Today in History for Oct. 9, 2014

USS Wasp

Oct. 9, 1604 – Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way, was first spotted.

Oct. 9, 1767 – Surveying for the Mason–Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania was completed.

Oct. 9, 1814 – The USS Wasp disappeared while sailing in the Caribbean with a crew of 140.

Oct. 9, 1861 – Battle of Santa Rosa Island occurred as Union troops repelled a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens.

Oct. 9, 1862 - Confederate cavalry leader General J.E.B. Stuart left Virginia with 1,800 cavalrymen. He looted Chambersburg, Pa. on Oct. 11.

Oct. 9, 1863 – Joseph Ganes Sanders, the “Turncoat of Dale County,” took a furlough from the army and returned home.

Oct. 9, 1864 - Union cavalry troops in the Shenandoah Valley defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia.

Oct. 9, 1864 – During the Civil War, attack occurred on the U.S. steamer, Sebago, in Mobile Bay, Ala.

Oct. 9, 1865 – The Greenville Advocate newspaper in Greenville, Ala. was established by Col. James B. Stanley.

Oct. 9, 1890 – Outlaw train robber Rube Burrow was killed in Linden, Ala. during a shootout with Jefferson Davis “Dixie” Carter, who shot Burrow once in the abdomen, severing an artery and causing almost instant death. (Some sources say this occurred on Oct. 8, 1890.) A native of Lamar County, Ala., Burrow robbed his first train in 1886 and by 1890 was the most wanted outlaw in the South.

Oct. 9, 1908 - Two-term Alabama governor James “Big Jim” Folsom was born in Coffee County. Folsom, known for farm-to-market road paving and other programs to benefit Alabama’s common folk, served as governor from 1947-1951 and 1955-1959.

Oct. 9, 1914 – Conecuh County farmer Jenks Ewing exhibited a potato in Evergreen that weighed 9-1/2 pounds.

Oct. 9, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. James W. Dease of Coffeeville was killed in action.

Oct. 9, 1919 - The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series. The win would be later tainted when eight Chicago White Sox were charged with throwing the game. The incident became known as the "Black Sox" scandal.

Oct. 9, 1934 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers, 11-0, in the seventh game of the World Series.

Oct. 9, 1958 – NFL Hall of Famer Mike Singletary was born in Houston, Texas.

Oct. 9, 1963 – The State Board of Education announced that Evergreen had been selected for a “major, full-fledged trade school” under the provisions of the governor’s trade school and junior college program.

Oct. 9, 1986 - The musical "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber had its first performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, England.

Oct. 9, 1989 – Tass, the official Soviet news agency, first reported a bizarre UFO incident in the city of Voronezh. The report included a trio of tall aliens that had visited the city of Voronzh. "As many as three aliens, 13 feet tall, left the spacecraft, described as a large shining ball," according to descriptions provided by a group of witnesses to the event.

Oct. 9, 1992 - A 28-pound (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite landed in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu.

Oct. 9, 1993 – Valerie Griffin was crowned Miss Heritage during the Miss Heritage of Conecuh County Pageant at the Wiley Salter Auditorium at Reid State Technical College in Evergreen.

Oct. 9, 1993 – Over 200 aircraft visited Evergreen during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual Fly-In at Middleton Field in Evergreen.