The Statue of Liberty National Monument was dedicated in New York Harbor on this date in 1886. President Grover Cleveland (he was a former New York State governor) was among the dignitaries.

The huge statue, a gift from France, was hidden behind an enormous cloth, and a signal was to be given when the final speech was done to drop the cloth and reveal the work. The last speaker, U.S. Senator William Evarts, had been on the committee that raised funds to build the pedestal for the statue. He paused in the middle of the speech, and this was interpreted as the end, so the signal was given, and the veil was dropped. With that, guns were fired from hips in the harbor for the next 30 minutes, and Sen. Evarts sat down.
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Ben E. King recorded “Spanish Harlem” in a session held in New York City on this date in 1960, and when he and his producers noticed that they still had time booked in the studio for the day, they asked him if he had anything else.

Indeed. He had part of a song, so he and the producers Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller finished writing it, and then he recorded it: “Stand By Me.”

In 2012, Mike Stoller recounted the moment for JazzWax online:

Ben E. had the beginnings of a song—both words and music. He worked on the lyrics together with Jerry, and I added elements to the music, particularly the bass line. To some degree, it’s based on a gospel song called Lord Stand By Me. I have a feeling that Jerry and Ben E. were inspired by it. Ben, of course, had a strong background in church music. He’s a 50% writer on the song, and Jerry and I are 25% each.

The song, as released in 1961 (after the jump):
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The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (more correctly, the gunfight several doors down from the O.K. Corral) took place 135 years ago on this date in Tombstone, Arizona Territory.

The local marshal, Virgil Earp, and his two brothers, Morgan and Wyatt Earp—who were both a part of the police force—along with a temporary officer, Doc Holliday, faced a gang that had become the bane of the Earp family’s existence in Tombstone. The members of the gang called their group the Cowboys. The Cowboys involved in the shootout were Tom and Frank McLaury, Billy and Ike Clanton, and Billy Claiborne.
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