September 20th in NYC History - 2 Depressions deflating and inspiring, Billie Jean King wins the Battle of the Sexes,
Posted: Sep 20, 2012 | 12:40 AM
by Jared Goldstein
1873: The New York Stock Exchange suspends trading for 10 days following a bank failure, sparking a severe five-year Depression, blunting the post-war boom.
This Depression delayed New York City's construction of the Statue of Liberty for ten years.
1947: Fiorello LaGuardia, three-term mayor who inspired New Yorkers during the Great Depression, who reformed politics, modernized slums and transportation, pioneered public housing, who used mass media, died at home in the Bronx.
LaGuardia inspired a generation of children, now in their eighties, my father included, during the newspaper strike by reading the funnies over the radio.
Did you know: that LaGuardia was NYC's first Jewish and Italian Mayor; that LaGuardia, master of many languages, worked at Ellis Island as a youth?
1973: Billie Jean King, part-time New-Yorker, wins the 'Battle of the Sexes,' beating tennis champion, impresario and hustler Bobbie Riggs in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in a $100,000 winner-take-all tennis match, which raised the profile of women's sports. Despite the hype, King and Riggs grew close decades later.