Today in History for Aug. 23, 2015

Texas Ranger John Armstrong

Aug. 23, 1541 – French explorer Jacques Cartier landed near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.

Aug. 23, 1741 – French explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was born near Albi, France.

Aug. 23, 1775 – During the American Revolutionary War, King George III delivered his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion.

Aug. 23, 1784 - Four counties in western North Carolina declared their independence as the state of Franklin. The area, known as the Cumberland River Valley, would eventually become part of Tennessee. The petition for acceptance did not pass in the U.S. Congress. Franklin defied Congress until it rejoined North Carolina in 1788 when Cherokee, Chickamauga and Chickasaw began attacking settlements.

Aug. 23, 1790 – Early Conecuh County pioneer and minister Alexander Travis was born in Edgefield District, S.C.

Aug. 23, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Medoe, Missouri.

Aug. 23, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Fort Craig in the New Mexico Territory.

Aug. 23, 1861 – During the Civil War, a engagement was fought between the US steamers, Yankee and Release, with the batteries at the mouth of the Potomac Creek in Virginia.

Aug. 23, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Springfield, West Virginia.

Aug. 23, 1861 – During the Civil War, Allan Pinkerton, head of the new secret service agency of the Federal government, placed Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow under house arrest in Washington, D.C. Greenhow was a wealthy widow living in Washington at the outbreak of the war, was well connected in the capital and was especially close with Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson. The Maryland native was openly committed to the Southern cause, and she soon formed a substantial spy network.

Aug. 23, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred near Trinity, Ala.

Aug. 23, 1863 - Alabama author Amelie Rives was born in Richmond, Va.

  

Aug. 23, 1864 – The Battle of Mobile Bay ended with the Confederate surrender of Fort Morgan. Alabama had seized the fort from federal control in January 1861 and then turned it over to Confederate forces, which, until August 1864, used it to keep the U.S. Navy out of Mobile Bay, while letting blockade runners in. The surrender of Fort Morgan left Wilmington, N.C. as the last port open for Confederate blockade runners.

Aug. 23, 1865 - The trial of Henry Wirz began. He had been charged with conspiracy to injure the health and lives of Union soldiers and murder. The trial lasted two months and he was executed on Nov. 10.

Aug. 23, 1868 – Writer and poet Edgar Lee Masters was born in Garnett, Kansas. He is best known for his 1915 book, “Spoon River Anthology.”

Aug. 23, 1877 – Texas Ranger John Armstrong arrested John Wesley Hardin, who lived for about 18 months in Pollard, Ala., in a Florida rail car near Pensacola, and returned the outlaw to Texas to stand trial for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb three years earlier in a small town near Austin, Texas. Webb’s murder was one in a long series of killings committed by the famous outlaw-the 39th by Hardin’s own count. Tried in Austin, a jury found Hardin guilty of killing Sheriff Webb and sentenced him to life in the Texas state prison at Huntsville, but he served only 15 years before the governor pardoned him.

Aug. 23, 1884 – Humorist Will Cuppy was born in Auburn, Indiana.

Aug. 23, 1888 - Alabama author Philip Henry Gosse died in Marychurch, Devon, England.

Aug. 23, 1896 – In Lovecraftian fiction, Viennese occult scholar Dr. Stanislaus Hinterstoisser was born. The doctor, who first appeared in 1978’s “The Necronomicon: The Book of Dead Names” by George Hay, is most famous for his discovery of Lovecraft’s father’s ties to the freemasons.

Aug. 23, 1898 – The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed from London.

Aug. 23, 1911 – The Woodmen of the World baseball team beat the Knights of Pythias, 21-9, in “one of the greatest games of ball ever played in Evergreen.”

Aug. 23, 1914 - Alabama State Highway Engineer William Simpson Keller (Helen Keller’s half-brother) led a group through Evergreen, Ala. while scouting a route for a new trunk road between Montgomery and Mobile. They came to Evergreen from Georgiana and were received by a large crowd that included a band from Brewton. They were treated to a large barbecue dinner at the Country Club and greeted guests from Evergreen, Greenville, Georgiana, Garland, Owassa, Castleberry, Brewton, Pollard, Burnt Corn and Pensacola. Speeches were delivered by Rep. E.C. Page, attorneys Jas. A. Stallworth and E.E. Newton, the Hon. J.F. Jones and the Rev. A. Arnold Ross. Keller’s party departed Conecuh County early the next morning.

Aug. 23, 1922 – National Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman George Kell was born in Swifton, Ark. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

Aug. 23, 1939 - Alabama author Lewis Nordan was born in Forest, Miss.

Aug. 23, 1957 – Evergreen High School’s football team was scheduled to hold its first preseason practice of the 1957 season on this Friday morning at 5 a.m. under head coach Wendell Hart and assistant coach Jeff Moorer. Standout players expected to be returning that season included Jimmy Bell, George Bolton, Robbie Boykin, Cleveland Brown, Howard Claybrook, Robert Daniels, Robert Ellington, Bobby English, Billy Grace, Jerry Mitchell, Jimmy Moorer, Paul Pace, Wayne Peacock, Ceylon Strong, Byron Warren, Dale Wiggins and Zeke Zukowski.

Aug. 23, 1964 – Huntsville, Ala. native Don Mincher of the Minnesota Twins became one of only 21 players to hit a home run completely over the right field roof and out of Tiger Stadium in Detroit during the 64-year history of its final configuration.

Aug. 23, 1982 - Gaylord Perry of the Seattle Mariners was tossed out of a game for throwing an illegal spitball.

Aug. 23, 1989 - Pete Rose, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball after being accused of gambling on baseball.

Aug. 23, 1990 – Carlisle Hall, near Marion, Ala., was added to the National Register of Historic Places. (13 Alabama Ghosts)

Aug. 23, 1990 – Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War. He told the group that they were being held "to prevent the scourge of war."

Aug. 23, 2002 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm passed away at the age of 80 in Sarasota, Fla. During his career, he played for the New York Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Indians, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago White Sox, the California Angels, the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

Aug. 23, 2005 - A movie version of Alabama author Ambrose Bierce's story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was released.

Aug. 23, 2013 – “Devil’s Pass,” a fictionalized movie about the Dyatlov Pass Incident, was released in theaters.

Aug. 23, 2014 - Evergreen, Ala. recorded a high of 100 this afternoon. This was the first triple digit high temperature in Evergreen since Aug. 31, 2011.

Aug. 23, 2014 – Monroe Academy’s football team defeated Lancaster Christian, 41-6, in Smyrna, Tenn.