Today in History for Nov. 1, 2014

Union General George B. McClellan

Nov. 1, 1755 - The Great Lisbon Earthquake occurred, which was followed by a tsunami and fires. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history with the near-total destruction of Lisbon, Portugal. Geologists estimate the earthquake was close to a magnitude 9 on the Richter scale.

Nov. 1, 1815 – Col. Thomas James Judge was born in Richland District, S.C. He moved to Butler County in 1820, established the Greenville Whig newspaper in 1834 and served in the Creek War. He later ecame an attorney and served as Solicitor of the Second Circuit. He also served as a state representative and state senator. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate army and served as a military court judge in Mobile. He would later serve as a state supreme court justice. He died on March 3, 1876 and was buried in Butler County.

Nov. 1, 1839 – Believed to be the date on which the Evergreen Academy first opened.

Nov. 1, 1852 – The first organized public school in Alabama was opened in Mobile at Barton Academy with 400 children.

Nov. 1, 1861 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed George Brinton McClellan as general-in-chief of all Union forces after General Winfield Scott resigned the previous day.

Nov. 1, 1862 – Elijah Byrd Jenkins, at the age of 19, enlisted in Montgomery as a private in Co. K of the 1st Alabama Artillery. Jenkins, who served aboard the CSS Selma, was born in Wilcox County on Dec. 13, 1842 to Thomas Jenkins and wife. He re-enlisted on Feb. 11, 1863 at Port Hudson, La. with Co. K of the 1st Alabama Artillery before joining the Confederate Navy and transferring to serve aboard the CSS Selma on March 5, 1864. He served on that ship until it was captured at the Battle of Mobile Bay. He was then imprisoned at Ship Island, Miss. for the rest of the war. He filed for his Confederate pension in Wilcox County on June 28, 1902, and he is buried at New Hope Cemetery at Dottelle.

Nov. 1, 1865 - Alexander Beaufort Meek, lawyer, poet, newspaper editor, and state legislator, passed away at the age 51. Meek was responsible for the passage of the Public School Act of 1854, the first statewide legislation to create a fund for public education and the position of state superintendent of education. Meek’s most famous poem, “The Red Eagle,” a lyrical epic about Creek chief William Weatherford, was published in 1855.

Nov. 1, 1869 – The construction of the Escambia County Jail was completed at Pollard, which was then the county seat of Escambia County, Ala.

Nov. 1, 1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) made its first official meteorological forecast.

Nov. 1, 1907 – In H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional work, “The Call of Cthulhu,” New Orleans police official John Raymond Legrasse led a party of policemen in search of several women and children who disappeared from a squatter community. The police found the victims' "oddly marred" bodies used in a ritual in which almost 100 men—all of a "very low, mixed-blooded, and mentally aberrant type"—were "braying, bellowing, and writhing" and repeatedly chanting the phrase, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn". After killing five of the participants and arresting 47 others, including the ancient sailor “Castro,” Legrasse interrogated the prisoners and learned "the central idea of their loathsome faith.”

Nov. 1, 1912 – The Orphans Call, a small 25-cent newsletter published by the Louise Short Baptist Widows and Orphans Home of Alabama, was established. It later changed its name to “Our Children.”

Nov. 1, 1913 - Notre Dame defeated Army 35-13. It was the first time the forward pass was used as a main offensive weapon in football.

Nov. 1, 1914 – On this Sunday night, five businesses in Evergreen, Ala. were burglarized, including the Powell & Son’s store, the Moorer-Williams Mercantile Co., Marlin’s drug store, S. Sudeiha’s fruit stand and Braxton’s meat market.

Nov. 1, 1914 – The census bureau reported that 12,559 bales of cotton had been ginned in Conecuh County up to this date compared to 12,201 up to that same date in 1913.

Nov. 1, 1943 – During World War II, the Bougainville Campaign (aka, “The Battle of Bougainville”) began in the South Pacific. According to the Aug. 10, 1944 edition of The Evergreen Courant, Sgt. Joseph Spears of Evergreen received Purple Heart for bravery at Bougainville. The son of Ganey and Gussie Spears of Evergreen, he was wounded in the shoulder and sent to a Calif. hospital to recover.

Nov. 1, 1947 – Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ted Hendricks was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Nov. 1, 1950 – Legislator and judge John McDuffie, who was a native of Monroe County, Ala., passed away in Mobile at the age of 67.

Nov. 1, 1960 – Major League pitcher Fernando Valenzuela was born in Navojoa, Sonora. He would go on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the California Angels, the Baltimore Orioles, the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Nov. 1, 1963 – The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opened.

Nov. 1, 1964 - Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns became the first NFL player to exceed 10,000 yards rushing.

Nov. 1, 1976 – The Perdue Hill Masonic Lodge was added to Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Nov. 1, 1980 – Seacoast Coast Line Industries, parent of Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, merged with Chessie System to form CSX Transportation.

Nov. 1, 1980 – On homecoming night in Lyeffion, Lyeffion High School beat J.U. Blacksher, 14-6, at Mabry Covin Field. Donald Lee was the leading Jacket rusher with 83 yards. The Taylor brothers, Freddie and Ardell, led the Jacket defense with four solo tackles and six assists each, and Freddie also had a fumble recovery. Other standout Lyeffion players in that game included Richard Benson, Bobby Blount, Mack Daily, Rickey Gill, Mike Grace, Howard Johnson, Jerry Lymon, Floyd McNeil, Garnet Mims, Jesse Mixon, Roosevelt Mixon, Robert Riley and Tim Searcy.

Nov. 1, 1986 – Between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., Patrick Henry Junior College student Ronda Morrison of Monroeville was murdered at Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville, Ala., shot three times with a .25 caliber handgun. Her body was discovered by customers Jerrie Sue Dunning, Florence Mason and Coy Stacey.

Nov. 1, 1991 - The Nirvana album "MTV Unplugged in New York" was released.

Nov. 1, 1994 - Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged" performance was released as "MTV Unplugged in New York."

Nov. 1, 2001 - Dan Neil of the Denver Broncos was fined $15,000 for an illegal block that broke the leg of Bryan Cox of the New England Patriots.

Nov. 1, 2008 – “Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme,” an animated movie based on the Marvel character, had its broadcast premiere on the Cartoon Network.

Nov. 1, 2010 - The San Francisco Giants won their first World Series since moving to California. They defeated the Texas Rangers in five games.