Today in History for Feb. 14, 2015

John Paul Jones

Feb. 14, 278 A.D. - Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.

Feb. 14, 1778 – The United States flag was formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte rendered a nine-gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.

Feb. 14, 1779 – At the Battle of Kettle Creek in Kettle Creek, Ga., a Patriot militia force of 340 led by Colonel Andrew Pickens of South Carolina with Colonel John Dooly and Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Clarke of Georgia defeated a larger force of 700 Loyalist militia commanded by Colonel James Boyd.

Feb. 14, 1779 – English explorer and navigator James Cook was killed by native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.

Feb. 14, 1836 – About a month after their divorce, William Barrett Travis’ ex-wife, Rosanna Cato Travis, married Samuel G. Cloud in Monroeville, Ala. They would both die of Yellow Fever during an epidemic that afflicted the state in 1848.

Feb. 14, 1849 - The first photograph of a U.S. President, while in office, was taken by Matthew Brady in New York City. President James Polk was the subject of the picture.

Feb. 14, 1855 – Texas was linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.

Feb. 14, 1859 - Oregon became the 33rd member of the Union.

Feb. 14, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman entered Meridian, Mississippi, in a torrential rain. The campaign was the precursor to his "March to the Sea."

Feb. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Larkinsville, Ala.

Feb. 14, 1884 - Future President Theodore Roosevelt's wife and mother die, only hours apart. Roosevelt was in New York when he was summoned home by his family. He returned home to find his mother, Mittie, had succumbed to typhoid fever. On the same day, his wife of four years, Alice Lee, died of Bright's disease, a severe kidney ailment.

Feb. 14, 1888 – The first train ran through Thomasville, Ala. It was carrying a group to Mardi Gras in Mobile, on a line from Mobile to Birmingham, via Selma.

Feb. 14, 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, who is credited with the phrase "War is hell," died in New York City.

Feb. 14, 1894 - Venus appeared as both a morning star and evening star.

Feb. 14, 1895 - Oscar Wilde's final play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," opened at the St. James' Theater in London.

Feb. 14, 1912 - Arizona was admitted as the 48th U.S. state.

Feb. 14, 1913 – American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975, was born in Brazil, Indiana.

Feb. 14, 1913 – College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes was born in Clifton, Ohio. He would go on to coach Ohio State from 1951 to 1978.

Feb. 14, 1933 - The first episode of the radio play “The Townsend Murder Mystery” by Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen was broadcast.

Feb. 14, 1960 – Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. He would go on to play for the University of Miami, the Houston Gamblers and the Buffalo Bills.

Feb. 14, 1966 - Rick Mount of Lebanon, Indiana became the first high school, male athlete to be pictured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated."

Feb. 14, 1966 - CBS bought the rights to the NFL's 1966 and 1967 Championship Games for $2 million per game.

Feb. 14, 1972 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the Mike Douglas Show for an entire week.

Feb. 14, 1972 – NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe was born in Ellensburg, Wash. He would go on to play for Washington State, the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys.

Feb. 14, 1973 – NFL quarterback Steve McNair was born in Mount Olive, Miss. He would go on to play for Alcorn State, the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens.

Feb. 14, 1976 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported a low temperature of 30 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Feb. 14, 1977 - The B-52's performed their first concert together in Athens, Ga.

Feb. 14, 1977 - Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" was first released.

Feb. 14-15, 1985 – Lyeffion High School hosted the regional basketball tournament, which featured teams from McKenzie, Castleberry, Lyeffion, Southern Normal and W.J. Jones.

Feb. 14, 1985 – The Evergreen Courant announced the release of “Sparta, Alabama: 1821-1866” by Pat Poole. The book was printed by Harold Adams at the Conecuh Printing Co.

Feb. 14, 1989 - The first satellite of the Global Positioning System was placed into orbit around Earth.

Feb. 14, 1991 – Stacey White was named Miss Alpha 1991 at the annual Miss Alpha Pageant at Sparta Academy. Valerie Griffin was named Jr. Miss Alpha.

Feb. 14, 1991 - A dramatic version of Alabama author Zora Neale Hurston's book “Mule Bone” opened on Broadway.

Feb. 14, 1998 - U.S. authorities officially announced that Eric Rudolph was a suspect in a bombing of an abortion clinic in Alabama.

Feb. 14, 2001 - The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft became the first vehicle to land on an asteroid.

Feb. 14, 2003 - A Florida judge issued a warrant for the arrest of baseball player Jose Canseco. Canseco had violated his probation that stemmed from a nightclub brawl in 2001. On March 17, he was sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation.

Feb. 14, 2005 – YouTube was launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.