On October 23

On this day in ...
... 1915 (95 years ago), "armies of suffrage from all the five boroughs" marched down New York's 5th Avenue in support of granting U.S. women the right to vote. (photo credit) The tens of thousands of demonstrators at the hours-long parade, The New York Times reported, "included men and women of all ages, from veterans in their seventies to babies pushed along in gocarts." Another 8,000 women and men marched in Philadelphia. It would be another 5 years before the marchers' wishes were granted by dint of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

(Prior October 23 posts are here, here, and here.)

On August 6

On this day in ...
... 1890 (120 years ago today), at New York's Auburn prison (left), in an "awful spectacle" that the next-day New York Times proclaimed "FAR WORSE THAN HANGING," convicted murderer William Kemmler became the 1st person ever executed by electrocution. (credit for 1901 photo) Two jolts of electricity -- the 1st lasting 17 seconds, the 2d much longer -- were required to complete the grisly event detailed in The Times. The execution took place after the failure of bids to declare the electric chair unconstitutional.

(Prior August 6 posts are here, here, and here.)

On June 16

On this day in ...
... 1884, the United States' 1st roller coaster (right) began to "hurtl[e] passengers down an undulating 600-foot-long track at speeds of up to a blistering 6 mph" at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. (image credit) "Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, ... cost a nickel to ride." Within decades hundreds of roller coasters could be found at amusement parks around the country.

(Prior June 16 posts are here, here, and here.)

On this day

On February 19, ...
... 1674, England and the Netherlands concluded the Treaty of Westminster, which brought to an end a 2-year-old Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a result of this treaty, the North American province that the Dutch had called New Netherland (right) was returned to the British and renamed New York.
... 1918 (90 years ago today), the Central Executive Committee issued a Soviet decree banning private property. The 1st 2 articles of the law stated:

Article 1. All private ownership of land, minerals, waters, forests, and natural resources within the boundaries of the Russian Federated Soviet Republic is abolished forever.
Article 2. Henceforth all the land is handed over without compensation (open or secret) to the toiling masses for their use.

... 1948 (60 years ago today), U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina.