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| CSA General Ambrose P. Hill |
April 2, 1513 – Said to be in search for the Fountain of
Youth, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sighted land in what is now
Florida.
April 2, 1565 – Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman was born
in Gouda, Holland, Seventeen Provinces. He discovered a new sea route from
Europe to Indonesia and managed to begin the Dutch spice trade. At the time,
the Portuguese Empire held a monopoly on the spice trade, and the voyage was a
symbolic victory for the Dutch.
April 2, 1725 – Italian
explorer and author (and the world’s most famous womanizer) Giacomo Casanova
was born in Venice, Republic of Venice. His autobiography, “Story of My Life,”
is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European
social life during the 18th century.
April 2, 1777 - The Continental Congress promoted Colonel
Ebenezer Learned to the rank of brigadier general of the Continental Army.
April 2, 1780 - The British began a siege of Charleston,
S.C. On May 12, the Patriots suffered their worst defeat of the revolution with
the unconditional surrender of Major General Benjamin Lincoln.
April 2, 1805 – Danish author and poet Hans Christian
Anderson was born in 1805 in the town of Odense.
April 2, 1814 – After the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, General
Andrew Jackson arrived back at Fort Williams in Talladega County with his
wounded, many of which died there and were buried near the fort.
April 2, 1834 - John Quincy Adams recorded in his diary on
this day that Congressman James Blair "shot himself last evening at his
lodgings ... after reading part of an affectionate letter from his wife, to
Governor (John) Murphy, of (Monroe County) Alabama, who was alone in the
chamber with him, and a fellow-lodger at the same house."
April 2, 1840 – Writer Emile Zola was born in Paris. His
most famous books include “The Drunkard” (1877), “Nana” (1880) and “Germinal”
(1885).
April 2, 1863 – In what is now known as the “Richmond Bread
Riot,” food shortages incited hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond,
Virginia, and demand that the Confederate government release emergency
supplies.
April 2, 1865 – During the Civil War, the siege of Fort
Blakeley, Ala. began. Skirmishes were also fought near Centerville,
Summerfield, and Scottsville, Ala. The Battle of Selma, Ala. also took place.
April 2, 1865 – During the Civil War at the Third Battle of
Petersburg, Va., the Siege of Petersburg was broken by Union Army troops
capturing trenches and breaking Confederate States Army lines, forcing the
Confederates under General Robert E. Lee to retreat in the Appomattox Campaign.
April 2, 1865 - General U.S. Grant's forces began a general
advance all along the Petersburg, Va. line, and Confederate General Ambrose P.
Hill was killed. Confederate General Lee evacuated Petersburg after writing to
Confederate President Jefferson Davis, "I think it absolutely necessary
that we should abandon our position tonight..."
April 2, 1865
– During the Civil War, after a 10-month siege, Confederate President Jefferson
Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond,
Virginia.
April 2, 1865 – Pinckney D. Bowles was promoted to brigadier
general for “gallant and meritorious conduct in the field.”
April 2, 1869 – Pro Baseball Hall of Fame infielder and
manager Hughie Jennings was born in Pittston, Pa. He went on to play for the
Louisville Colonels, the Baltimore Orioles, the Brooklyn Superbas, the
Philadelphia Phillies and the Detroit Tigers. He also managed the Tigers and
the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.
April 2, 1907 – Pro Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Luke
Appling was born in High Point, N.C. He went on to play for the Chicago White
Sox and manage the Kansas City Athletics. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame
in 1964.
April 2, 1915 – The first episode of “Zudora” was shown at
the Arcade Theater in Evergreen on this Friday night.
April 2, 1915 – On this Friday, an Easter egg hunt was held
at 4 p.m. at Evergreen Baptist Church. Admission was 10 cents.
April 2, 1920, Author Hilary H. Milton was born in Jasper,
Ala.
April 2, 1922 - Hermann Rorschach, the Swiss psychiatrist
who created the ink blot test, passed away at the age of 37 in Herisau,
Switzerland.
April 2, 1924 – Major League Baseball second baseman Bobby
Avila was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He would go on to play for the Cleveland
Indians, the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Braves.
April 2, 1925 – In Lovecraftian fiction, the island of
R’lyeh sank once more, and Cthulhu and his star spawn were again imprisoned
beneath the waves. Many consider this event the beginning of a modern era of
increasing Mythos activity.
April 2, 1925 – The Saenger Theatre at 118 South Palafox St.
in Pensacola, Fla. officially opened for business.
April 2, 1932 – Col. Thomas Chalmers McCorvey, a native of
Monroe County, Ala. passed away in Tuscaloosa at the age of 80. A teacher, poet
and historian, he was an active officer and professor at the University of
Alabama for 50 years. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Tuscaloosa,
Ala.
April 2, 1945 – Pro Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton
was born in Clio, Ala. He would go on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the
Houston Astros, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Oakland Athletics and the California
Angels. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
April 2, 1945 – Major League Baseball right fielder and
center fielder Reggie Smith was born in Shreveport, La. He would go on to play
the Boston Red Sox, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San
Francisco Giants and the Yomiuri Giants.
April 2, 1963 – The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King began the
first non-violent campaign in Birmingham, Ala.
April 2, 1966 – NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski was born in
Rockville, Conn. He would go on to play for Boston College, the San Francisco
49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders.
April 2, 1967 - The Beatles finished recording the album
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
April 2, 1980 - A couple in Tokyo set the record for the
longest underwater kiss - two minutes and 18 seconds.
April 2, 1981 – The Evergreen Courant reported that
Evergreen, Ala. native Clint Jackson, an internationally ranked welterweight boxer
who was living in Nashville, Tenn., had contracted for his 11th fight, which
was scheduled to take place on April 2 in Tampa against Bruce Johnson, the
top-ranked welterweight in Florida. Jackson was ranked No. 8 in the world and
was 10-0 with eight wins by knock out.
April 2, 1984 - President Ronald Reagan threw out the first
ball in the season opener between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White
Sox in Baltimore.
April 2, 1986 – Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace announced at
a press conference in Montgomery that he would not run for a fifth term as
Governor of Alabama, and would retire from public life after leaving the
governor's mansion in January 1987. Wallace achieved four gubernatorial terms
across three decades, totaling 16 years in office.
April 2, 1994 – Max McAliley, a professional photographer in
Monroe County, Ala. for many years and an assistant editor for The Monroe
Journal, passed away.
April 2, 1995 - The costliest strike in professional sports
history ended when Major League Baseball owners agreed to let players play
without a contract.
April 2, 1996 – New York Yankee Derek Jeter hit his first
Major League home run by going deep on opening day in Cleveland. Batting ninth
in the order – a position that would be upgraded as the season wore on – Jeter
lined a leadoff home run to left in the fifth inning. He would go on to win the
1996 AL Rookie of the Year Award.
April 2, 2003 - Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers became
the youngest player to hit 300 homeruns, beating Jimmie Foxx's record by 79
days.
April 2, 2004 - The first Eugene Walter Writers Festival
opened in Mobile, Ala.
April 2, 2004 – The “Hellboy” movie was first released in
theaters.
April 2, 2012 – Australian explorer, author, conservationist
and chemical engineer Warren Bonython passed away at the age of 95. He is best
known for his role, spanning many years, of working towards the promotion,
planning and eventual creation of the Heysen Trail.
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