terms as Attorney General, he is considered to have raised the political profile of the office, getting involved in public policy debates.  He also used NY's unique position with regard to Wall Street to pursue civil and criminal actions against corporations that were often considered under the jurisdiction of the US Justice Department.

In December, 2004, Spitzer revealed his intention to run for governor of New York, as had long been suspected.  He easily won the election in 2006, and was sworn on January 1, 2007.

During Spitzer's term, he came under fire for a  number of controversies:
-  He allegedly used NY State Police to surveil and keep special records of NY Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
-  He issued an executive order requiring state offices to allow illegal aliens to obtain a New York State Driver's License.

On March 10, 2008, the final controversy was revealed by a New York Times article.  The article indicated that Spitzer had previously, and somewhat regularly patronized a high priced prostitute.  Two days later, Spitzer announced he would resign as Governor, making his Lieutenant Governor David Patterson fill-in as governor for the remainder of the term.

After resigning, Spitzer started writing columns for Slate, and eventually in 2010 he was headlining Parker Spitzer on CNN with Kathleen Parker.  It was a "round-table" discussion on the issues and politics of the day.  In February, 2011, Parker left the show, and by July, 2011, the show was cancelled.

Spitzer has since joined Current TV after Keith Olberman was fired from the station.  He now hosts Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer.

On this day, June 9th, 1784, The Bank of New York was founded at the Walton House in Lower Manhattan. It is the oldest bank in the country and was founded by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton wrote the bank's constitution and became actively involved in its organization. The Bank of New York was capitalized with $500,000.00 and the first corporate stock to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.


The Bank of New York existed by that name until July 2nd, 2007 when it merged with Mellon Financial Corporation becoming The Bank of New York Mellon or BNY Mellon.

On this day, June 8th, in 1968, a Requiem Mass was held for Robert F. Kennedy at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.

On June 5th, 1968, then US Senator from New York, Kennedy was shot in the ballroom of The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by 24 year old Sirhan Sirhan.  Sirhan was a Palestinian born Jordanian, age 24.

Robert Kennedy's body was returned to New York City, where it lay in repose at the cathedral.

On June 8, the Mass was held with his brother US Senator from Massachusetts, Edward "Ted" Kennedy giving the eulogy.

After the Mass, Kennedy was taken by a private train to Washington, DC.  He was then buried in Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, near his brother John.  This was in spite of desires he had expressed to be buried in Massachusetts.  It was felt that since he and his brother John were so close in life, they should be close in death.

On this day, June 7th, in 1955, Lux Radio Theater stopped broadcasting.

Lux Radio Theater was a radio anthology series.  It produced hour-long dramatic radio programs before a live audience.

It started broadcasting on October 14, 1934 from New York City, and moved to Hollywood in 1936.

The show tended to highlight stars of the burgeoning movie industry, but also featured classic radio stars.  The longest running host was Cecil B. DeMille

On this day, June 6th, 1939 Judge Joseph Force Crater was declared dead.

Judge crater was an Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court for New York County (Manhattan).  He was appointed on April 17 or 18, of 1930, by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Only two of his decisions were published.

On August 6, 1930, Judge Crater disappeared.  He had summered with his wife, Stella Mance Wheeler, at their Belgrade, Maine summer cabin.  Late in July he received a phone call.  He informed his wife that he had to return to New York, "to straighten those fellows out."  He offered no further information on the content of the call or who the caller was to his wife.

He promptly returned to his 40 Fifth Avenue apartment, and then went on to Atlantic City with his Mistress, Sally Lou Ritz, a showgirl.  By August 1, Crater was back in Maine, again returning to New York on August 3, promising to return by August 9, Mrs. Crater's birthday.

On August 6, Crater went through his files at the courthouse for a few hours.  As he finsihed that task, he sent his assistant Joseph Mara to cash two checks totalling $5,150 (roughly $70,954.36 in 2012 dollars according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics).  By noon, he and Mara brought two locked briefcases to Crater's home, and Carter gave Mara the rest of the day off.

