Today in History for Aug. 2, 2015

James I. Waddell

Aug. 2, 1610 – Henry Hudson sailed into what is now known as Hudson Bay thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.

Aug. 2, 1776 – Fifty-six delegates of the Second Continental Congress began adding their signatures to an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pa., although it is popularly believed to have been signed a month earlier on the Fourth of July. Although some signers of the Declaration of Independence, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, wrote in the years after the signing that it had taken place in July, by the 1790s political historians began to doubt this date. For one thing, a number of the signers had not actually been present in Philadelphia earlier in the summer of '76, including eight delegates who hadn't even been elected to the Continental Congress until after they'd supposedly signed the Declaration.

Aug. 2, 1790 – The first United States Census was conducted.

Aug. 2, 1819 - The first Alabama constitution was adopted on this day, paving the way to statehood in December. Known today as the Constitution of 1819, to distinguish it from five subsequent constitutions, it was considered a model of democracy at the time. It granted, for example, suffrage to all adult white males without regard to property ownership or other qualifications.

Aug. 2, 1858 - In Boston and New York City, the first mailboxes were installed along streets.

Aug. 2, 1861 - The United States Congress passed the first income tax, calling for three percent on incomes over $800. The bill also provided for new and stiffer tariffs, and the revenues were intended for the war effort against the South. The tax was never enacted.

Aug. 2, 1861 – During the Civil War, Federal forces conducted a reconnaissance mission from Ironton to Centreville, Mo. A skirmish was also fought at Dug Springs, Missouri.

Aug. 2, 1861 - Fort Stanton, New Mexico Territory, was abandoned by Federal forces.

Aug. 2, 1864 – During the Civil War, there was a build-up of Federal Naval strength off the mouth of Mobile Bay, Ala.

Aug. 2, 1865 - The captain and crew of the C.S.S. Shenandoah, still prowling the waters of the Pacific in search of Yankee whaling ships, was finally informed by a British vessel that the South had lost the Civil War. Captain James I. Waddell then sailed the ship from the northern Pacific to Liverpool, England, without stopping at any ports. The ship was surrendered to British officials upon arrival at Liverpool on November 6.

Aug. 2, 1876 - "Wild Bill" Hickok was killed (shot from behind) while playing poker in Deadwood, South Dakota. Jack McCall was later hanged for the shooting.

Aug. 2, 1915 – Charles Chaplin, the “funniest comedian on the screen,” was to be shown at the Arcade Theatre in Evergreen on this Monday night.

Aug. 2, 1920 - Alabama author Lonnie Coleman was born in Bartow, Ga.

Aug. 2, 1921 - Eight White Sox players were acquitted of throwing the 1919 World Series.

Aug. 2, 1923 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States, passed away while in office from a stroke at a hotel in San Francisco, Calif. at the age of 57. Harding was returning from a presidential tour of Alaska and the West Coast, a journey some believed he had embarked on to escape the rumors circulating in Washington of corruption in his administration. Harding was the great-grandson of Conecuh County’s Henchie Warren, who is said to have hid a chest of gold in Shipps Pond during the Civil War.

Aug. 2, 1923 – Vice President Calvin Coolidge became U.S. President upon the death of President Warren G. Harding. Coolidge was sworn in as president by his father, a notary public, in his family home in Plymouth, Vermont. For the rest of his first term, one of President Coolidge’s principal duties was responding to public outrage over the Teapot Dome oil-leasing scandals, the revelations of fraudulent transactions in the Veterans Bureau and Justice Department, and the reports of his predecessor’s multiple extramarital affairs

Aug. 2, 1925 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Horror at Red Hook,” which was originally published in the January 1927 issue of Weird Tales.

Aug. 2, 1934 – Adolf Hitler became Führer of Germany following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg.

Aug. 2, 1936 - Alabama author Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews died in Syracuse, N.Y.

Aug. 2, 1938 - Bright yellow baseballs were used in a major league baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. It was hoped that the balls would be easier to see.

Aug. 2, 1939 – Horror film director Wes Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

Aug. 2, 1953 – The Evergreen Greenies, managed by Zell Murphy, beat Florala, 8-7, in Brooks Stadium in Evergreen, Ala. John Greel Ralls hit two home runs, and J.W. Windham got the pitching win.

Aug. 2, 1958 – Conecuh County’s 1958 Maid of Cotton Contest was scheduled to be held in conjunction with the County Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting. Peggy Harper won the Conecuh County Maid of Cotton title in 1957.

Aug. 2, 1974 - John Dean was sentenced to one to four years in prison for his involvement in the Watergate cover-up.

Aug. 2, 1984 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the Conecuh County Board of Education had officially closed Nichburg School. All students previously attending Nichburg School were to attend Repton High School during the 1984-1985 school year.

Aug. 2, 1990 – At 2 a.m. local time, Iraqi ground forces entered Kuwait, and President Bush immediately proclaimed that the invasion "would not stand" and vowed to help Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in their efforts to force the Iraqis from Kuwaiti land. Iraq claimed that Kuwait had driven down oil prices by exceeding production quotas set by OPEC.

Aug. 2, 1999 – After interviews with three final applicants, the Conecuh County Board of Education selected Nancy Deabler as principal of Repton Hunior High School.

Aug. 2, 2012 – A powerful storm with high straight-line winds swept through Castleberry, Ala. around 12:30 p.m., damaging trees, utility lines and the town’s baseball field. The storm knocked over 15 trees, which resulted in a power outage throughout town. The trees blocked a number of major thoroughfares in the town, including U.S. Highway 31, Cleveland Avenue and the CSX railroad. The resulting power outage lasted between three and four hours.

Aug. 2, 2012 - Longtime Conecuh County businessman Frank James Chavers passed away at his home at the age of 78.

Aug. 2, 2012 – The Crosby Family Cemetery and the New Home Church of Christ Cemetery in Conecuh County were added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.