Today in History for Jan. 5, 2015

Gaineswood in Demopolis.

Jan. 5, 1709 - A sudden extreme cold killed thousands in Europe.

Jan. 5, 1861 - Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan and Gaines at Mobile Bay. Making this a more interesting incident is the state of Alabama had yet to succeed from the Federal union.

Jan. 5, 1861 - The U.S. Senators from the southern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas met in Washington, D.C. to discuss options of seceding from the United States.

Jan. 5, 1861 - The Star of the West, a Union merchant vessel, left New York with supplies and 250 men to relieve Fort Sumter at Charleston, South Carolina. On Jan. 9, the ship turned around after being hit once by cannon fire from the South Carolina militia.

Jan. 5, 1897 – The Locklin House and the store of R.F. Lowrey were destroyed by fire at Perdue Hill, a loss of $7,500.

Jan. 5, 1911 – The Conecuh Record reported that the thermometer in Evergreen reached 12 degrees on this day.

Jan. 5, 1911 – Evergreen councilman W.H. Moorer was appointed mayor of Evergreen to fill the unexpired term of Capt. J.C. Cheney, who moved with his family to Montgomery to take a position in state government. E.J. McCreary was appointed to fill Moorer’s council seat.

Jan. 5, 1913 – Henderson Stokes of Loree died and was buried with Masonic honors at Owassa.

Jan. 5, 1920 - The New York Yankees purchased "Babe" Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000.

Jan. 5, 1927 - A three-day public hearing began on the charges that four major league baseball games played between Chicago and Detroit on Sept. 2 and 3 of 1917 had been thrown.

Jan. 5, 1931 - Lucille Thomas became the first woman to buy a professional baseball team. She bought the Topeka franchise of the Western League.

Jan. 5, 1932 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Noll was born in Sewickley, Pa. He would play for the Cleveland Browns from 1953 to 1959 and would serve as the head coach of the Pittsburg Steelers from 1969 to 1991.

Jan. 5, 1932 – Umberto Eco was born in the Piedmont region of Italy. He's the author of the novels “The Name of the Rose” (1981), “Foucault's Pendulum” (1989), and The Cemetery of Prague (2010).

Jan. 5, 1934 - Both the National and American baseball leagues decided to use a uniform-size baseball. It was the first time in 33 years that both leagues used the same size ball.

Jan. 5, 1937 – Phillip “Old Buck” Samuel was struck and killed by a freight train in Evergreen. White friends erected tombstone.

Jan. 5, 1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio.

Jan. 5, 1944 - The London "Daily Mail" was the first transoceanic newspaper to be published.

Jan. 5, 1948 - Warner Brothers-Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. The footage was of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic.

Jan. 5, 1959 - A replica of the miraculous 11-inch Mexican statue, the Holy Infant of Good Health was given to Pope John XXIII.

Jan. 5, 1970 – Army Spc. Max Duane Kersey of Opp, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam.

Jan. 5, 1972 – Gaineswood in Demopolis was added to the National Register of Historic Places. (13 Alabama Ghosts)

Jan. 5, 1984 – Liberty Hall near Camden, which was built in 1855, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Jan. 5, 1993 – Silk International Floral Imports on the corner of Rural Street and West Front Street in Evergreen caught fire while owner Bill Durant was cleaning the building’s windows.

Jan. 5, 1993 - Mike Ditka was fired as coach of the Chicago Bears.

Jan. 5, 2005 - Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system (27 percent more massive than Pluto) was officially identified.

Jan. 5, 2008 – The Citizens for a Clean Southwest Alabama (CCSA) held its one-year anniversary celebration to mark the group’s first year of work against a proposed landfill in Conecuh County. The event began at 11 a.m. at the Lenox Community Center. CCSA organized in January 2007 when the development company Conecuh Woods expressed interest in constructing a landfill in Conecuh County.

Jan. 5, 2014 – “The Curse of Oak Island” television series, which detailed the history of Oak Island and the ongoing search for treasure there, apremiered on the History Channel.