New York City timeline
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P. T. Barnum Begins Career As Showman
In 1835 P. T. Barnum began as a showman with his purchase and exhibition of a blind and almost completely paralyzed slave woman, Joice Heth,... Read more
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The Great Moon Hoax
During the final week of August 1835, a long article appeared in serial form on the front page of the New York Sun. It bore the headline: GREAT... Read more
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P. T. Barnum Purchases Scudder's American Museum
In 1841 Barnum bought Scudder’s American Museum located across from St. Paul’s on the southeast corner of Broadway and Ann Street. He transformed... Read more
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Charles Sherwood Stratton, aka 'General Tom Thumb' Performs at Barnum's American Museum
Visiting his home state of Connecticut on a cold November night in 1842, the great showman Phineas T. Barnum thought to track down an amazingly... Read more
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P. T. Barnum Arranges American Tour of Swedish Opera Star, Jenny Lind
By 1849, when Lind was in the midst of her third triumphant London season, P. T. Barnum had become aware of her success and the large audiences she... Read more
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The Panic of 1857
The major financial catalyst for the panic of 1857 was the August 24, 1857, failure of the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust... Read more
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Theodore Roosevelt is Born
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in a four-story brownstone at 28 East 20th Street, in the modern-day Gramercy section of New York... Read more
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Conjoined Twins Chang And Eng Bunker Appear At Barnum's American Museum
Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins from Siam (now Thailand), came to the U.S. in 1829 and toured the nation and the world over the next four... Read more
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William Henry Johnson, aka 'Zip the Pinhead' Begins Performing at Barnum's American Museum
William Henry Johnson was born to a very poor African-American family. His parents were William and Mahalia Johnson, former slaves. As he grew his... Read more
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Anna Haining Swan Appears at Barnum's American Museum
Anna Haining Bates, born Anna Haining Swan (August 6, 1846 – August 5, 1888), was a Canadian from Mill Brook, New Annan, (near present-day... Read more
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Isaac W. Sprague, aka 'The Original Living Skeleton' Begins Performing at Barnum's American Museum
Isaac W. Sprague (May 21, 1841, in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts - January 5, 1887, in Chicago, Illinois) was a famous "human... Read more
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Barnum's American Museum Destroyed In Massive Fire
Music has ceased forever in Scudder's balcony, not because of rain but of fire. When Barnum's Museum burned, a few days since, one of the few... Read more
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P. T. Barnum Begins Displaying Cardiff Giant
The Giant was the creation of a New York tobacconist named George Hull. Hull, an atheist, decided to create the giant after an argument with a... Read more
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William Marcy "Boss" Tweed Escapes From Prison
On December 4, 1875, William Marcy "Boss" Tweed, notorious leader of New York City's Democratic political machine, escaped from prison and fled to... Read more
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Arthur James Caley, aka 'The Middlebush Giant' Begins Performing at Barnum's American Museum
Arthur James Caley or Routh Goshen (May 5, 1837 - February 12, 1889) was most commonly known as Colonel Routh Goshen, but this was a stage name... Read more
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Hiram and Barney Davis, aka 'The Wild Men of Borneo' Begin Performing at Barnum's American Museum
The Wild Men of Borneo, Waino and Plutano, were a pair of exceptionally strong dwarf brothers who were most famously associated with P. T. Barnum... Read more
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The First Labor Day Parade
On September 5, 1882, some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City to participate in America's first Labor Day parade. After marching from City... Read more
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Statue Of Liberty Arrives In New York
Construction of the statue began in 1875 in France, and was completed in June 1884. A design patent, for the statue was issued, by the United... Read more
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Carnegie Hall Built
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue... Read more
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Nikola Tesla becomes a citizen of the United States
On 30 July 1891, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States at the age of 35. Tesla established his 35 South Fifth Avenue laboratory in... Read more
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First Immigrants Pass through Ellis Island on way to US Citizenship
On January 1, 1892, a fifteen-year old Irish girl named Annie Moore became the first of the more than twelve million immigrants who would pass... Read more
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Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President of the Board of the NYC Police Commissioners
Roosevelt became president of the board of New York City Police Commissioners in 1895. During his two years in this post, Roosevelt radically... Read more
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Henry Bliss is the First Person Killed in a Motor Vehicle Accident in the United States
H. H. Bliss, a real estate dealer, with offices at 41 Wall Street, and living at 235 West Seventy-fifth Street, was run over last night at Central... Read more
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New York Stock Exchange Building Opened
The new building, located at 18 Broad Street, cost $4 million and opened on April 22, 1903. The trading floor, at 109 x 140 feet (33 x 42.5 m), was... Read more
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Al Capone Expelled From School
Al did quite well in school until the sixth grade when his steady record of B's deteriorated rapidly. At fourteen, he lost his temper at the... Read more