Schenectady

General Electric Research Laboratory, the first industrial research facility in the United States, was established in 1900. This lab was home to the... early technological breakthroughs of General Electric and created a research and development environment that set the standard for industrial innovation for years to come. It developed into the GE Global Research lab that now covers an array of technological research, ranging from healthcare to transportation systems. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Founded in 1900 by Thomas Edison, Willis R. Whitney, and Charles Steinmetz, this lab defined industrial research for years to come. Elihu Thomson, one of the founding members of the laboratory, summed up the goal of the lab saying, “It does seem to me therefore that a Company as large as the General Electric Company, should not fail to continue investing and developing in new fields: there should, in fact, be a research laboratory for commercial applications of new principles, and even for the discovery of those principles." Furthermore, Edwin W. Rice, founding vice president, said they wanted to “establish a laboratory to be devoted exclusively to original research.
more

The Nott Memorial is an elaborate 16-sided stone-masonry building which serves as both architectural and physical centerpiece of Union College in... Schenectady, New York. Dedicated to Eliphalet Nott, president of Union for a remarkable sixty-two years , the 110-foot high by 89-foot wide structure is a National Historic Landmark. Officially designated Nott Memorial Hall but referred to by generations of students and faculty simply as "The Nott", the building's centrality and initial design trace back to Josef Ramee's 1813 conception of the school grounds, the first planned college campus in the United States. The Memorial was designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter, architect of area churches and homes, alumnus of the college, and grandson of President Nott. Construction began in 1858 and was completed in 1879. The result is one of very few 16-sided buildings in the world. For nearly a century the Nott was mostly open inside. In 1961 the college moved its bookstore into the basement and configured the first two floors into theater in the round. The upper floors were eventually closed off and fell into disrepair.
more

Franklin School is a historic school located at Schenectady in Schenectady County, New York. It was built in 1907 and is a two story, red brick "H"... shaped institutional building in the Georgian Revival style. It is trimmed with yellow brick and stone. There are massive yellow brick pilasters at the corner of the pavilions and recessed rectangular panels. It operated as a school by the Schenectady City School District until 1974. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
more

A suspension bridge in wood . The bridge was 900' long and divided into 4 spans which deflected so much it had to have extra piers added and was demolished in 1873.

Happy Rhodes is an American singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and electronic musician with a four-octave vocal range. She has released 11 albums... since 1986. Born Kimberley Tyler Rhodes but called "Happy" since infancy, she legally changed her name to Happy Tyler Rhodes at age 16. Through her father, Vernon H. Rhodes Jr., Rhodes is a distant relative of Cecil Rhodes and her first name "Kimberley" is after the Kimberley diamond mines. Her middle name "Tyler" is after the American actress Mary Tyler Moore, who was a friend of Rhodes' mother, Susan D. Stamper, while both took dance classes at the New York City Ballet. Rhodes' maternal grandfather Dave Stamper wrote songs for the Ziegfeld Follies of 1913 through 1931, as well as composing the music for several other Broadway shows. A family legend claims that Stamper wrote the well-known song "Shine On, Harvest Moon" in 1903 for Nora Bayes when he was working as her Vaudeville piano accompanist, but sold the rights and credit to Bayes and her husband Jack Norworth. Rhodes' parents divorced when she was young. Rhodes has two brothers who are twins.
more

Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart,... and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the English National Opera and Welsh National Opera and was the first Australian chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Charles was born in Schenectady, New York, to Australian parents, Alan Mackerras and Catherine MacLaurin. His father was an electrical engineer and a Quaker. In 1928, when Charles was aged three, the family moved to Sydney, Australia. They initially lived in the suburb of Vaucluse, and in 1933, moved to the then semi-rural suburb of Turramurra. Mackerras was the eldest of their seven children, including five brothers, the others being Malcolm, Colin, Alastair and Neil and two sisters, Joan and Elisabeth. They are descendants of the pioneer Australian musician Isaac Nathan. Mackerras studied violin at the age of seven and later the flute and was setting poems to music at eight, and wrote a piano concerto when he was 12.
more

Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action,... drama, and thriller films. During the 1980s, Rourke starred in Diner, Rumble Fish, and the erotic drama 9½ Weeks, and received critical praise for his work in Barfly and Angel Heart. In 1991, Rourke, who had trained as a boxer in his early years, left acting and became a professional boxer for a period. He had supporting roles in several later films, including The Rainmaker, Buffalo '66, The Pledge, Get Carter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire. In 2005, Rourke made his comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role in Sin City, for which he won awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Irish Film and Television Awards and the Online Film Critics Society. In the 2008 film The Wrestler, Rourke portrayed a past-his-prime wrestler, and received a 2009 Golden Globe award, a BAFTA award, and a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2010, he appeared in the blockbusters Iron Man 2 and The Expendables. Philip Andre Rourke, Jr.
more

David Cunningham "Dave" Garroway was the founding host of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a battle with... depression. He has been honored for his contributions to radio and television with a star for each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the city where he spent part of his teenage years and early adulthood. Born in Schenectady, New York, Garroway was 14 and had moved with his family 13 times before settling in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended University City High School and Washington University in St. Louis, from which he earned a degree in abnormal psychology. Before going into broadcasting, Garroway worked as a Harvard University lab assistant, as a book salesman, and as a piston ring salesman. After not being able to successfully sell either, Garroway decided to try his hand in radio. Garroway began his broadcasting career modestly. Starting at NBC as an page in 1938, he went on to graduate 23rd in a class of 24 from NBC's school for announcers. Following graduation, he landed a job at Pittsburgh radio station KDKA in 1939.
more

Jessica Collins is an American actress. Collins was born Jessica Lynn Capogna in Schenectady, New York. She attended Amsterdam High School in... Amsterdam, New York. In 1988, she won the title Miss New York Teen USA and was the first runner up for the Miss Teen USA Pageant in that same year. She played Meredith Davies on the Fox Network's Tru Calling, and also Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera Loving. Collins portrayed Lauren in the upcoming Lionsgate thriller film Open House. She is currently portraying the role of attorney Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. On November 2, 1996, Collins married Robert Tyler, divorcing him in February 2002.
more

Amir Davidson is an American musician. He is currently guitar and synthesizer player for the band Julien-k and guitar player for the band Dead by... Sunrise. He was once a guitar/synthesizer player in the band Orgy and has played guitar in the bands Rough Cutt and Jailhouse. After graduating in 1981 from Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California, Derakh played lead guitar for local bands Armed & Ready and Emerald. He moved to Los Angeles to replace Craig Goldy in Rough Cutt. He made a guest appearance on Crazy Town's The Gift of Game album. Julien-K released a remix of Chester Bennington's solo song "The Morning After" which appeared exclusively on the soundtrack for the 2006 film Underworld: Evolution. Derakh describes the sound of Julien-K as Depeche Mode meets Chemical Brothers. Derakh performed backing for Chester Bennington when he performed his song "Let Down" during 2005's ReAct Now: Music & Relief televised concert. He also made an appearance in the 2003 version of the film Freaky Friday and has worked with many other bands, including Coal Chamber and Red Tape.
more

Harold V. Goldstein , best known by his stage name Harold Gould, was an American actor best known for playing Miles Webber on the 1985-1992 sitcom... The Golden Girls and Martin Morgenstern in the 1970s sitcom Rhoda. Gould acted in film and television for nearly 50 years, appearing in more than 300 television shows, 20 major motion pictures, and over 100 stage plays, and received Emmy Award nominations five times. He is known for playing elegant, well-dressed men , and he regularly played Jewish characters and grandfather-type figures on television and film. Gould was born to a Jewish family in Schenectady, New York to Louis and Lillian Goldstein. Louis was a postal worker, and Lillian was a homemaker who did part-time work for the state health department. Gould was raised in Colonie, New York and was valedictorian of his high school class. He enrolled at Albany Teachers College upon graduation , and studied to become a social studies or English teacher. After two years in college, Gould enlisted in the army, during World War II, and saw combat in France in a mortar company.
more