Today in History for March 30, 2015

March 30, 240 BC - Chinese astronomers first recorded the passage of Halley's Comet.

March 30, 1775 - Britain's King George III formally endorsed the New England Restraining Act, which required New England colonies to trade exclusively with Great Britain as of July 1.

March 30, 1817 – Richard Thomas Baggett, who was said to have been the first child born to white settlers in Conecuh County, Ala., was born on the Baggett family farm, NE 1/4 Section 4, Township 4 North, Range 10 East.

March 30, 1820 – Author Anna Sewell was born in Yarmouth, England. She wrote “Black Beauty” in 1877.

March 30, 1822 - Florida became a U.S. territory.

March 30, 1825 - Confederate General Samuel Maxey was born in Tompkisville, Kentucky. During the Civil War, Maxey served in the West and led Native Americans troops in Indian Territory.

March 30, 1853 – Painter Vincent Van Gogh was born in Zundert, Holland.

March 30, 1855 – About 5,000 "Border Ruffians" from western Missouri invaded the territory of Kansas and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. It was the first election in Kansas.

March 30, 1858 – Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia patented the first pencil to have an attached eraser.

March 30, 1861 – Jephtha V. Perryman passed away at the age of 63. He served as a legislator, judge and education superintendent in Conecuh County, Ala.

March 30, 1864 – During the Civil War, a Federal reconnaissance began from Woodville, Ala.

March 30, 1865 - General James H. Wilson detached Gen. John T. Croxton's brigade to destroy all Confederate property at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Wilson's forces captured a Confederate courier, found to be carrying dispatches from Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest describing the strengths and dispositions of his scattered forces. Wilson sent a brigade to destroy the bridge across the Cahaba River at Centreville, which cut off most of Forrest's reinforcements from reaching the area. He began a running fight with Forrest's forces that did not end until after the fall of Selma.

March 30, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Montevallo, Ala.

March 30, 1867 – Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about two cents per acre, by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.

March 30, 1870 - The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, was passed by the U.S. Congress.

March 30, 1870 – Texas was readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.

March 30, 1880 – Playwright Sean O’Casey was born in Dublin, Ireland.

March 30, 1905 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate in the Russo-Japanese peace talks.

March 30, 1905 – The Monroe Journal reported that the law firm of Wiggins, Hybart & Bayles has been dissolved, and the firm of Bayles, Hybart & Burns had taken its place. Jno. M. Burns, the new member, was from Selma, where he had practiced law for eight years, including two year’s as Selma’s City Attorney.

March 30, 1911 – An unidentified man, about 24 years old, was killed by a freight train near the depot in Evergreen at about 9 p.m. He is supposed to have been stealing a ride and fell from the train. The wheels passed over his body, severing it in the middle. On his arm was tattooed the name John Hartley South Wales.

March 30, 1911 – The Conecuh Record reported that the City Grocery had installed a large, up-to-date refrigerator, the first of its kind in Evergreen. It held up to 500 pounds of ice and was used for perishable goods like butter, cheese and berries.

March 30, 1915 – Shortly after noon, Mrs. Ed Peacock was “instantly killed” by a bolt of lightning at her home near Wilcox Station. She had been on the back porch and when returning to the kitchen, lightning struck the house, killing her. The bolt also shattered a column and pillar under the porch and killed a dog nearby in the yard.

March 30, 1939 – “Detective Comics” No. 27 was released, introducing Batman.

March 30, 1946 – About 400 people attended Conecuh County’s first fat calf show at the Conecuh Cooperative Stockyard in Evergreen, Ala. Dan Brown was Grand Champion, and Johnnie Nielson was the Reserve Grand Champion.

March 30, 1946 – “St. Louis Woman,” a musical version of Alabama author Arna Bontemps's book “God Sends Sunday,” opened on Broadway.

March 30, 1966 – Army Sgt. Elmer Jack Taylor of Atmore, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam.

March 30, 1967 - The cover of the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was staged and photographed.

March 30, 1984 – County music’s Hank Locklin was scheduled to perform at the Eighth Annual Sparta Academy Talent Show and Contest in Evergreen, Ala.

March 30, 1988 - The movie “Beetlejuice,” story by and screenplay cowritten by Alabama author Robert McDowell, was released.

March 30, 1989 – The Gee’s Bend Farms Community School in Gee’s Bend in Wilcox County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

March 30, 1989 – The Rawls House in Enterprise, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

March 30, 1993 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown hit his first home run.

March 30, 2004 - NFL owners approved a modified version of the instant replay system for five years. They added a third coaches' challenge if the first two were successful.

March 30, 2008 - U.S. President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at the Washington National's new stadium, Nationals Park.