he had scarcely finished the first sentence, when some potatoes struck the stage at his feet; then rotten eggs, breaking and spattering their sickening contents over his royal robes; while howls that seemed to come from the lower regions arose on every side. It was Pandemonium broke loose, and those in the boxes, thoroughly alarmed, jumped to their feet and stood as if paralyzed, gazing on the strange spectacle below.The next attempted performance on May 10th gave birth to the Astor Place Riot. A crowd of at least 10,000 people gathered outside the opera house in protest. The militia was called in to quell the crowd; the crowd pelted the militia with paving stones. The militia opened fire into the crowd, killing at least 22. Macready had, of course, been playing the title character in The Scottish Play.
He made his school free for the working classes. He took the revolutionary step of opening the school to women as well as men. There was no color bar at Cooper Union. Cooper demanded only a willingness to learn and a commitment to excellence, and in this he manifestly succeeded.Today, Cooper Union is one of the most selective schools in the United States, with an 8.4% acceptance rate; to this day Cooper Union has given every student a full tuition scholarship.
A beaver skin could be bought from the trappers in western New York for one dollar and sold in London for six dollars and a quarter. By investing this amount in English manufactures, the six dollars and a quarter received for the skin could be made to produce ten dollars paid for the English goods in New York.Also, I like this story:
So plain was his style of living that, before he became generally known as a wealthy man, a bank clerk once superciliously informed him that his indorsement of a note would not be sufficient, as it was not likely he would be able to pay it in case the bank should be forced to call upon him.posted by exogenous at 10:52 AM on December 20, 2011
"Indeed," said Mr. Astor, "how much do you suppose I am worth?"
The clerk named a moderate amount, at which the merchant smiled quietly.
"Would the indorsement of Mr. ——, or Mr. ——, be sufficient?" asked Mr. Astor, naming several well-known merchants who lived in great style.
"Entirely sufficient," was the reply. "Each one of them is known to be wealthy."
"How much do you think each is worth?"
The clerk named large sums in connection with each of the gentlemen.
"Well, my friend," said the merchant, "I am worth more than any of them. I will not tell you how much I am worth, but it is more than any sum you have named."
The clerk looked at him in surprise, and then said, bluntly, "Then you are a greater fool than I took you for, to work as hard as you do."
Mr. Astor was very fond of telling this story, which he regarded as one of the best jokes of the day.
Pretty sure he was making a "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" joke. Is that song just a regional thing? Everyone knew it where I grew up, in New England.crunchland: His name is my name, too.fairmettle: John Jacob "Crunchland" Astor
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posted by etc. at 10:33 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]