The same evening, Crater obtained a seat for Dancing Partner, which was a comedy playing at the Belasco Theatre.  Before actually attending the show (he had obtained the tickets from a Broadway ticket agency), he went to dinner at a Chophouse with Ritz, and a friend, William Klein, who was also a lawyer.  They finished dinner shortly after 9, which was after the show started.

As the trio left the restaurant, Klein and Ritz entered a taxi, leaving Crater to presumably walk to the show.  Crater was last seen by his companions walking down the street, and was never positively identified again.

It was not until ten days later, when he had not returned to Maine, that Mrs. Crater started making inquiries of their friends in New York.  On August 25, his colleagues becamed concerned when he did not appear for the opening of the courts.  A private search was conducted, but no trace was found.  Almost a full month after his last known sighting, the police were informed, and Crater's disappearance became front-page news.

In 1939, the Judge was finally declared dead for legal purposes.  This allowed Mrs. Crater to receive the $20,561 in life insurance payout ($340,343.72 in 2012 dollars).

There are a number of theories as to what happened to him.  Some theorized he was murdered, others that he ran off with yet another woman.  There was even speculation that the judge was crooked, and was about to be exposed.  There have been alleged leads, but none have gone anywhere, and some have even been contradicted. 

For a period after his disappearance, "To pull a Crater" was a popular expression meaning to disappear.  It became a routine during nightclub acts, and used on public address systems as a joke, in the form of "Judge Crater, call your office." 

On this day, June 5th, 1855, Mount Sinai Hospital opened for patients.

The original name of the hospital was "The Jews Hospital."  It operated under this name for eleven years before changing its name to "The Mount Sinai Hospital."  The hospital was founded by philanthropist Sampson Simson, who donated the land on 28th Street between 7th and 8th avenues in Manhattan, to take care of the the Jewish immigrants in New York.  It was only the second Jewish Hospital.

On this day, June 4th, 1917, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded.

The prize was created by Joseph Pulitzer's will, in which he gave money to Columbia University  for the prize and to establish a school of journalism, and to administer the prize.  The prize was allocated $250,000, and it was specified that the awards should be awarded as follows, "Four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one in education, and four traveling scholarships."  

The prize winners are selected out of entries that must be accompanied by a $50 entry fee for each category to be considered (at least one, at most two).  There are now 21 award categories, with 20 "juries," one for each category (the two photography awards are selected by the same jury."  A total of 103 judges are selected each year.  The jury reviews the nominees and picks 3 to nominate, from which the board then picks one.  The board can bypass the nominated works and replace it with one of their own choosing, (by a 75% vote, rather than the usual majority vote) and can also select no winner.

The awards are now announced in April.  

The first winners were:

• Editorial Writing:  No Author named - The New York Tribune, for an editorial regarding the first anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania.
• Public Service:  No Award
• Reporting:  (not given after 1947)  Herbert Bayard Swope - New York World, for a series of articles in October and November 1916 entitled, "Inside the German Empire"
• Biography or Autobiography:  Laura E. Richards and Maude Howe Elliott assisted by Florence Howe Hall, Julia Ward Howe
• Drama:  No Award
• History:  His Excellency J.J. Jusserand, With Americans of Past and Present Days
• Novel:  No Award

It should be noted that Julia Ward Howe, was an abolitionist born in New York City, who also wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."  This means that except for the History category, all awards given were somehow related to New York City.

On this day, June 3, in 1967, Anderson Hays Cooper was born in New York City.

Cooper is the son of Wyatt Emory Cooper, who appeared on broadway, worked as a screenwriter in LA, and worked as a magazine editor in Manhattan.  Cooper's Mother is Vanderbilt heiress, Gloria Vanderbilt, who was the subject of the famous custody battle in 1934.

Cooper began his media exposure being photographed by Diane Arbus for the magazine, Harper's Bazaar, as a baby.  At 3 years old, Cooper appeared with his mother on the Tonight Show, at 9 he appeared on To Tell The Truth as an impostor, and from age 10 to age 13, Cooper modeled for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Macy's.

