gwmain June 8: On this date in 1865, Mollie Fancher was severely injured when her skirt became entangled as she tried to climb down from a Brooklyn streetcar and she was dragged along the street; she would go into a 9-year coma, come out of it, and survive in her bed for 50 years, becoming known as “The Psychic Marvel” and “The Brooklyn Enigma.”
June 7: John Brougham, actor, producer, theatre-owner, and dramatist, died on this date in 1880 at the age of 66.
June 6: On this date in 1896, Norwegian immigrants George Harbo (left) and Frank Samuelsen (right) left New York City to row across the Atlantic Ocean; 55 days later, hungry and exhausted, they completed their voyage in their 18-foot boat, becoming the first to row the 3000 miles across that body of water.
June 5: In 1841, just three years after its founding, the Green-Wood Cemetery on this date formed a committee to draw up its “Rules and Regulations.”
June 4: Alexander Ector Orr, who was the president of the Rapid Transit Board when New York City’s first subway opened in 1904, died on this date in 1914.
June 3: “Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888,” a baseball poem by Ernest Thayer, was first published on this date in that year. It was popularized by DeWolf Hopper , who estimated he gave 10,000 dramatic performances of it.
June 2: On this date in 1866, the Fenians, led by General Thomas Sweeny, invaded Canada, hoping to hold it as leverage for Irish independence, but were defeated at the Battle of Erie.
June 1: The musical “Chicago,” lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander, opened at the 46th Street Theater on this date in 1975.
May 31: Bethesda Fountain, by sculptor Emma Stebbins, was dedicated in Central Park on this date in 1873.
May 30: The tuxedo, designed by Pierre Lorillard IV, made its debut at the opening of the Tuxedo Club on this date in 1886.