science · 13 April 1796 · 228 years ago
In 1796, the first elephant brought to the U.S. arrived at New York City from Bengal, India. She was exhibited by Jacob Crowninshield at the corner of Beaver Street and Broadway. The elephant was two years old and 6-1/2 feet high, and had behaviour described as, "It eats thirty pounds of rice besides hay and straw - drinks all kinds of wine and spiritous liquors, and eats every kind of vegetable; it will also draw a cork from a bottle in its trunk." The event was recorded by the New York Argus published on 23 Apr 1796.
OnThisDay.net