Today in History for Oct. 15, 2014

Richard Francis Burton

Oct. 15, 1824 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette spent the entire evening at Arlington House in Arlington, Va., although he returned to his hotel in Washington D.C. at night.

Oct. 15, 1827 – Charles W. Locklin was born in Claiborne. He owned and piloted the steamer “St. Nicholas,” which snagged at a sandbar near Sunflower, Ala. in February 1866 and was lost. Locklin and his wife also claimed to have seen 12 phantom horsemen at McConnico Cemetery.

Oct. 15, 1844 – Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was born in the Prussian village of Rocken. His most famous book, “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” was published in 1883.

Oct. 15, 1845 – Richard Francis Burton passed the regimental language exam for Persian.

Oct. 15, 1863 – During the Civil War in Charleston Harbor, the CSS H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink a ship, sank for a second time, during a practice dive, killing eight of her crew, including its inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley.

Oct. 15, 1864 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Glasgow was fought, resulting in the surrender of Glasgow, Missouri, and its Union garrison, to the Confederacy.

Oct. 15, 1888 – The "From Hell" letter sent by Jack the Ripper was received by investigators.

Oct. 15, 1889 – The South Alabama Fair opened in Greenville, Ala.

Oct. 15, 1889 - Confederate General Edward Aylesworth Perry passed away at the age of 58 in Kerrville, Texas.

Oct. 15, 1904 – Hugh M. King of Evergreen became a member of Greening Masonic Lodge. A native of Georgia, he was a distinguished Confederate officer, a former newspaper man, an attorney, and was mayor of Evergreen and Bainbridge, Ga. He died on June 5, 1914 in Evergreen.

Oct. 15, 1914 – The Conecuh Record reported that the Evergreen Oil & Fertizler factory had opened under the management of C.A. Jones.

Oct. 15, 1918 – During World War I, Army PFC Allen T. Pryor of Andalusia, Army Cpl. James H. Mancil of Brewton and Army Pvt. Comer C. Cain of Georgiana were killed in action. Army Pvt. Herbert Bradley of River Falls “died from disease.”

Oct. 15, 1924 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the new, two-story brick structure being erected by W.M. Newton on West Front Street, between the post office and Wild Brothers Hardware Co., in Evergreen was “rapidly nearing completion.”

Oct. 15, 1937 - "To Have and Have Not" by Ernest Hemingway was published for the first time.

Oct. 15, 1954 – On this morning, fire completely destroyed the home of Elmer Gaskey near Annex in Conecuh County. No one was home at the time, and the house, clothing and furniture was a total loss.

Oct. 15, 1954 – In one of the greatest football games ever played in Conecuh County, Evergreen beat Greenville, 6-0, before a homecoming crowd of over 3,000 at Brooks Stadium in Evergreen. Greenville entered the game on an 18-game winning streak, and Evergreen quarterback Jimmy Frazier scored the game’s only touchdown on a one-yard run.

Oct. 15, 1954 – Albert Arnold’s Repton Bulldogs beat J.U. Blacksher, 31-6, in Repton. Players scoring touchdowns for Repton included Floyd Morgan, Eddie Kelly and Ray Blackwell. Nelson Smith scored on a 50-yard screen pass for Blacksher’s only touchdown.

Oct. 15, 1960 - Michael Lewis, the author of such nonfiction best-sellers as 2003’s “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” and 2006’s “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game,” was born in New Orleans.

Oct. 15, 1966 – Moundville Archaeological Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Oct. 15, 1971 – Repton center Hilton Ryland accepted the school’s Mr. Football award during halftime of the school’s homecoming game.

Oct. 15, 1984 – Around noon, a tornado passed through the Range and Lenox communities, causing extensive damage, but no injuries. The tornado was first spotted at 12:30 p.m. near the Bill Mayo residence near Range and it ripped a roof off a barn and turned the barn on its foundation. Several other barns and houses were damaged as the tornado traveled east and hit Lenox before subsiding.

Oct. 15, 1993 – Sparta Academy defeated Cathedral Christian of Birmingham, 56-28, during Sparta’s homecoming football game at Stuart-McGehee Field in Evergreen.

Oct. 15, 2000 – Philadelphia Baptist Church at Tunnel Springs celebrated its 160th anniversary.

Oct. 15, 2001 - The 0-4 Dallas Cowboys and the 0-4 Washington Redskins played on Monday Night Football. It was the only time in the 31-year history of Monday Night Football that two 0-4 teams played. The Cowboys won the game, 9-7.