Today in History for Nov. 26, 2014

Vlad the Impaler (Dracula)

Nov. 26, 1476 – Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) defeated Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Báthory and became the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.

Nov. 26, 1819 – The Alabama state legislature approved the articles of incorporation for Coffeeville, Ala.

Nov. 26, 1863 – United States President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November.

Nov. 26, 1863 - Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg retreated from Chattanooga, Tenn. Bragg resigned shortly thereafter.

Nov. 26, 1863 - The Mine Run campaign began when Union General George Meade moved against General Robert E. Lee after months of inaction following the Battle of Gettysburg. Meade sent three corps against Lee's right flank around a small valley called Mine Run. By Dec. 1, Meade realized that to continue his attack would be foolish and he began pulling his men back across the Rappahannock River into winter quarters.

Nov. 26, 1885 - The first meteor trail was photographed in Prague, Czechoslovakia. It was part of the Andromedid meteor shower.

Nov. 26, 1896 – Witnesses in Oakland, Calif. observed in the sky on this date a "giant cigar shaped ship." It was one of thousands of mysterious airship sightings that continued into the spring of 1897.

Nov. 26, 1922 – Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.

Nov. 26, 1923 – The “horribly mangled” body of George Neferos, a Greek man from Chicago, was found on the railroad tracks near Sparta, Ala. during the morning. Papers in his pockets showed that he’d been discharged from the Army at Camp Grant, Ill. on May 31, 1919. Authorities believed that he was riding on a flat car, fell asleep and feel off a fast moving freight train.

Nov. 26, 1946 – NFL lineman and head coach Art Shell was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He was an offensive lineman for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1968 until 1982. He coached the Raiders from 1989 to 1994 and again, briefly, in 2006.

Nov. 26, 1968 – The Evergreen City Council created a Public Housing Authority and agreed to proceed with plans for a low rental housing project in Evergreen, Ala. D.T. Stuart III, an official of the Bank of Evergreen, was named chairman of the authority. Other directors included Byron Warren, H.E. Scott Jr., Walter Poole and Ed Smith.

Nov. 26, 1950 – During the Korean War, Army PFC Robert H. Hart of Conecuh County died while a prisoner of war in Korea. Army Sgt. Herbert W. Frazier of Escambia County died while missing in Korea.

Nov. 26, 1965 – The Betts Family of Monroeville presented the State Archives in Montgomery with a portrait of early Monroe-Conecuh County settler John Green. The Betts were descendants of Julia Green, a daughter of John Green and wife, Nancy Betts Jones.

Nov. 26, 1977 – Former Conecuh County athlete and coach Wendell Hart passed away in Atlanta, Ga. at the age of 60.

Nov. 26, 1998 - Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions became only the second running back in NFL history to run for more than 15,000 career yards.