Today in History for Aug. 25, 2014

Truman Capote

Aug. 25, 1823 – Samuel McColl was commissioned for his first of three consecutive terms as Monroe County’s Circuit Court Clerk. He would be commissioned twice more – in September 1831 and August 1835.

Aug. 25, 1824 – During his extended tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in Cambridge, Mass. During the following days he visited former President John Adams at the latter's estate, Peacefield, in Quincy, Mass.

Aug. 25, 1864 – During the Civil War, at the Second Battle of Ream’s Station, Va., Confederate troops secured a vital supply line into Petersburg, Va., when they halted destruction of the Weldon and Petersburg Railroad by Union troops.

Aug. 25, 1884 – John Burns was commissioned for his second term as Monroe County Sheriff.

Aug. 25, 1890 – Army Private Charles Frances McDonald Jr. of Monroeville was born to Charles Frances McDonald Sr. and Annie Strock. “Died from disease” during World War I on July 14, 1919 at General Hospital No. in Spartanburg, S.C. Enlisted June 4, 1917 in Mobile. Sent to France on May 7, 1918, served with HQ Detachment, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Division, AEF; served with Army of Occupation-Germany. Reported sick to hospital and was shipped to Fort Gordon, Ga. on April 28, 1918. Buried in Old Salem Cemetery near Mexia.

Aug. 25, 1919 – Four-time Alabama governor and three-time candidate for U.S. president, George C. Wallace, was born in Clio, Ala.

Aug. 25, 1952 - Alabama baseball great Virgil Trucks pitched his second of two no-hitters during the 1952 season, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 1-0 win over the New York Yankees. He pitched his first no-hitter in May, and became one of just five major league pitchers to throw two no-hitters in a single season.

Aug. 25, 1968 – U.S. Army Sgt. William Wayne Seay, a native of Brewton, would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions on this day near Ap Nhi, Vietnam.

Aug. 25, 1978 - The “Turin Shroud,” believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, went on display for the first time in 45 years.

Aug. 25, 1984 – Truman Capote died from liver disease at the age of 59 in Los Angeles at the home of Joanna Carson, the fourth wife of talk-show host Johnny Carson.

Aug. 25, 1985 - Dwight “Doc” Gooden led the New York Mets to a 9-3 win over the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium to become the youngest pitcher to win 20 major league baseball games in a season.

Aug. 25, 1989 – Hillcrest High School played its first football game ever and defeated W.S. Neal, 14-0, at Brooks Memorial Stadium in Evergreen.

Aug. 25, 1994 – The Evergreen Courant announced that Livingston University student Christopher “Chris” Evans had been awarded the 1994 Wendell Hart Scholarship.