On this day in 1896, Dr. Walter G. Frey and George E. Clay obtained a charter from the New York State Board of Regents for the Long Island City Public Library.
One hundred twenty five years later, Queens Public Library is one of the largest and busiest public library systems in the U.S., consisting of 66 locations that provide free access to knowledge, information, and lifelong learning opportunities in the most diverse place in the country.
That got us thinking: what else happened on this day in history?
- Queens Public Library shares a birthday with Wyatt Earp (1848), William Jennings Bryan (1860), Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren (1891), Philip Roth (1933), Ursula Andress (1936), Glenn Close (1947), and Bruce Willis (1955).
- On March 19, 1911, the first International Women's Day was observed, with over a million people attending rallies in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.
- On March 19, 1915, Pluto was photographed for the first time.
- On March 19, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Standard Time Act, which established time zones in the United States and started the practice of Daylight Saving Time.
- Herman Wouk's novel The Caine Mutiny was first published on March 19, 1951.
- The Academy Awards were first broadcast on television on March 19, 1953.
Our South Jamaica branch holds a Story Book Hour on March 19, 1964.
- On March 19, 1994, the largest omelette in the world (at the time) was made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama, Japan.
- On March 19, 1995, Michael Jordan ended his first retirement from basketball and rejoined the Chicago Bulls.
The Francis Lewis High School Marching Band march past Central Library in Jamaica to celebrate QPL’s 100th anniversary on March 19, 1996.