At 2:35 on the afternoon of October 27, 1904, New York City Mayor George McClellan takes the controls on the inaugural run of the city's innovative new rapid transit system: the subway.
While London boasts the world's oldest underground train network (opened in 1863) and Boston built the first subway in the United States in 1897, the New York City subway soon became the largest American system. The first line, operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), traveled 9.1 miles through 28 stations. Running from City Hall in lower Manhattan to Grand Central Terminal in midtown, and then heading west along 42nd Street to Times Square, the line finished by zipping north, all the way to 145th Street and Broadway in Harlem. On opening day, Mayor McClellan so enjoyed his stint as engineer that he stayed at the controls all the way from City Hall to 103rd Street.
At 7 p.m. that evening, the subway opened to the general public, and more than 100,000 people paid a nickel each to take their first ride under Manhattan. IRT service expanded to the Bronx in 1905, to Brooklyn in 1908 and to Queens in 1915. Since 1968, the subway has been controlled by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA). The system now has 26 lines and 468 stations in operation; the longest line, the 8th Avenue "A" Express train, stretches more than 32 miles, from the northern tip of Manhattan to the far southeast corner of Queens.
Every day, some 4.5 million passengers take the subway in New York. With the exception of the PATH train connecting New York with New Jersey and some parts of Chicago's elevated train system, New York's subway is the only rapid transit system in the world that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No matter how crowded or dirty, the subway is one New York City institution few New Yorkersâ€"or touristsâ€"could do without.
American Revolution
1775 : King George III speaks to Parliament of American rebellion
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-george-iii-speaks-to-parliament-of-american-rebellion
Automotive
2006 : Chick-fil-A founder takes last Ford Taurus
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chick-fil-a-founder-takes-last-ford-taurus
Civil War
1864 : Yankees are turned back at the Battle of Hatcher's Run
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-hatchers-run-burgess-mill
Cold War
1962 : The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-states-and-soviet-union-step-back-from-brink-of-nuclear-war
Crime
1940 : Mafia boss John Gotti is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mafia-boss-john-gotti-is-born
Disaster
1995 : Avalanche buries homes in Iceland
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/avalanche-buries-homes-in-iceland
General Interest
1659 : Quakers executed for religious beliefs
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quakers-executed-for-religious-beliefs
1858 : Teddy Roosevelt born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/teddy-roosevelt-born
1914 : Dylan Thomas born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dylan-thomas-born
1994 : U.S. prison population exceeds one million
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-prison-population-exceeds-one-million
Hollywood
1924 : Actress Ruby Dee born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/actress-ruby-dee-born
Literary
1932 : Sylvia Plath is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sylvia-plath-is-born
Music
1970 : Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber release Jesus Christ Superstar
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tim-rice-and-andrew-lloyd-webber-release-jesus-christ-superstar
Old West
1873 : Joseph Glidden applies for a patent on his barbed wire design
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joseph-glidden-applies-for-a-patent-on-his-barbed-wire-design
Presidential
1858 : Theodore Roosevelt is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/theodore-roosevelt-is-born
Sports
2004 : Red Sox win first championship since 1918
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/red-sox-win-first-championship-since-1918
Vietnam War
1966 : Ambassador Harriman sent to explain Manila offer
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ambassador-harriman-sent-to-explain-manila-offer
1971 : Cambodian troops battle Communists north of Phnom Penh
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cambodian-troops-battle-communists-north-of-phnom-penh
World War I
1918 : German general Erich Ludendorff resigns
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/german-general-erich-ludendorff-resigns
World War II
1940 : De Gaulle sets up the Empire Defense Council
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/de-gaulle-sets-up-the-empire-defense-council
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