1900

Today in History 09/08 (New York City)

Illustration of Peter Stuyvesant in 1664 among residents of New Amsterdam, who are pleading with him not to open fire on the British who have arrived in warships to claim the territory for England (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1664) The Dutch lose New Amsterdam to England and the Duke of York
Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant peacefully hands over control of New Amsterdam, a small settlement at the tip of North America’s Manhattan Island, to the English after realizing he has no support to fight for it. The colony will be renamed New York City in tribute to England’s Duke of York.
The history of New York City has been influenced by the prehistoric geological formation during the last glacial period of the territory that is today New York City. The area was long inhabited by the Lenape; after initial European exploration in the 16th century, the Dutch established New Amsterdam in 1626. In 1664, the English conquered the area and renamed it New York.
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The factorij became a settlement outside Fort Amsterdam. The fort was situated on the strategic southern tip of the island of Manhattan and was meant to defend the fur trade operations of the Dutch West India Company in the North River.

The Fall of New Amsterdam
The Fall of New Amsterdam
wiki/History_of_New_York_City_(prehistory–1664)
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(1664) The Dutch lose New Amsterdam to England and the Duke of York.
Also on this day,

1900 | Deadly hurricane strikes Texas
The Gulf Coast town of Galveston, Texas, is torn apart by 145-mph winds, as a Category 4 hurricane makes landfall. Along with the wind comes catastrophic flooding, and the combination will result in upwards of 12,000 fatalities, making this the deadliest hurricane in US history.
1935 | Louisiana’s populist politician Huey Long brought down in Baton Rouge
Firebrand, brilliant political tactician, and powerful public speaker, Huey Long, US Senator from Louisiana, is famously controversial, and his over-the-top career now ends as an assassin’s bullets hit him in Louisiana’s State Capitol. Long will succumb to his wounds two days later.
1966 | ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes where no show has gone before
Gene Roddenberry pitched his story of 23rd-century interstellar exploration as a sort of outer space Western, and tonight ‘Star Trek’ makes its TV debut. The series will be cancelled just three seasons in, but reruns in syndication prove that the show will live long and prosper.

Today in History 09/08/17

Galveston, Texas, reduced to rubble after being hit by a surprise hurricane, Sept 8, 1900 (© AP)(1900) Deadly hurricane strikes Texas
The Gulf Coast town of Galveston, Texas, is torn apart by 145-mph winds, as a Category 4 hurricane makes landfall. Along with the wind comes catastrophic flooding, and the combination will result in upwards of 12,000 fatalities, making this the deadliest hurricane in US history.
The Great Galveston Hurricane, known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900, was a Category 4 storm, with winds of up to 145 mph, which made landfall on September 8, 1900, in Galveston, Texas, in the United States. It killed 6,000 to 12,000 people, making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Damages: $21 million USD (1900)
Formed: Aug 27, 1900
Dissipated: Sep 17, 1900
Highest winds: 142.92 mph (230 km/h)
Affected areas: Texas · Haiti · Puerto Rico · Dominican Republic · Louisiana · Cuba · Lesser Antilles · New York · Mississippi · Jamaica · Bahamas · Turks and Caicos Islands · Great Lakes region · South Florida · Central United States
Galveston Hurricane (1900)
Galveston Hurricane (1900) SWA

wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane
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Today in History 06/20 (Boxer Rebellion)

Group of armed Boxers in Peking, China, 1900 (© Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)(1900) Anti-foreigner rebellion traps thousands in Peking siege
A long-brewing battle between Chinese nationalists and foreign powers looking to control China’s economy and change its religious landscape erupts into a violent siege when forces of the Boxer Rebellion surround the Legation Quarter of Peking for what will be 55 days of intense battle.
The Siege of the International Legations occurred in the summer of 1900 in Peking, the capital of the Qing Empire, during the Boxer Rebellion. Menaced by the Boxers, an anti-Christian, anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers, marines, and civilians, largely from Europe, Japan, and the United States, and about 2,800 Chinese Christians took refuge in the Peking Legation Quarter. The Qing government took the side of the Boxers. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter survived a 55-day siege by the Qing Army and Boxers. The siege was broken by an international military force which marched from the coast of China, defeated the Qing army, and occupied Peking. The siege was called by the New York Sun “the most exciting episode ever known to civilization.”
Start date: Jun 20, 1900
End date: Aug 14, 1900

Frank Gamewell
Frank Gamewell (second from left, standing) and the “Fighting Parsons” built fortifications to protect the British Legation from Chinese attacks.
wiki/Siege_of_the_International_Legations
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(1900) Anti-foreigner rebellion traps thousands in Peking siege.
Also on this day,
1893 | Jury concludes Lizzie Borden did not take an ax to family
Following a sensational Massachusetts murder trial, Lizzie Borden, 32, is cleared of charges that she killed her father and stepmother with multiple blows from a hatchet. Borden will never shake off the notoriety, however, inspiring a gruesome folk rhyme still sung today.
1947 | Glamour-loving gangster, Bugsy Siegel, shot down in Beverly Hills
A drive-by shooter unloads nine rounds through the front window of a Beverly Hills home, instantly killing notorious gangster Bugsy Siegel. A founder of the small but promising Las Vegas casino scene, the pal of movie stars and moguls, and head of the Mafia’s west coast syndicate, is dead at 41.
1975 | Spielberg’s new film, Jaws, takes a big bite out of the box office
Twenty-nine-year-old Steven Spielberg’s second movie faced myriad production problems, including budget overruns and mechanical snafus in the title character, but ‘Jaws’ makes waves at ticket counters, chewing up previous box office records, and launching the summer blockbuster era.