Today in History for March 21, 2015

U.S. General Edwin Vose Sumner

March 21, 1685 – Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany.

March 21, 1692 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, Magistrates Hathorne and Corwin examined Martha Corey.

On March 21, 1778, just three days after British Loyalists and Hessian mercenary forces assault the local New Jersey militia at Quinton’s Bridge, three miles from Salem, New Jersey, the same contingent surprises the colonial militia at Hancock’s Bridge, five miles from Salem, N.J. During the battle, the Loyalists not only kill several members of the Salem militia, but also two known Loyalists. At least 20 were killed in the fight inside the house of Judge William Hancock in what is now known as the Massacre at Hancock's Bridge.

March 21, 1788 - Almost the entire city of New Orleans, La. was destroyed by fire. In all, around 856 buildings were destroyed.

March 21, 1790 - Thomas Jefferson reported to U.S. President George Washington as the new secretary of state.

March 21, 1805 – Early Conecuh County teacher, lawyer and judge Henry Franklin Stearns was born in Stanstead, Ontario, Canada.

March 21, 1825 – James Dellet wrote a letter to French General Marquis de LaFayette, inviting him to visit Claiborne during his trip down the Alabama River to Mobile.

March 21, 1825 – During his tour of the United States, in a ceremony on Johnson Square in Savannah, Ga., the Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstone for a memorial dedicated to Revolutionary War hero General Nathanael Greene.

March 21, 1861 – Future University of Alabama president Josiah Gorgas, who was commanding the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia, resigned from the U.S. Army and would go on to head the Confederate artillery.

March 21, 1861 – During the Civil War, Confederates seized the Federal supply sloop, USS Isabella, at Mobile, Ala. The USS Isabella was headed to Pensacola, Fla.

March 21, 1863 - Union General Edwin Vose Sumner died in Syracuse, N.Y. while awaiting reassignment to the far West. His death came months after he led his corps at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland.

March 21, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred in the vicinity of Moulton, Ala. in Lawrence County.

March 21, 1865 - At Bentonville, North Carolina, Confederate General Joseph Johnston withdrew his army when Union troops threatened to cut off his only line of retreat.

March 21, 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley began his famous search to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone in Africa.

March 21, 1910 - The U.S. Senate granted ex-President Theodore Roosevelt a yearly pension of $10,000.

March 21, 1911 – The Bowles Post Office in Conecuh County, Ala. permanently closed after 24 years of operation. The post office originally opened on Feb. 17, 1887 12-1/2 miles north of Evergreen at the residence of John Kelly, where it remained until Jan. 7, 1909. On that day, the post office moved one mile south to the W.E. “Bill” Cook Store, where the post office remained until it permanently closed.

March 21, 1913 – An F4 tornado passed through Lower Peach Tree, Ala. and a total of 27 were killed, 60 others injured, 30 reported missing.

March 21, 1915 – The railroad dept at Beatrice, Ala. was broken into by burglars, who gained entrance through a rear door by means of a crowbar.

March 21, 1915 – On this Sunday morning, the Hickory Grove Methodist Church was destroyed by fire.

March 21, 1923 – Poet Nizar Qabbani was born in Damascus, Syria.

March 21, 1925 - Alabama author Madison Jones was born in Nashville, Tenn.

March 21, 1932 - Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee were hit by a series of 33 tornadoes that killed 334 people. Of those, 268 of the deaths occurred in Alabama.

March 21, 1932 - Over 250 Alabamians died in tornadoes that sweep the state. More than 1,500 others were injured and damage was estimated at $5 million. The western and north-central parts of the state, especially the towns of Northport, Cullman and Columbiana, were hardest hit.

March 21, 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plotted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan fell through. Von Gersdorff was able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.

March 21, 1946 - The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in since 1933.

March 21, 1946 - The first Mexican League baseball game was played.

March 21, 1952 – A pilot from Texas lost his life when his plane crashed at Goodway Junction, Ala. in a field behind the store of S.B. Newman.

March 21, 1963 - Alabama author Lillian Hellman's play “My Mother, My Father and Me” opened on Broadway.

March 21, 1964 – Margaret Hagood of Evergreen, Ala., who was Conecuh County and the state of Alabama’s 1964 Junior Miss, competed in the America Junior Miss Pageant in Mobile. Hagood was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hagood of Evergreen.

March 21, 1965 - Rev. Martin Luther King led 3,200 marchers from Selma, Ala. toward Montgomery in support of civil rights for black Americans, after two earlier marches had ended at the Edmund Pettus Bridge - the first in violence and the second in prayer. Four days later, outside the Alabama state capitol, King told 25,000 demonstrators that "we are on the move now . . . and no wave of racism can stop us." On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

March 21, 1968 - The new American League franchise in Kansas City, Mo. took the nickname, Royals.

March 21, 1975 – Baseball Hall of Fame left fielder Joe Medwick passed away at the age of 63 in St. Petersburg, Fla. During his career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968.

March 21, 1985 – NFL running back Adrian Peterson was born in Palestine, Texas.

March 21, 1989 – Sports Illustrated reported allegations tying baseball player Pete Rose to baseball gambling.

March 21, 1994 - Michael Jordan was cut from the White Sox roster and was sent to their minor league club.

March 21, 1998 – Hillcrest High School in Evergreen, Ala. competed in the State High School Powerlifting Championship in Daleville and finished No. 5 in the state. State Champions from Hillcrest included Jerry House, who totaled 985 pounds in the 148-pound weight class, and Tim Bush, who totaled 1,135 pounds in the 165-pound weight class.

March 21, 2004 - Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia was demolished.

March 21, 2006 – The social media site Twitter was founded.