Today in History for Jan. 8, 2015

James Longstreet

Jan. 8, 1815 - U.S. forces under Andrew Jackson achieved the greatest American victory of the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans, which was fought between Dec. 23, 1814 and Jan. 8, 1815. The War of 1812 had officially ended on December 24, 1814, with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (which wasn’t ratified by the U.S. government until February 1815). The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.

Jan. 8, 1821 – Confederate general James Longstreet was born near Edgefield, S.C. Longstreet became one of the most successful generals in the Confederate army, but after the war he became a target of some of his comrades, who were searching for a scapegoat.

Jan. 8, 1853 - A bronze statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse was unveiled in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 8, 1861 - Federal forces at Fort Barrancas in Pensacola, Fla. fired on a group of Florida State Troops who attempted to move on the fort. This action was unlike the peaceful forfeiture of Fort Marion the previous day.

Jan. 8, 1863 – During the Civil War, the Second Battle of Springfield was fought in Spring Field, Missouri.

Feb. 8, 1864 - Seventeen-year-old David Owen Dodd was hanged in Little Rock, Ark. He was captured as he tried to cross Federal lines near Little Rock with notes in Morse code hidden in his shoe. After a military court found him guilty, he confessed that he had been sent to gather information about Union troops. Dodd may have been the youngest person hanged as a spy in the Civil War.

Jan. 8, 1880 - The "ruler" Emperor Norton passed away in San Francisco. The eccentric Joshua Abraham Norton proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico." During his 20-year "reign," he was humored by the locals, and currency was even issued in his name.

Jan. 8, 1929 - William S. Paley appeared on CBS Radio for the first time to announce that CBS had become the largest regular chain of broadcasting chains in radio history.

Jan. 8, 1932 – Bay Minette’s boys basketball team beat Evergreen High School, 22-18, in Bay Minette, Ala..

Jan. 8, 1932 – Evergreen High School’s girls basketball team improved to 4-0 with a 33-9 win over Georgiana. Team captain Althea Kelly led Evergreen with 22 points.

Jan. 8, 1934 – Major League Baseball third baseman Gene Freese was born in Wheeling, West Virgnia. He would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros.

Jan. 8, 1935 – Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” was born in Tupelo, Miss.

Jan. 8, 1942 – Physicist and author Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England. He is best known for his book, “A Brief History of Time.”

Jan. 8, 1948 – Former Mississippi State and NFL quarterback Joe Reed was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He would go on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.

Jan. 8, 1949 – Major League Baseball outfielder Wilbur Howard was born in Lowell, N.C. He would go on to play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros.

Jan. 8, 1957 - Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from Major League Baseball in an article that appeared in "LOOK" magazine.

Jan. 8, 1958 - Bobby Fisher, at the age of 14, won the United States Chess Championship for the first time.

Jan. 8, 1960 - The NCAA met in New York and voted against reviving the unlimited substitution rule for college football.

Jan. 8, 1962 – A U.S. Air Force KB-50 tanker leaving from Langley Air Force Base, Va., on its way to the Azores, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.

Jan. 8, 1973 – Army SFC William Sherril Stinson of Georgiana, Ala. was declared missing in action in Vietnam.

Jan. 8, 1973 - The trial opened in Washington, of seven men accused of bugging the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 8, 1976 – In connection with the “Amityville Horror” case, after deciding that something was wrong with their house they could not explain rationally, George and Kathy Lutz carried out a blessing of their own on. George held a silver crucifix while they both recited the Lord's Prayer and, while in the living room, George allegedly heard a chorus of voices asking them "Will you stop?!"

Jan. 8, 1977 - The cover of TV Guide featured the "Super Bowl."

Jan. 8, 1977 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported a low of 25 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 8, 1977 – Sparta Academy’s boys basketball team beat Evangel, 60-59, in Eight Mile near Mobile, Ala. Bobby Johnson led Sparta with 23 points.

Jan. 8, 1981 – A local farmer reported a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, and it’s said to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".

Jan. 8, 1984 - ABC purchased the remaining 85 percent of ESPN.

Jan. 8, 1998 – Little Eva survivor Grady Gaston of Frisco City, Ala. passed away at the age of 77. During World War II, Gaston, a ball turret gunner, was one of the few survivors of bomber crash that occurred in Australia. Gaston survived in terrible conditions for nearly five months before being rescued, and he was later featured by “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”

Jan. 8, 2000 - In an American Football Conference (AFC) wild card match-up at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, Tenn., the Tennessee Titans stage a last-second come-from-behind victory to beat the Buffalo Bills 22-16 on a kickoff return play later dubbed the "Music City Miracle."

Jan. 8, 2009 - In Egypt, archeologists entered a 4,300 year old pyramid and discovered the mummy of Queen Sesheshet.