Today in History for Nov. 16, 2014

Incan emperor Atahualpa.

Nov. 16, 1532 – Francisco Pizarro and his men, including Hernando de Soto, captured Inca Emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca.

Nov. 16, 1841 – A meeting was held to reorganized and restore the charter of Alabama Lodge No. 3 in Monroe County after Masonry was halted in the 1830s when the Grand Lodge of Alabama extinguished its lights for two years due to anti-Masonic sentiment.

Nov. 16, 1859 – Two brothers, Irvin and Stephen Ward, robbed and killed Allen Page, who was traveling the Federal Road in Conecuh County with John Wright after selling their cotton at Claiborne. A posse caught the brothers, who confessed. They were hung two days later.

Nov. 16, 1863 – At the Battle of Campbell’s Station, Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside held off Confederates under General James Longstreet near Knoxville, Tennessee.

Nov. 16, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Shoal Creek, Ala.

Nov. 16, 1873 - W. C. Handy was born in Florence, Alabama. Handy brought the sounds of African-American blues to mainstream culture when he composed a song in 1909 that became known as “The Memphis Blues.” Handy, known as “Father of the Blues,” had a long career that yielded many other blues hits, such as “Beale Street Blues” and “St. Louis Blues.” Handy died in 1958.

Nov. 16, 1875 - Alabama’s Constitution of 1875 was ratified. The Bourbon Democrats, or "Redeemers," having claimed to “redeem” the Alabama people from the Reconstruction rule of carpetbaggers and scalawags, wrote a new constitution to replace the one of 1868. It was a conservative document that gave the Democrats, and especially Black Belt planters, a firm grip on their recently reacquired control of state government.

Nov. 16, 1876 - The people of Carrollton, Alabama watched helplessly as their courthouse burned to the ground.

Nov. 16, 1899 – Mary Margaret McBride, known as the "First Lady of Radio," was born in Paris, Missouri. She was one of the first radio interviewers to bring the techniques of newspaper journalism to the airwaves, and in the first 20 years of her syndicated program, she interviewed more than 30,000 guests from the world of politics, literature, arts, and entertainment. In the late 1940s, she had 6 million daily listeners, most of them housewives.

Nov. 16, 1907 – Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory joined to form Oklahoma, which is admitted as the 46th U.S. state.

Nov. 16, 1910 – The first funeral service was held at Oak Grove Baptist Church between Repton and Belleville, for church member William H. Ballard, who for years was the only grave in the church cemetery.

Nov. 16, 1914 - The fall term of the Monroe circuit court convened under Judge John T. Lackland with Solicitor McDuffie representing the state. The murder trial against Torrey Puryear was set to start on Nov. 25, and the murder trial against Jim Sampson was set for Nov. 27.

Nov. 16, 1920 – H.P. Lovecraft completed his short story, “From Beyond,” which was originally published in Issue No. 10 of “The Fantasy Fan” in June 1934.

Nov. 16, 1952 - In the “Peanuts” comic strip, Lucy first held a football for Charlie Brown.

Nov. 16, 1957 - Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns set an NFL season rushing record of 1,163 yards after only eight games.

Nov. 16, 1957 - Notre Dame beat Oklahoma, 7-0, ending the Sooners’ 47-game, 1,512-day college football winning streak. The game also marked the first time in more than 120 games that Oklahoma didn’t score a single point.

Nov. 16, 1959 - The New York Times published a 300-word account of the Clutter family murders, and and this short story interested Truman Capote so much that he decided to investigate the murders. The result was his book, “In Cold Blood.”

Nov. 16, 1964 – Major League Baseball pitcher Dwight Gooden was born in Tampa, Fla. He would go on to play for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devils Rays.

Nov. 16, 1966 – The Mothman was first reported in the Point Pleasant Register on this date under the headline “Couples See Man-Sized Bird… Creature… Something.”

Nov. 16, 1969 - U.S. President Nixon became the first president to attend a regular season National Football League game while in office. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins, 41-28.

Nov. 16, 1970 – Army SFC Charles Rayford Sellers of Jackson was killed in action in Vietnam.

Nov. 16, 1982 - An agreement was announced on the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

Nov. 16, 1992 – Conecuh County Probate Judge Rogene Booker delivered the oath of office to the incoming Conecuh County Board of Education. Members of the school board included Jean Harter, Willene Whatley, David Cook, Robert J. Floyd and Johnny F. Atkins. Floyd was chairman, and Cook was vice-chairman.

Nov. 16, 1997 - The 100th episode of "X-Files" aired on FOX.

Nov. 16, 1997 - Morton Anderson of the New Orleans Saints became only the fifth player in NFL history to reach 1,600 career points when he kicked an extra point.

Nov. 16, 1998 - Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays became the first pitcher to win five Cy Young Awards.

Nov. 16, 2001 – Monroe Academy won its sixth state football title with a 33-12 win over Bessemer Academy thanks to touchdowns touchdowns by Karl James (K.J.) Lazenby, Jeff Wasden and Tyler Dawson.

Nov. 16, 2004 - President George W. Bush nominated National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to serve as Secretary of State. The Birmingham native was the first African American woman to serve in that office. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 26, 2005.