Today in History for April 6, 2015

General Albert Sidney Johnston

April 6, 648 B.C. - The first known record of a total solar eclipse was made by the Greeks.

April 6, 1320 – The Scots reaffirmed their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.

April 6, 1483 – Italian painter and architect Raphael was born Raffaello Sanzio in Urbino, Italy.

April 6, 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.

April 6, 1776 – During the Revolutionary War, ships of the Continental Navy failed in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.

April 6, 1776 - The Continental Congress opened all American ports to international trade with any part of the world that was not under British rule.

April 6, 1789 - The first U.S. Congress began regular sessions at the Federal Hall in New York City.

April 6, 1804 – President Thomas Jefferson appointed Ephraim Kirby of Connecticut as the first superior court judge of the Mississippi territory. Kirby would pass away about six months later at the age of 47 from a fever at Fort Stoddert near Mount Vernon, Ala. A marker in his memory can be found today at the intersection of Old US Highway 43 and Military Road in Mount Vernon.

April 6, 1825 – Marquis de LaFayette visited Claiborne, Ala.

April 6, 1826 – Young Madison Rabb was born at Old Town. Would go on to write “The Early History of What is Known as the Evergreen Beat.” (Some sources say he was born on April 4, 1826.)

April 6, 1830 – The Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, was organized by Joseph Smith and five others at Fayette or Manchester, New York.

April 6, 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler was sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison's death.

April 6, 1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, was organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.

April 6, 1861 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln sent word to the Confederate Congress that he intended to send food to Fort Sumter.

April 6, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee as forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant met Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston. The Confederates conducted a surprise attack on Grant's troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River, and Johnston was killed in the battle. The battles included Hornets' Nest, the Peach Orchard and Bloody Pond.

April 6, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Town Creek, Ala.

April 6, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at King’s Store, Lanier’s Mill, and Sipsey Creek, Ala.

April 6, 1865 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Sailor's (Sayler’s) Creek began as Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fought and lost its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign. A third of Lee’s army was cut off by Union troops pursuing him to Appomattox.

April 6, 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, was founded. It lasted until 1956.

April 6, 1893 – The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.

April 6, 1895 – A posse of about 20 men tracked “Railroad Bill” to Bay Minette, Ala., where a gun fight resulted in the death of Baldwin County deputy sheriff James Stewart and Bill’s escape.

April 6, 1897 – Critic, novelist and short-story writer Robert Coates was born in New Haven, Conn. His book’s include the 1926 novel, “The Eater of Darkness.”

April 6, 1903 – Pro Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane was born in Bridgewater, Mass. He went on to play for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers, and he later managed the Tigers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.

April 6, 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole.

April 6, 1917 – The United States officially entered World War I when the U.S. Congress approved a declaration of war on Germany, entering the war on the Allied side.

April 6, 1928 – Molecular biologist James Dewey Watson was born in Chicago, Ill.

April 6, 1937 – Country music singer Merle Haggard was born near Bakersfield, Calif.

April 6, 1940 - Alabama author and Poet Laureate Sue Brannan Walker was born.

April 6, 1943 – Major League Baseball pitcher Marty Pattin was born in Charleston, Ill. He would go on to play for the California Angels, the Seattle Pilots, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals.

April 6, 1944 – NFL quarterback John Huarte was born in Anaheim, Calif. He would go on to play for Notre Dame, the New York Jets, the Boston Patriots, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears.

April 6, 1945 – A World War II prisoner of war camp opened in Jackson, Ala. Many of the prisoners were members of Germany’s Afrika Korps. The camp closed March 12, 1946.

April 6, 1951 – Pro Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven was born ini Zeist, Netherlands. He went on to play for the Minnesota Twins, the Texas Rangers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cleveland Indians, the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

April 6, 1965 - Alabama author Edward Kimbrough died in New Orleans, La.

April 6, 1967 – Army Cpl. James Floyd Madden of Brewton, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam. Also on this day, the Siege of Khe Sanh ended.

April 6, 1969 – Army Sgt. David Roger Wiggins of Monroeville, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam.

April 6, 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball began using the designated hitter.

April 6, 1973 - U.S. President Richard Nixon threw out the first pitch of the season at a California Angels game. It was the first time that a U.S. President had performed the ceremonial activity in a city other than Washington, DC.

April 6, 1977 – Major League Baseball first baseman Andy Phillips was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He went on to play for the New York Yankees, the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets.

April 6, 1986 - The television program, The Jar, teleplay by Alabama author Robert McDowell, was broadcast as part of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series.

April 6, 1988 - Mathew Henson was awarded honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Henson had discovered the North Pole with Robert Peary.