Today in History for July 26, 2015

Sam Houston

July 26, 1775 - The U.S. postal system was established by the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general.

July 26, 1788 – New York ratified the United States Constitution and became the 11th state of the United States.

July 26, 1813 – Troopers on their way to the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek crossed the Alabama River, the horses swimming beside the canoes. They marched southeastward to the cowpens of David Tate. There they were again reinforced by a company from Tensaw Lake and Little River, that was commanded by an educated, courageous, energetic half-breed Creek, Dixie Bailey. The whole force now numbered 180 men.

July 26, 1825 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette departed Chester, Pennsylvania for the Brandywine Battlefield ending the day in West Chester, Pa.

July 26, 1856 – Nobel Prize-winning playwright George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland.

July 26, 1861 – During the Civil War, George B. McClellan assumed command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.

July 26, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Spangler’s Mill, near Jonesborough, Ala.

July 26, 1863 – During the Civil War, Morgan's Raid ended at Salineville, Ohio when Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers were captured by Union forces. Starting in July 1862, Morgan made four major raids on Northern or Northern-held territory over the course of a year. Although they were of limited strategic significance, the raids served as a boost to Southern morale and captured much-needed supplies.

July 26, 1863 – During the Civil War, Sam Houston, who had opposed Texas' secession from the Union, died of pneumonia at the age of 70 at Steamboat House in Huntsville, Texas.

July 26, 1864 – Confederate Major General Dabney H. Maury was assigned command of the Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, headquartered in Mobile, Ala.

July 26, 1879 – Monroe County Judge Sowell held a hearing in regard to Charles Roberts, who’d been rearrested on a second murder warrant in connection with the murder of D.W. Rankin on July 21. Col. Hibbard represented Roberts and argued that Roberts should be released because his case had already been “judicially investigated by a competent magistrate,” Justice of the Peace J.L. Marshall. Sowell disagreed and had Roberts put in jail. D.L. Neville represented the government at the hearing.

July 26, 1894 – English author Aldous Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey.

July 26, 1910 – E.J. McCreary returned home to Conecuh County, Ala. from a fishing trip near St. Andrews Bay and brought home a king fish about four feet long.

July 26, 1910 – News reached Evergreen, Ala. on this day that prominent Conecuh County citizen and former Confederate officer Pinckney D. Bowles had passed away at the age of 75 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Cobb, in Tampa, Fla., where he’d been several weeks prior to his death. The news came in a telegram to J.S. Stearns, who was Bowles’s nephew.

July 26, 1911 – Teams from Evergreen and Montgomery played each other in baseball in Evergreen, Ala.

July 26, 1914 – The L&N Railroad began running a new train between Georgiana and Flomaton, where it connected with regular trains running to Mobile and Pensacola. The new train left Georgiana at 6 a.m. with the trains departing from Mobile and Pensacola at 4 p.m. This allowed patrons to transact business in Mobile and Pensacola or at any point along the line and return home the same day.

July 26, 1914 - Erskine Hawkins, famed jazz musician, was born in Birmingham, Ala. His band, the 'Bama State Collegians, became the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra in the late 1930s after gaining a following in New York and winning a recording contract with RCA Victor. The band's biggest hit was the immensely popular "Tuxedo Junction" (1940).

July 26, 1918 – During World War I,  Army Cpl. James E. Hendrix of Roy (Frisco City), Army Pvt. Horace Rigsby of Georgiana and Army Pvt. William T. Cheatham of Greenville were killed in action. Also on this day, Army Pvt. James Boggan of Atmore “died from wounds” during World War I. Hendrix was buried in the American Cemetery at Seringes-et-Nesle, Aisne, France, Grave 103, Section J, Plot 2.

July 26, 1921 – Humorist Jean Shepherd was born in Chicago, Ill. The 1983 movie, “A Christmas Story,” is based on his 1967 book, “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash.”

July 26, 1922 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm was born in Huntersville, N.C. He would go on to play for the New York Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Indians, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago White Sox, the California Angles, the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

July 26, 1928 – Movie director Stanley Kubrick was born in New York City.

July 26, 1928 - Gene Tunney beat Tom Heeney by a technical knockout in the 11th round at Yankee Stadium to retain the world heavyweight title.

July 26, 1931 - Farmers in the American Midwest saw their crops destroyed by a massive swarm of grasshoppers. The insect collective was so big that it allegedly blocked out the sun and devoured entire fields of crops.

July 26, 1945 – The U.S. Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis arrived at Tinian with parts of the warhead for the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

July 26, 1947 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the United States National Security Council.

July 26, 1948 - Babe Ruth was seen by the public for the last time, when he attended the New York City premiere of the motion picture, "The Babe Ruth Story."

July 26, 1951 – During the Korean War, Army PFC Isaac Lee Jr. of Monroe County, Ala. was killed in action.

July 26, 1952 - Alabama Senator John Sparkman was named the Democratic vice-presidential running mate with Adlai Stevenson. Sparkman was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama in 1936 and served in that body until 1946 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 1979. The Democratic ticket lost the election to Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.

July 26, 1959 - Alabama author Rick Bragg was born in Piedmont, Ala.

July 26, 1962 – Lewis Ramsey, head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Evergreen High School, resigned to accept head coaching position at Brookwood High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

July 26, 1977 – Troy David Jenkins was born in Phoenix, Az. Jenkins grew up in Evergreen, graduated from Hillcrest in 1995, and was fatally wounded in April 2003 while serving in Iraq.

July 26, 1979 – An organizational meeting for the varsity football team at Lyeffion High School was scheduled to be held on this Thursday night at 7 p.m.

July 26, 1998 – According to The Regina Leader Post, Janet Gamble spotted huge footprints while jogging near her home in northern Saskatchewan. She alerted her husband, Dennis, and he and his brother videotaped the tracks to establish a permanent record. The footprints were 14-inch by seven-inches and came from something with a six-foot stride.

July 26, 2000 - Oasis stormed off stage after being hit with bottles, can and coins at a Swiss music festival.

July 26, 2004 - The Arizona Diamondbacks ended their club-record losing streak of 14 games.