Professor Hamilton's Diary: Dec. 23, 1935

He and Margaret go into the city; the Lindbergh family escapes to England

Both Hamiltons went to New York City today, but apparently they did so separately. He went to Columbia University to consult with his thesis advisor and meet with an editor at the Columbia University Press about his forthcoming book on New York printers and newspaper publishers, after which he took a lunch break. “Then I looked up some things in the library,” he wrote. Margaret met up with him at 4:30 and they drove back to Bronxville together.

No down time for Professor Hamilton! He is always working on his academic research.

I wonder if he picked up a copy of The New York Times to read over lunch? If so, he saw that aviator Charles Lindbergh and his family had sailed for England to escape the publicity that had hounded them since their toddler son’s kidnapping and murder in 1932. Bruno Hauptmann had been convicted of the killing February 13, 1935 and would be executed on April 3, 1936, having exhausted all his appeals.

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Don’t you want to know what happened to Hamilton daughters Gwennie and Mary Elizabeth after they grew up? Alas, only paid subscribers will know when I share their story on Dec. 27. Give yourself a Christmas gift and sign up today for just $5 a month or $50 a year. That way you will also be ready to enjoy the diaries of Mrs. Ross, a Washington, D.C. matron writing about the early days of World War II; Walter E. Askew, chief of police in Newnan, Ga. in 1930; and Myra Jackson, a young farm wife and mother living in Petrey, Alabama in 1932. For various reasons, these diaries are incomplete, but each provides fascinating insights into America during those turbulent years. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts!

The undated snapshot of the Lindberghs in front of a small plane is being offered by a dealer on eBay.