Today in History for Feb. 5, 2015

Father Abram J. Ryan

Feb. 5, 1777 - Georgia formally adopted a new state constitution and became the first U.S. state to abolish the inheritance practices of primogeniture and entail.

Feb. 5, 1778 - South Carolina became the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

Feb. 5, 1783 - Sweden recognized the independence of the United States.

Feb. 5, 1799 – Under the terms of the Treaty of San Lorenzo, Americans took possession of St. Stephens, which is in present-day Washington County, Ala.

Feb. 5, 1838 - Alabama author Father Abram J. Ryan was born in Hagerstown, Md.

Feb. 5, 1840 – The Evergreen Male and Female Academy was incorporated by Alabama legislature.

Feb. 5, 1842 – William Harrison Snowden of the Conecuh Guards was born at Brooklyn, Ala. He first entered Confederate service at Sparta as a private in the spring of 1861 with Co. E, 4th Ala. Inf. He was later wounded at Richmond, Va. and sent home.

Feb. 5, 1846 - "The Oregon Spectator," based in Oregon City, became the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast.

Feb. 5, 1865 – The Battle of Hatcher's Run (Dabney’s Mill) began during the Siege of Petersburg, Va. The 59th Alabama Infantry Regiment, of which Lewis Lavon Peacock was a member, lost a number of men during this battle. The battle lasted for three days, and neither sided ended with a significant advantage after producing about 3,000 casualties.

Feb. 5, 1886 – Richard Francis Burton was awarded a knighthood (KCMG) by Queen Victoria.

Feb. 5, 1918 – During World War I, Army Sgt. Willie M. Holladay of Brewton, Ala. “died from disease.”

Feb. 5, 1928 – Confederate veteran L.W. Carter of Evergreen passed away.

Feb. 5, 1929 – Major League pitcher Al Worthington was born in Birmingham, Ala. He would go on to play for the New York-San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins.

Feb. 5, 1934 – Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron was born at Possum Bend near Camden, Ala. He would go on to play for the Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers. He is best known for breaking Babe Ruth's legendary record of 714 homers.

Feb. 5, 1943 - Alabama author Howell Raines was born in Birmingham, Ala.

Feb. 5, 1958 – A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb was lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Ga., never to be recovered.

Feb. 5, 1961 - The first issue of the "Sunday Telegraph" was published.

Feb. 5, 1965 – Jerry Bryan, assistant sports editor of The Birmingham News, presented the Repton High School football team with its Class A Football Championship Trophy during an 8 a.m. assembly program. “The Bulldogs won the trophy with their best season last year. It was the first year for their new coach, Gene Madison.” Walter Hudson was the principal at Repton.

Feb. 5, 1974 - The Mariner 10 took the first close-up images of Venus.

Feb. 5, 1975 - A television version of Alabama author Mildred Lee's book “The Skating Rink” was broadcast as an “ABC Afterschool Special.”

Feb. 5, 1981 - In Brisbane, Australia, two men created the world's largest Jell-O, filling a tank with 7,700 gallons of pink gelatin.

Feb. 5, 1990 - NBC-TV obtained the television rights to all of Notre Dame's home football games for the next five years. Notre Dame was the first school to sell its games to a major TV network.

Feb. 5, 2003 - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence to the U.N. concerning Iraq's material breach of U.N. Resolution 1441.

Feb. 5, 2006 - The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, in Super Bowl XL. It was the fifth Super Bowl victory for the Steelers. Jerome Bettis announced his retirement after the game.