From 1800, when John Adams became the first president to inhabit it,
until 1814, when the British burned it because the Americans had
torched
It was painted white to cover up the fire damage done by the British. It
In the tenth century, in an effort to stop hostilities between their two
countries, the English gave a Scottish king land in
vision that he build a castle on it and live there for a few months every
year. Seven centuries later, with the two nations united under one king,
the land returned to English ownership. In 1829, the
up residence on the land, which by then was known as Scotland Yard.
Most people believe that Chicago got its nickname from its prevailing
winds, but that isn’t the case. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World’s
Columbian Exposition, celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of
America’s discovery. The city’s aggressive promotional campaign for
the event offended the people of New York, whose press nicknamed it
the Windy City to mock its bragging ways. The moniker stuck, but, for-
tunately for Chicago, its original meaning has been forgotten by most.
During the 1940s, Robert Emmerich, who played piano in the Tommy
Dorsey Band, wrote an obscure song called “The Big Apple.” It was
soon forgotten by everyone except legendary reporter Walter
Winchell, who liked the song so much that in his daily column and on
the air he began referring to his beat, New York City, as “The Big
Apple,” and soon, even though Emmerich’s song was long forgotten, its
title became the great city’s nickname.
