April 4th in N.Y.C. History
Posted: Apr 4, 2013 | 12:54 AM
1776: General George Washington arrived to lead rebel Continental Army forces against the British. In July he would read the Declaration of Independence. A few months after that they would attack the British in Long Island / Brooklyn. By Autumn the British evicted the Continental Army from the New York City area. Washington returned to NYC in 1783 to liberate NYC from the British, and he returned in April 1789 to become the first President of the U.S.
We cover this history in Downtown tours, Colonial NYC tours, Financial District tours, Uptown tours, and Washington Heights tours.
1928: Maya Angelou, poet, activist, dancer, actress born elsewhere.
1932: Legendary record producer Clive Davis born in Brooklyn. In 2013 his memoirs were published.
1932: Actor Anthony Perkins born here. He died in 1992.
1968: Terrence Cooke is ordained as Archbishop of New York.
His namesake hospital inspires talk about anti-Catholic discrimination as well as how Catholics and Irish responded to that by developing a parallel social service system that has benefited millions. This is part of Upper East Side tours, and Catholic tours.
1972: Former Harlem Congressman and "Mr. Civil Rights" Adam Clayton Powell died in Miami at 63.
We learn about his remarkable life on Harlem tours.
1973: Born in Brooklyn: David Blaine, illusionist and endurance artist with several world records.
1973: The World Trade Center's Twin Towers opened after almost seven years of construction.
1974: This was NOT part of the official opening ceremonies, but it helped humanize those silent sentinel behemoths.
We experience the audacities, boldness, awe, heinosity, heroism, and inspiration of the original World Trade Center, Ground Zero, the new World Trade Center, and the National 9/11 Memorial on World Trade Center Tours, aka WTC Tours, aka The World Trade Center Tour ©, aka the World Trade Center 360 Tour ©, the Word Trade Center Deep History Tour ©, the World Trade Center Indomitable Spirit Tour ©, and the Heroes of the World Trade Center and its Memorial Tour.
2007: Radio host Don Imus insulted the Rutgers University women's basketball team because he was projecting his prejudices on young women based on his biased interpretations of their appearances. He thought they were thugs. It turned out that they were not just talented ball players, but scholars, many working jobs to put themselves through school. Educated, working, and playing top level sports: these are the cream of the crop. It is difficult to do any one of these things. He was later fired by CBS Radio and cable network MSNBC.
He got rehired.
In February or March 2013 I was doing a Central Park tour near Strawberry Fields. Don Imus' husklike visage peered from his luxury SUV's window after enjoying the park's transverse views. He looked bitter and on-edge seeing me, projecting my thoughts onto him. His window rolled up.
I shared with my group my sighting. They didn't know who he was.
I saw Larry David and Yoko Ono around there, too, over the years. Larry David was on edge and Yoko was equaninimous both times I saw her in Central Park.