Here are some of our most famous individuals with January birthdays. Perhaps their spirits are celebrating . . .
January 1, 1819: Tom Hyer, a New York-born bare-knuckled boxer was recognized as the first American Champion after a 101-round victory over Country McCloskey at Caldwell’s Landing New York on September 9, 1841. After taking an almost decade-long hiatus, Hyer next defeated Yankee Sullivan in little more than 17 minutes at Still Pond Creek, Maryland on February 7, 1849. The widely publicized fight won Hyer a $10,000 purse and helped to ignite the sport’s popularity. Here’s a print of that brawl. According to the International Boxing Hall of fame, Hyer was so dominant over his foes, he had immense trouble securing opponents willing to meet him in the ring. Hyer retired in 1851 and died on June 26, 1864.
January 11, 1845: William Donaldson Dickey was presented the Medal of Honor for “most distinguished gallantry in action” at the Battle of Petersburg, Virginia, June 17, 1864. Refusing to leave the battlefield and remaining in command after being wounded by a shell, 19-year-old Dickey led his command in the assault on the enemy the very next day. Born in Newburgh, New York, he rose to the rank of major of the 15th New York Heavy Artillery, Company M. After the war, Dickey attended Albany Law School, clerked in a law office, served as a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1894, and was a justice of the New York Supreme Court, elected as a Republican, from 1900 through 1907. He moved to Brooklyn in 1896, where he lived until his death on May 24, 1924. The Green-Wood Historic Fund has in its collections the bible that Dickey carried with him at the front in Virginia.
January 14, 1841: Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Juliet Corson was a cookbook and cooking school pioneer. A champion of nutritious meals for the poor, Corson began working as a librarian at the Working Women’s Library, where the plight of the poor affected her greatly. Well educated, she supplemented her income by writing for newspapers – eventually she became the only woman writer on staff at National Quarterly Review. In 1873, as a volunteer at the Women’s Educational and Industrial Society of New York, she taught cooking even though she had limited knowledge of the culinary arts. Self-taught, her classes were originally intended to help poorer women, but they attracted the attention of her upper-class acquaintances and press colleagues, who encouraged her to teach, write articles and open her own cooking school. In 1876 she founded the New York Cooking School where she charged tuition on a sliding scale so that no one would be turned away. Her first cookbook, The Cooking School Manual of Practical Directions for Economical Every-day Cookery, published in 1877, set forth guidelines for making “the most wholesome and palatable dishes at the least possible cost.” Among her other well-regard publications are Training Schools of Cookery (1879) and Miss Corson’s Practical American Cookery (1886). She died alone in New York on June 18, 1897.
January 16, 1815: Henry Halleck served as General-in-Chief of all Union Armies during the Civil War where he earned the reputation as an overly cautious commander who preferred thorough preparation over decisive action. Born in New York, he was much-maligned as a military leader. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles said of Halleck, “He originates nothing, anticipates nothing. . . . takes no responsibility, plans nothing, suggests nothing, is good for nothing.” President Lincoln once described Halleck as “little more than a first-rate clerk.” A graduate of West Point (1839) Halleck was also an expert in the French military. His writings included: Report on the Means of National Defense, Elements of Military Art and Science, and a translation of Henri Jomini’s Vie Politique et Militaire de Napoleon. Prior to the Civil War, he was a successful lawyer in San Francisco and was instrumental in framing the state’s constitution and in its bid for statehood. He died in Louisville, Kentucky in January 9, 1872 while serving as Commander of the Division of the South.
January 18, 1831: Edward Ferrero, dance instructor turned Union Army general, is probably best known for his role in the ill-fated July 30, 1864 charge on the Crater (Petersburg, Virginia) where his division of black troops suffered significant losses. During the devastating battle, Ferrero, along with Brigadier General James Ledlie hid in a shelter drinking a bottle of rum. Born in Grenada, Spain, to Italian parents, Ferrero came to the United States when he was two years old. He began his career as a dance instructor at his father’s fashionable school, and then ran his own school and taught dancing at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1859, he wrote The Art of Dancing, Historically Illustrated. After mustering out of the U.S. Army in August 1865, Ferrero returned home to New York City where he opened Apollo Hall, a world-famous ballroom. Active in Democratic politics, as a Freemason and in veterans’ affairs, he also published a second best-selling book, The History of Dancing, which remains in print today. He retired as one of the country’s foremost dance instructors in May 1899 when he became ill with a variety of ailments. He died in New York on December 11, 1899. Do those look like dancing feet to you?
January 18, 1850: Seth Low is the only person to serve as Mayor of both the City of Brooklyn (1881-1885) and the newly consolidated City of New York (1902-1903). As a leader of the reformers, he fought against rampant bribery of the police, championed the merit-based awarding of municipal franchises, and was the first mayor in New York State to introduce a competitive examination system for appointments to municipal offices. During his mayoralties, he presided over openings of both the and Brooklyn Bridge (1883) and Manhattan Bridge (1909). Among his other significant accomplishments, Low was President of Columbia College from 1890 to 1901 and convinced the trustees to change its name to Columbia University. In 1899 he served was one of the American delegates to attend the International Peace Conference at The Hague. Finally, he served as chairman of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama from 1907 until his death in 1916.
January 24, 1820: Henry Jarvis Raymond founded The New York Times on September 18, 1851, and remained its editor-in-chief until his death. The paper debuted as the New-York Daily Times. With a price of one cent, it was printed in the morning and evening of each weekday, with a weekly Saturday morning edition. No Sunday Times was published until April 21, 1861. The paper reflected Raymond’s personality, emphasizing reason over passion and impartiality over partisanship. Raymond was also active in politics, serving as speaker of the New York State Assembly and lieutenant governor. A founder of the Republican Party and the author of its original statement of principles, he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee during Lincoln’s Administration. He was also elected to Congress in 1865. A close friend to both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, the only book Raymond ever wrote was a biography of Lincoln. He retired from politics in 1867 but worked at the newspaper until his death in New York in 1869. It was Raymond who wrote in his newspaper, just three years before his death: “It is ambition of the New Yorker to live upon Fifth Avenue, to take his airings in the [Central] Park, and to sleep with his fathers in Green-Wood.” His monument at Green-Wood recently was restored.
January 25, 1783: William Colgate, a soap manufacturer, started what is now the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Colgate University was re-named to honor the Colgate family; died in 1857.
January 25, 1813: J. Marion Sims, a surgical pioneer, considered the father of American gynecology; he died in New York November 13, 1883.
January 31, 1948: Paul Jabara, American actor, singer and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry. Jabara wrote Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” and co-wrote “It’s Raining Men,” a big hit for the Weathergirls. He was in the original cast of Broadway’s “Hair” and in the original London production of “Jesus Christ Superstar;” he also starred in the great comedy series “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” He died September 29, 1992.
Thanks to Colleen Roche for her extensive work on this.