Today in History for Jan. 6, 2015

Jan. 6, 1412 – Saint Joan of Arc was born in Domrémy, Duchy of Bar, France.

Jan. 6, 1702 - French colonists from Biloxi unloaded goods at Massacre Island to be used for the establishment of Fort Louis de la Louisiane on a bluff 27 miles from the mouth of the Mobile River.

Jan. 6, 1814 – The Town of Blakeley was incorporated by authorization of the House of Representatives of the Mississippi Territory on the northern end of Mobile Bay in present-day Baldwin County, Ala. Established by Joseph Blakeley, the town was the scene of the last major defense of Mobile, Ala. by Confederate troops during the Civil War. Blakely was also the southern end of the extension of the Federal road.

Jan. 6, 1827 - Confederate General John Calvin Brown was born in Giles County, Tenn. After the Civil War he served two terms as the governor of Tennessee and was a railroad president.

Jan. 6, 1851, Foucalt's Pendulum experimentally proved that the Earth rotates on its axis.

Jan. 6, 1873 – Construction of the Escambia County Courthouse at Pollard, Ala. was completed. The courthouse burned in 1879, and arson was suspected as the cause of the fire.


Jan. 6, 1912 - New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state.

Jan. 6, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. William H. Harris of Flat Rock, Ala. “died from disease.”

Jan. 6, 1919 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Wade Shavers of Garland, Ala. and Army Pvt. Warb Moton of Camden, Ala. “died from disease.”

Jan. 6, 1919 – Between 4 a.m. and 4:15 a.m., the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, died in his sleep at Sagamore Hill in Cove Neck, N.Y. a result of a blood clot detaching itself from a vein and entering his lungs. He was 60 years old.

Jan. 6, 1920 – Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn was born in Hartford, Ala. Nicknamed “Gus,” he went on to play for the Washington Senators, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.

Jan. 6, 1942 - The National Collegiate Football Rules Committee abolished the Y formation.

Jan. 6, 1964 – NFL defensive end and linebacker Charles Haley was born in Gladys, Va. He would go on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Jan. 6, 1969 - Mark Norman Reedus was born in Hollywood, Fla. He is best known for his role as Daryl Dixon in the AMC series “The Walking Dead.”

Jan. 6, 1976 - Ted Turner purchased the Atlanta Braves for $12 million dollars.

Jan. 6, 1992 – Hansford Cooper, 54, of Evergreen escaped serious injury when the 1989 Ford Bronco he was driving was struck by a train in downtown Evergreen. This was the second vehicle-train collision in downtown Evergreen in as many weeks.

Jan. 6, 1997 - Peter O'Malley announced that the Los Angeles Dodgers were for sale. The team had been owned by his family for 47 years.

Jan. 6, 1998 - Barry Switzer resigned as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Jan. 6, 1998 - The Dallas Cowboys signed lineman Larry Allen to a six-year deal worth more than $3.5 million a year.

Jan. 6, 2002 - Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys became the first running back in the NFL to run gain 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons.