On this day, December 10th, 1899, the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at the City College of New York. The fraternity is currently the largest national fraternity to have not undergone a merger with any other national or regional fraternity. Delta Sigma Phi is also notable because it is considered one of the first national fraternities to allow membership of men from varying religious backgrounds.
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On this day, December 9th, 1935, Walter Liggett and American newspaper editor and muckraker is killed in a gangland murder. At the time of his murder he was traveling with his wife and daughter in Minneapolis while writing an expose on Minnesota governor, Floyd B. Olson's connection with organized crime. Liggett was a successful New York newspaper man writing who frequently wrote for the New York Times, The Sun, the New York Post and the New York Daily News. On this day, December 8th, in 1980, John Winston Ono Lennon was shot.
Lennon was returning home after a day of recording with his wife, Yoko Ono, when a deranged fan shot Lennon to death. On this day, December 7th, 1993, Colin Ferguson tragically murders six people on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York. Known as the Long Island Rail Road massacre, Ferguson pulled out a gun and started firing at passengers as the train pulled into the Merillon Avenue Station. Ferguson was convicted on all counts. Midway through his trial he fired his defense council and insisted on representing himself. On this day, December 6, in 1896, Ira Gershwin was born. At birth he was known as Israel Gershowitz. His parents eventually changed the family name to Gershvin, and still later to Gershwin.
Gershwin, along with his brother, George, was said to have help the American musical find, "its native idiom." Among his best known songs are: Someone to Watch Over Me, I Got Rhythm, and They Can't Take That Away From Me. He also wrote the libretto for his brother's Opera Porgy and Bess. Ira Gershwin died on August 17, 1983 in Beverly Hills, California, and was interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. On this day, December 5th, in 1876, the Brooklyn Theater Fire kills at least 278 people in Brooklyn, New York.
The Brooklyn Theater opened its doors on October 2, in 1871, and was easily accessed via ferries from Manhattan, and by Brooklyn residents alike. It was located just north of where the Brooklyn Supreme Court building is now located, on Cadman Plaza. On the night of the fire, the theater was presenting The Two Orphans, an adaptation of the French play, Les Deux Orphelines, by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon. The managers of the theater, Albert M. Palmer, and Sheridan Shook, were known for their adaptations of French plays, which they also presented at the Union Square Theatre. Approximately 400 people had been admitted to the Family circle (the cheap seats), 360 people had purchased tickets for the dress circle, and another 250 people had tickets for the parquet and the parquet circle, making a rough total of over 1000 people in attendance. The play went without a snag, although patrons heard what sounded like a brawl behind the curtain during the intermission between the fourth and fifth act a little after 11:00 PM. As preparations for the final act were underway, around 11:20, the stage manager, J. W. Thorpe, noticed a small flame on the left side of the stage. It appeared that a drop hanging above the stage had partially detached and was ignited by a border lamp. The usual fire abatement equipment was present, but was not readily available, with scenery in front of the fire hose. In the meantime, the final act opened, and the actors continued their performance. Eventually, flaming debris started to fall, spreading the fire backstage. Smoke started to be seen by the audience, and flames started to appear. Eventually smoldering debris started to fall on the stage, and the performance effectively ended as actors fell out of character. The actors attempted to minimize the fire to the audience, and urged an orderly exit, but to no avail, the audience panicked. The Family circle had it the worst. There was apparently only one staircase out of the family circle, and high temperatures and smoke quickly overcame the occupants of those seats. In the end, the coroner reported 283 fatalities, though the exact number has never been determined, with numbers as high as 300 and the memorial in Greenwood Cemetery indicating 278. The Cemetery is the location of the interment of 103 unidentified victims of a common grave marked by an obelisk near the 5th avenue entrance. Other identified victims were interred individually. The Brooklyn Theatre Fire is the third most fatal fire occurring in theaters or other public assembly buildings. On this day, December 4th, 1918, "Art" Carney is born in Mount Vernon, New York. He is best known for playing Ed Norton in The Honeymooners, Jackie Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden's best friend. The Honeymooners was also the first sitcom about working class families living in Brooklyn. Carney also won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Harry and Tonto. On this day, December 4th, 1783, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell at Fraunces Tavern in New York City. Fraunces Tavern is located at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street in lower manhattan. It is a tavern, restaurant and museum. The building played a prominent role in American Revolution history and has been owned by the Sons of the Revolution and the State of New York since 1904. The Sons of the Revolution claim it is Manhattan's oldest surviving building. On this day, December 3rd, 1960, the musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theater on Broadway in NYC. The musical would become associated with the Kennedy administration. The era of the Kennedy administration is sometimes referred to as the Camelot era due to its glamourous, media culture image. Camelot ran for 873 performances and won four Tony awards during its extended run on Broadway. On this day, December 2nd, 1939 New York City's La Guardia Airport opens. La Guardia is the busiest airport in the United States without any non-stop flights to Europe. The airport was originally named after aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss and later renamed North Beach Airport. In 1953 after reconstruction it was named after Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York. |
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