January 13th in NYC History
Posted: Jan 13, 2013 | 1:58 AM
1864: Great American composer Stephen Collins Foster, famous for songs including "Oh! Susanna," "My Old Kentucky Home," and "Camptown Races," died in the charity ward of Bellevue Hospital days after completing another hit, "Beautiful Dreamer."
1910: The first opera broadcast was Enrico Caruso singing Cavalleria Rusticana with the Metropolitan via the De Forest Radio Telephone Company.
1922: Gene Tunney of NY wins the American light heavyweight championship against "Battling Levinsky" (Barney Lebrowitz) after 12 rounds.
1939: The owner of the Yankees (1915-1939, great years) who started the sports' greatest dynasty, Colonel Jacob Ruppert died in NYC age 71.
1942: NYC's quickest knockout: 11 seconds in the first round in Brooklyn with Joe Jakes flooring Al Forman.
1950: Soviets boycott the UN Security Council over admitting Nationalist China (Formosa/Taiwan) over Communist mainland China.
1952: Geoffrey Canada, founder of Harlem Children's Zone - a national model in 20 cities, and writer, born. We see at least one Children's Zone facilities on Harlem walking tours.
1959: The Cold War thaws when Krushchev's deputy visits the United Nations, the Financial District, and Macy's. He declared that Americans want peace.
1961: Actress and C0medienne Julia Louis-Dreyfus of "Seinfeld," "the New Adventures of Old Christine," and "Saturday Night Live" celebrates her birthday.
1976: The Metropolitan Opera's first woman conductor, Sarah Caldwell led Verdi's La Traviata.
1978: The Yankees manager who led them to 7 World Series Champions, four of them in a row, and 8 pennants, Joe McCarthy died in Buffalo at 90.
1987: LT, Lawrence Taylor named NFL MVP, very rare for a defense player.
1989: Subway viglilante shooter Bernhard "Bernie" Goetz sentenced to a year in prison for possessing an unlicensed gun that he used against four youths he said were about to rob him.
He served 8 months. More about Bernie Goetz here.
2002: Off-Broadway musical "The Fantasticks" ended nearly a 42 year run of 17,162 performances. Mostly at the Sullivan Street Playhouse. Some of the children of the stars grew up performing their parents' roles.