Henry Hudson Comes to America

You might find the History Channel's reenactments of various moments of history scary, creepy, or trippy (the Barbarians series was off the hook), but they are definitely informative. This week, the HC is tackling the Conquest of America, with appearances by Bering, Coranado, and more, but Gothamist is most interested in an Englishman named Henry Hudson whose extensive travels in our part of the country have made sure that the estuary we know as the Hudson River was named after him. Little did Hudson know that people would be swimming his namesake hundreds of years later to prove it was polluted. The Henry Hudson segment runs tomorrow night at 9PM on the History Channel, which isn't great in Gothamist's book because it's when Veronica Mars comes back with a BRAND NEW EPISODE, but it'll repeat over the weekend.

Information about the Henry Hudson Parkway and towns in the Hudson River Valley. Gothamist forgot there was a Henry Hudson Bridge, and we love the Russell Shorto book, The Island at the Center of the World, about NYC's Dutch origins. And the Manhattan Island Swim is July 29 this year, and, yes, that includes the East River.

Photo of Henry Hudson from the History Channel