Today in History for Sept. 24, 2014

Sept. 24, 1827 - Union General Henry Slocum was born in Delphi, New York.

Sept. 24, 1861 – The Confederate infantry company known as the “Scotland Invincibles,” which was raised at Old Scotland in Monroe County, began marching from Old Scotland to Evergreen to catch the train to Montgomery, where they were officially organized as Co. H of the 17th Alabama Volunteer Regiment, under the command of Col. T.H. Watts.

Sept. 24, 1864 - Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest took more than 1,400 Union soldiers prisoner when he tricked Col. Wallace Campbell into surrendering a fort on Coleman Hill near Athens, Ala. Forrest convinced Campbell that his force was three times its actual size and that resisting or waiting on reinforcements was pointless. Most of the Union troops were from the 110th U.S. Colored Infantry, which was made up of former slaves from northern Alabama and southern Tennessee.

Sept. 24, 1868 – Longtime Monroe Journal editor Q. Salter was born. (Some sources say he was born in 1867.)

Sept. 24, 1896 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of “The Great Gatsby,” was born in St. Paul, Minn.

Sept. 24, 1914 - D.R. Lamont, “who was cashier of the recently defunct bank at Atmore,” committed suicide by shooting himself.

Sept. 24, 1914 – The Monroe Journal reported that the construction of the electric light plant in Monroeville was “making excellent progress” and that poles were being raised for lines around the public square. The electrical machinery had been shipped and was expected to arrive that week. The machinery had been formerly used at Marion Institute and had a 400-light capacity.

Sept. 24, 1934 - Babe Ruth played his last game as a New York Yankee player.

Sept. 24, 1939 – Shortly after 1 p.m., a fire that originated in the editorial rooms of The Selma Times-Journal destroyed the century-old files of the newspaper and the composing room. “The Selma Times-Journal file room contained copies of the old Journal and Times, whose consolidation produced the present publication, suffered  both fire and water damage and its contents were said to have been rendered worthless.” Fire officials believed that faulty wiring or a cigarette caused the fire. Publisher Mrs. F.T. Raiford said there would be no interruption in publication.

Sept. 24, 1940 - Jimmie Foxx of the Boston Red Sox hit his 500th career home run.

Sept. 24, 1946 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Edward "Mean Joe” Greene was born in Elgin, Texas.

Sept. 24, 1947 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman supposedly created the secret committee known as Majestic 12 on this date to deal with the Roswell Incident and other alien incursions.

Sept. 24, 1950 - Forest fires in British Columbia and Alberta blacked out the sun over portions of Canada and New England. The after effects also caused the sun and moon to appear blue in locations as far away as Europe.

Sept. 24, 1952 – In an incident attributed to the “Devil’s Sea,” the Japanese research vessel Kaiyo Maru No. 5, with a crew of 31 aboard, was destroyed by an eruption while investigating undersea volcano activity.

Sept. 24, 1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field.

Sept. 24, 1960 – USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was launched.

Sept. 24, 1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson received the Warren Commission's report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which had occurred on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.

Sept. 24, 1964 – Baseball great Rafael Palmeiro was born in Havana, Cuba.

Sept. 24, 1981 – Ed Williams, 28, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edsel Williams of Owassa, was named editor and general manager of The Andalusia Star-News by Publisher Joe Starling. Williams, who’d been the editor and general manager of The Brewton Standard for the previous 2-1/2 years, replaced managing editor Ron Culbreth, who went to work at a Birmingham newspaper.

Sept. 24, 1991 - Nirvana's album "Nevermind" was released.

Sept. 24, 1996 - Blockbusting bestselling author Stephen King released two new novels at once on this day. The first, “Desperation,” was released under King's name, while the second, “The Regulators,” was published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman.

Sept. 24, 1998 - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith threw out the first pitch at the Expos-Cardinal game in St. Louis, Mo.

Sept. 24, 2006 - The Detroit Tigers clinched their first playoff berth since 1987, and the Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.