January 4th in NYC History
Posted: Jan 4, 2013 | 2:39 AM
by Jared Goldstein
1821: Elizabeth Ann Seton goes to heaven. Born in 1774, Sainted in 1975, the First American-born Saint. On Downtown Tours we see the Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton, as well as St Peter's Church where she had her miraculous vision.
1877: Railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt died, leaving an estate of more than $100 million. Vanderbilt had built the New York Central Railroad and Grand Central Terminal. I like to share stories of 'the Commodore' on my tours of Grand Central Terminal, which he built, and tours of Staten Island Ferry, which he founded.
1936: Billboard Magazine (founded 1894 in NYC), published the first pop music chart based on record sales. This signaled the transformation of popular music from sheet music performed on pianos.
1944: Ralph Bunche becemees the first African-American in the U.S. State Department, when he joins the staff as a territorial studies expert.