December 26th in NYC History
Great Snow Storm
Posted: Dec 26, 2012 | 12:30 AM
by Jared Goldstein
1891: Henry Miller, "a Brooklyn boy, a city man through and through," and author of the long-banned "Tropic of Cancer," born. When he became serious about writing, he quit his job and sold his poems door-to-door. He died in 1980.
1909: Frederic Remington, artist of the dying old west, died.
1921: Prolific entertainment great Steve Allen born in NYC.
1933: Caroll Spinney, Actor, Big Bird on "Sesame Street" born.
1933: Edwin Armstrong patents FM Frequency Modulation wideband radio, which improved greatly improved the sound of radio over AM. Huge corporations tied him up in patent and FCC suits for decades, including RCA/NBC/GE's David Sarnoff, who had an empire of AM stations. FM was not to be widely adopted until about 40 years after its invention. Columbia's jazz station WKCR was the first such station.
1939: Phil Spector, recording producer and songwriter born in the Bronx. He was convicted of murder.
1947: New York's greatest snowfall began, accumulating 26 inches (35 cm) in 16 hours, killing 80.
1947: During this great snowstorm traffic, buses, and streetcars were cancelled, so
over ten thousand NYC tennis fans walked through deep snow to MSG to witness Bobby Riggs' victory over Jack Kramer.
1956: David Sedaris, writer and performer, born in NYS, ironically, during christmas season. His hilarious deadpan depiction of not being a cheerful Santa Land elf at Macy's made his career. Yet another miracle on 34th St.