In 1978, Cooper's father underwent open-heart surgery.  During the surgery, he suffered a series of heart attacks, and died.

Cooper was educated at the prestigious Dalton School graduating in 1985.  He then majored in Political science at Yale University, graduating in 1989.  During college, Cooper spent two summers interning with the CIA.  He chose to pursue a career in journalism rather than continue with the agency.

Cooper had difficulty getting his foot in the door in journalism, even failing to obtain an entry-level position with ABC answering telephones.  He then had a friend make a fake press pass.  He then worked as a fact checker at Channel One, a producer of a youth oriented news program.  While working at Channel One, he entered Myanmar using his forged press pass to meet with students who were fighting the Burmese government.  Channel One did eventually buy the otherwise home-made segment.  This began a period of filming stories from various war-torn regions around the world.

In 1995, Cooper was hired by ABC News as a correspondent, and he eventually rose to co-anchor World News Now, ABC's overnight program, in 1999.  In 2000 he hosted ABC's reality show, The Mole.

In 2001, Cooper returned to broadcast news at CNN anchoring alongside Paula Zahn on American Morning.  Within a year he was the prime-time weekend anchor, and in September 2003, he started to anchor Anderson Cooper 360º, which includes a lighthearted segment, the Ridiculist.  

In 2010, Cooper signed an agreement to host a syndicated Talk show called, Anderson.  It premiered in September, 2011, but he has continued to host (signing a multi-year contract with CNN) Anderson Cooper 360º.

In addition to these other duties has has been a correspondent for CBS News' 60 Minutes, the narrator for the 2011 Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, and in 2006 he published a memoir.

Anderson splits his time between homes in Westhampton Beach, Long Island, 38th Street in Manhattan, and since September 2009, he has owned a Fire Patrol house  (not a FDNY Firehouse) in Greenwich Village.

On this day, June 2, in 1919, eight large black-powder bombs were exploded nearly simultaneously in eight U.S. Cities, one of which was New York.

The targets included, government officials who had endorsed anti-sedition laws, judges who had convicted and incarcerated anarchists, and those who pursued the deportation of non-citizens who were implicated in crime or otherwise affiliated with movements that were considered illegal.

Specifically, the homes of the Cleveland Mayor, a Massachusetts State representative, the US Attorney General, and New York Judge Charles C. Nott.

None of the intended recipients were killed, a 70 year old New York City night watchman, William Boehner was killed when he investigated the bomb left for Judge Nott.  In addition one of the bomb makers, Carlo Valdinoci, was killed while leaving the bomb intended for US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer.

The bombs were the plot of a group known as Galleanists, followers of Luigi Galeani, an Italian born anarchist-comunist.  He advocated the use of violence to over throw capitalist governments.  He and a number of his followers were deported nearly 3 weeks after the bombing, but for being a resident alien who advocated the violent overthrow of the government and authoring a bomb-making manuel, not for the bombing plot.  Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were also notable followers of Galleani.

The bombs were accompanied by a pink flyer which was titled "Plain Words."  The contents of the flyer read as follows: 

War, Class war, and you were the first to wage it under the cover of the powerful institutions you call order, in the darkness of your laws. There will have to be bloodshed; we will not dodge; there will have to be murder: we will kill, because it is necessary; there will have to be destruction; we will destroy to rid the world of your tyrannical institutions.

On this day, June 1st, 1971, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown opens at the John Golden Theatre in New York City .

In the early 1960’s, Clark Gesner began writing songs based on Charles Schultz’s comic strip Charlie Brown characters. At first Gesner was unable to get permission to use the characters in the songs but after sending Schultz a recording he agreed to give permission in 1966.

At the time, it wasn’t Gesner’s intention to begin a production but to produce a “concept album”. It wasn’t until producer, Arthur Whitelaw convinced Gesner to turn the album into a musical.

This production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown ran for 32 performances and 15 previews.