Today in History for Jan. 23, 2015

John Hancock

Jan. 23, 1737 – American Revolutionary Patriot John Hancock was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Province of Massachusetts Bay.

Jan. 23, 1775 - London merchants petitioned Parliament for relief from the hardships created by the curtailment of trade with the North American colonies.

Jan. 23, 1845 – Conecuh County attorney George Robert Farnham was born near Belleville. He joined the Monroe Guards at 16 and later served as Evergreen Baptist Church’s Sunday School Superintendent. He was President of the 1880 State Sunday School Convention and also served as a state senator.

Jan. 23, 1863 - Union General Ambrose Burnside abandoned an offensive, known as the Mud March, against General Robert E. Lee. The attack started on Jan. 20 and was ended due to several days of heavy rain.

Jan. 23, 1864 - A six-day Federal operation began in North Alabama and a skirmish occurred at Woodville, Ala.

Jan. 23, 1865 - Confederate General John Bell Hood was officially removed as commander of the Army of Tennessee. He had requested the removal several weeks before.

Jan. 23, 1882 – Brewton was made the county seat of Escambia County, Ala. Previously, the county seat had been located at Pollard.

Jan. 23, 1887 – Rube Burrow and his gang committed their second train robbery, robbing an eastbound Texas & Pacific train around 2:28 a.m.

Jan. 23, 1897 – Elva Zona Heaster was found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.

Jan. 23, 1908 – The Conecuh Record in Evergreen, Ala. reported that Dr. A.A. McKittrick had died.

Jan. 23, 1914 – The Rev. William Allen Parker, a native of Choctaw County, Ala., passed away at the age of 65 at Mt. Enterprise in Rusk County, Texas. He left Alabama about two years prior to his death and prior to that he was a Baptist minister in Washington, Clarke, Perry and Marengo counties for about 40 years. He was licensed to preach in October 1877 and was ordained a minister in May 1878 at Nannafalla Church in Yantley, Ala. He preached at Faunsdale and Dayton in 1897.

Jan. 23, 1929 – Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team beat Georgiana, 19-10.

Jan. 23, 1930 - Clyde Tombaugh first photographed Pluto.

Jan. 23, 1931 – In Lovecraftian fiction, Miskatonic University’s Pabodie Antarctic Expedition found the last Antarctic city of the Elder Things.

Jan. 23, 1936 – Advertising began for bids for the construction of the overhead bridge in Evergreen.

Jan. 23, 1950 - NFL owners approved the unlimited substitution rule that had been used on a trial basis for 1949.

Jan. 23, 1957 - Wham-O produced the first  Frisbees. The name was derived from students throwing around empty pie tins from the Frisbie Pie Company. The first version of the Frisbee was marketed as the Pluto Platter to cash in on the public craze over space and UFOs.

Jan. 23, 1973 - U.S. President Richard Nixon announced that an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.

Jan. 23, 1974 - Mike Oldfield’s "Tubular Bells" opened the credits of the movie, "The Exorcist".

Jan. 23, 1982 - Diana Ross performed the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XVI.

Jan. 23, 1985 - O.J. Simpson became the first Heisman Trophy winner to be elected to pro football’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Jan. 23, 1988 - Nirvana recorded a 10-song demo tape with producer Jack Endino. The Melvin's Dale Crover was on drums.

Jan. 23, 1998 – Jackson Historic District in Jackson, Ala., which is spread over 180 acres and includes 140 buildings, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The district is roughly bounded by College Avenue, Forest Avenue, Carroll Avenue, Cedar Street, Florida Street, Commerce Street, Clinton Street, and Spruce Street.

Jan. 23, 2006 – Gardendale, Alabama’s historical society was formally established.