Today in History for Feb. 6, 2015

Dr. Peter Bryce

Feb. 6, 1756 – Aaron Burr born to Aaron Burr Sr. and Esther Burr in Newark, N.J.

Feb. 6, 1778 - New York became the third state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

Feb. 6, 1778 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce were signed in Paris by the United States and France, signaling official recognition of the new republic. They were the first two treaties signed by the U.S. Government and were ratified by the Continental Congress in May 1778.

Feb. 6, 1788 – Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.

Feb. 6, 1852 – The Alabama Insane Hospital was established by the state legislature. Built in Tuscaloosa, it received first patient in 1861, with Dr. Peter Bryce as director. Applying modern methods, Bryce became renowned for humane treatment of his patients.

Feb. 6, 1861 – During the Civil War, the U.S. steamer, Brooklyn, arrived in Pensacola, Fla. with Federal reinforcements for Fort Pickens.

Feb. 6, 1862 – During the Civil War, day one of a five-day Federal naval operation began to Florence, Ala., involving the river gunboats, the USS Conestoga, the USS Lexington and the USS Tyler.

Feb. 6, 1862 – During the Civil War, forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew H. Foote gave the Union its first victory of the war, capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee in the Battle of Fort Henry.

Feb. 6, 1865 - Confederate General John Pegram, age 33, was killed at the Battle of Dabney's Mill (also known as Hatcher’s Run) in Virginia.

Feb. 6, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis selected John C. Breckinridge to be Secretary of War.

Feb. 6, 1882 – Major League catcher Gabby Street was born in Huntsville, Ala. He went on to play for the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Beaneaters, the Washington Senators, the New York Highlanders and the St. Louis Cardinals. He also managed the Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns.

Feb. 6, 1895 – Baseball Hall of Famer George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born in Baltimore, Md. where his father worked as a saloon keeper on the waterfront.

Feb. 6, 1896 – The issue of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala. published on this date was edited and managed by a committee of women with the proceeds being donated to the Presbyterian Manse Fund.

Feb. 6, 1909 - Alabama author Wyatt Blassingame was born in Demopolis, Ala.

Feb. 6, 1911 - Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, was born in Tampico, Illinois.

Feb. 6, 1915 – Henry J. Beasley, 74, passed away on this Saturday night at his home at Brownville, near Owassa, Ala. He was buried the following day.

Feb. 6, 1915 – Basketball teams from Effie and Evergreen in Conecuh County, Ala. played one another.

Feb. 6, 1921 - The New York Yankees issued a press release to announce the purchase of 10 acres of property in the west Bronx. The land was used for the original Yankee Stadium.

Feb. 6, 1922 – In the fictional video game, “Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth,” private investigator Jack Walters takes up a missing person case at Innsmouth, a coastal town, and the site of the recent disappearance of Brian Burnham, a clerk that had been sent there to establish a local store for the First National Grocery chain.

Feb. 6, 1926 - The National Football League adopted a rule that made players ineligible for competition until their college class graduated.

Feb. 6, 1928 – Thirty-five-year-old French pilot Capt. Dieudonne Coste, a famous World War I hero who shot down eight German fighter planes, and navigator Lt. Commander Joseph LeBrix, another World War I ace, flew over Monroeville, Ala. as part of an around the world flight that ended in Paris on April 14, 1928.

Feb. 6, 1933 - The 20th Amendment to the Constitution was declared in effect. The amendment moved the start of presidential, vice-presidential and congressional terms from March to January.

Feb. 6, 1937 - John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” was published.

Feb. 6-13, 1955 – As the Boy Scouts of America observed its 45th Birthday, Evergreen’s boy scout troop celebrated its 28th birthday. The first troop in Evergreen, Ala. was formed by Scout Master Paul McMillan in 1927.

Feb. 6, 1958 - Ted Williams signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox that was worth $135,000, making him the highest paid player in major league history.

Feb. 6, 1963 – The Coast Guard began its unsuccessful search for the missing Marine Sulphur Queen, a 425-foot freighter which disappeared with a crew of 39 four days earlier.

Feb. 6, 1968 – Marine Cpl. Michael Wayne Johns of Andalusia, Ala. and Army Cpl. Richard Benjamin of Atmore, Ala. were killed in action in Vietnam.

Feb. 6, 1971 - Alan Shepard  hit a few golf balls with a six iron on the surface of that gigantic golf ball known as the moon. The first ball landed in a nearby crater. The second was hit further, and in the one-sixth gravity of the moon, Shepard said it traveled "miles and miles and miles."

Feb. 6, 2002 - A federal judge ordered John Walker Lindh to be held without bail pending trial. Lindh was known as the "American Taliban."

Feb. 6, 2005 - The New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21, in Super Bowl XXXIX. It was the third win in four years for the Patriots. During halftime, MTV and MTV2 aired a 15-minute preview of MTV2's second re-launch. The relaunch took place at midnight on Feb. 7.