Today in History for Aug. 19, 2015

Gontran de Poncins

Aug. 19, 1612 – The "Samlesbury witches," three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, were put on trial, accused of practicing witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in British history.

Aug. 19, 1692 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard and John Proctor were hanged on Gallows Hill in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay. Elizabeth Proctor was not hanged because she is pregnant.

Aug. 19, 1782 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Blue Licks, the last major engagement of the war, took place, almost 10 months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.

Aug. 19, 1819 – Sparta attorney John E. Graham was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Alabama.

Aug. 19, 1829 - French painter and physicist Louis Daguerre presented his photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences.

Aug. 19, 1848 – The New York Herald broke the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).

Aug. 19, 1861 – The first ascent of Weisshorn, the fifth highest summit in the Alps, took place.

Aug. 19, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Klapsford and Charleston, Mo.

Aug. 19, 1861 – During the Civil War, Henry Halleck was promoted to Major General.

Aug. 19, 1862 – Noah Dallas Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock’s older brother) enlisted in Co. F, 15th Ala. Infantry at Newton, Ala. At the time, the unit was serving with the Army of Northern Va.; but Noah took sick almost immediately, missing out on the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) on Sept. 17, 1862. He got out of the hospital on Oct. 8.

Aug. 19, 1862 - Dakota (Sioux) warriors decided to bypass Fort Ridgely during an uprising in Minnesota. It was the third day of the uprising. It would be two months before Union troops would subdue the rebellion. More than 500 whites were killed and 2,000 Indians were captured. On December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota warriors were executed for their role in the uprising.

Aug. 19, 1864 – During the Civil War, another skirmish occurred near Antioch Church, Ala.

Aug. 19, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Milton, Fla.

Aug. 19, 1864 - Union General Ulysses S. Grant's attack at Deep Bottom Run, which began five days earlier, failed.

Aug. 19, 1871 – Aircraft pioneer Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio.

Aug. 19, 1879 – Charles Roberts, who was in the Monroe County (Ala.) Jail on murder charges, led a jail break involving five inmates around 3 p.m. Roberts apparently used a bar of iron that he broke from the wall of his cell to pry the large iron bolt from the lock of his cell, made his way into the hallway between cells, found the keys to the other cells and released J.W. (G.W.?) Collins, Jeff Powell, Tom Riley and George King. Roberts later claimed that he paid a black jail inmate named Sandy $5 for him to use a long string with a hook on the end to get the keys and opened the cells.

Aug. 19, 1880 – R.F. Wallace was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Circuit Court Clerk.

Aug. 19, 1895 – Outlaw gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, who lived for about 18 months in Pollard, Ala., was shot to death by off-duty policeman John Selman Sr. in the Acme Saloon in El Paso, Texas.

Aug. 19, 1896 - Army Pvt. Andrew E. Snow of Uriah, Ala., who died on Jan. 11, 1919 from disease during World War I at Fort Logan H. Roots, Ark., was born.

Aug. 19, 1900 – French author and adventurer Gontran de Poncins was born in Southeast France.

Aug. 19, 1905 – Capt. C.W. Locklin passed away at the age of 77 at his residence at Perdue Hill, Ala. He was a prominent warehouse clerk, steamboat captain, planter and trade company president.

Aug. 19, 1905 – A brand new Munger system steam ginnery plant was put into operation on this Saturday at the Kyser-Betts Mercantile Co. in Burnt Corn, Ala. The plant could turn out 20 finished bales of cotton per day.

Aug. 19, 1909 - The Philadelphia Phillies were rained out a major-league record tenth consecutive day.

Aug. 19, 1914 – Capt. J.C. Cheney and Montgomery Advertiser cartoonist Frank M. Spangler were guests of  C.P. Deming and John Cunningham at the Country Club in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 19, 1914 – Bertha Johnson of Conecuh County, Ala. accepted a position as telegraph operator with the L&N Railroad and was believed to be the youngest female telegraph operator on the railroad at the time.

Aug. 19, 1917 - Team managers John McGraw and Christy Matthewson were arrested for breaking New York City's blue laws. The crime was their teams were playing baseball on Sunday.

Aug. 19, 1921 - Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers recorded his 3,000 career hit.

Aug. 19, 1921 - Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas. Roddenberry's first career was as an airline pilot. Later, he created the TV series “Star Trek.”

Aug. 19, 1930 – Memoirist Frank McCourt was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his 1996 book, “Angela’s Ashes.”

Aug. 19, 1934 – Luverne’s baseball team captured the Central Alabama League second half title by beating Evergreen, 4-3, in Evergreen.

Aug. 19, 1934 – The creation of the position Führer was approved by the German electorate with 89.9 percent of the popular vote, and Adolf Hitler was approved for sole executive power in Germany as Fuehrer.

Aug. 19, 1941, Alabama author James Agee's and Walker Evans' book “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” was published.

Aug. 19, 1946 - William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was born in Hope, Arkansas.

Aug. 19, 1951 - The St. Louis Browns sent a midget to the plate in the bottom half of the first inning against the Detroit Tigers. Eddie Gaedel, wearing the number 1/8 and standing only three feet, seven inches tall, walked on four consecutive pitches and was then replaced by a pinch-runner.

Aug. 19, 1957 - The New York Giants Board of Directors voted to move the team to San Francisco in 1958.

Aug. 19, 1960 - The Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik 5 into Earth orbit, with 2 dogs (Belka and Strelka), 40 mice, 2 rats, and a variety of plants. They became the first living organisms to safely return from space.

Aug. 19, 1964 - The first American tour by the Beatles began in San Francisco, Calif. The tour would cover 26 cities.

Aug. 19, 1976 – M.N. Lloyd’s Water Mill near Red Level in Covington County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Aug. 19, 1986 - Twenty people were killed in a car bomb explosion in Tehran. Iran initially accused "American agents," however they later executed an "Iraqi agent."

Aug. 19, 1995 - Bobby Thigpen of the Chicago White Sox got his 40th save of season and became the eighth and fastest to record 40 saves in a season.

Aug. 19, 1996 - Paul Molitor of the Minnesota Twins tied Lou Gherig by hitting his 534th career double.

Aug. 19, 1998 - The first piece of the 351 foot bronze statue of Christopher Columbus arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Aug. 19, 2002 - John Madden debuted on "Monday Night Football."

Aug. 19, 2003 – A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq killed the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.

Aug. 19, 2004 - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig received a contract extension through 2009.

Aug. 19, 2005 – Hillcrest High School’s varsity football team was scheduled to play a preseason game against W.S. Neal in Evergreen, Ala. at 7 p.m. Arlton Hudson was Hillcrest’s head coach.

Aug. 19, 2010 – Operation Iraqi Freedom ended with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.