Today in History for Aug. 27, 2015

Hannibal Hamlin

Aug. 27, 1776 - British forces under General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard viscount Howe, defeated Patriot forces under General George Washington at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights in New York.

Aug. 27, 1809 - Hannibal Hamlin, the 15th Vice President of the United States, who served under President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, was born in Paris, Maine.

Aug. 27, 1846 – Samuel G. Portis was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Aug. 27, 1856 – R. Hunley Agee was born at Perdue Hill, Ala. He later became the president of the R.H.&W.C. Agee Grocery Co. and one of Selma’s leading businessmen. He served as a member of Selma’s city council and as city tax assessor for two years.

Aug. 27, 1858 - The first cabled news dispatch was sent and was published by "The New York Sun" newspaper. The story was about the peace demands of England and France being met by China.

Aug. 27, 1859 – Petroleum was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well. It's been called "the most important oil well ever drilled" because it marked the beginning of the modern petroleum age. Petroleum had been discovered elsewhere, of course, but this was the first well successfully drilled in search of the stuff.

Aug. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at the Antietam Iron Works in Maryland.

Aug. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Ball’s Crossroad, Va.

Aug. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, King Kamehameha IV announced that his nation, Hawaii, would observe neutrality in the hostilities. This simplified matters for Pacific naval operations of both sides, but had little diplomatic effect.

Aug. 27, 1861 - Union ships sailed into Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, beginning a two-day operation to secure the area for the Federals and denying the Confederates an important outlet to the Atlantic. The capture of Cape Hatteras was an important victory for the Union, especially after the disaster at the First Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, one month earlier. It also gave the Union a toehold on the North Carolina coast, and it sealed an important outlet to the Atlantic.

Aug. 27, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Bridgeport, Alabama.

Aug. 27, 1865 - Charles Dawes, the 30th U.S. Vice President, who served under President Calvin Coolidge, was born in Marietta, Ohio.

Aug. 27, 1871 – Novelist Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. He’s the author of several novels, most notably “Sister Carrie” (1900) and “An American Tragedy” (1925).

Aug. 27, 1899 – Novelist C.S. Forester was born Cecil Smith in Cairo, Egypt.

Aug. 27, 1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, was born in Stonewall, Texas.

Aug. 27, 1914 – Brewton and Monroeville played a baseball double header in Brewton, Ala. Brewton won the first game, 3-2, and Monroeville won the second game, 1-0.

Aug. 27, 1921 - The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, Wisc. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers.

Aug. 27, 1921 – The British installed the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali (leader of the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire) as King Faisal I of Iraq.

Aug. 27, 1937 - The movie “Dead End,” screenplay by Alabama author Lillian Hellman, was released.

Aug. 27, 1938 – Phyllis Newcombe, 22, died after spontaneously combusting in front of numerous witnesses around midnight during a dance at the Chelmsford Shire Hall in England.

Aug. 27, 1942 – The Evergreen Courant reported that construction of the Halso Mill Bridge over Pigeon Creek on Oaky Streak Road in Butler County, 10 miles southwest of Greenville, had been completed. At 920 feet, the bridge was the longest bridge in the Butler County. It was 20-1/2 feet wide and rested on 300 pilings and was constructed of creosoted timbers.

Aug. 27, 1943 - The USS Eldridge was officially commissioned with Lieutenant C. R. Hamilton, USNR, in command.

Aug. 27, 1943 - A movie version of Alabama author Lillian Hellman's play “Watch on the Rhine” was released.

Aug. 27, 1949 – Jeff Cook, who is best known as one of the founding members of the country music group Alabama, was born in Fort Payne, Ala.

Aug. 27, 1953 – Inverness, Ala. native Billy Hitchcock appeared in his final Major League Baseball game, taking the field one last time for the Detroit Tigers.

Aug. 27, 1955 – The first edition of the “Guinness Book of World Records” was printed.

Aug. 27, 1964 – Baldwin County High School principal C.V. Daniels announced that Vance McCrory of Frisco City had been named assistant coach and science teacher at Baldwin County High School in Bay Minette, Ala.

Aug. 27, 1969 – Alabama native Oscar Gamble made his Major League Baseball debut for the Chicago Cubs.

Aug. 27, 1976 – In Charles Branum’s debut as Evergreen High School’s head football coach, Evergreen lost to W.S. Neal, 19-0, in East Brewton. Tony Rogers led the offense and the defense with nine solos and five assists.

Aug. 27, 1981 – Mike Qualls’ long-running “From the Sidelines” sports column made its first appearance in The Monroe Journal.

Aug. 27, 1982 - Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson stole his 119th base of the year, breaking Hall of Famer Lou Brock's 1979 record for stolen bases in a season.

Aug. 27, 1985 – “Claiborne-Murphy Bridge” at Claiborne, which opened to traffic in October 1930, was demolished, replaced by more modern bridge.

Aug. 27, 1986 – Excel’s Scott Bell played offensive tackle for the University of Alabama in the Tide’s 16-10 win over Ohio State in the “Kickoff Classic” in New York City. Between his careers at Excel and Alabama, he played OT at Miss. Delta Jr. College, where he was named to the Miss. Jr. College Conf. All-State Football Team in 1985.

Aug. 27, 1986 - Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros earned his 250th career win against the Chicago Cubs.

Aug. 27, 1990 – Conecuh County public schools were scheduled to open for the first day of classes for students. Steve Coker was Conecuh County’s Superintendent of Education.

Aug. 27, 1990 - The U.S. State Department ordered the expulsion of 36 Iraqi diplomats. Fifty-two Americans also reached Turkey after leaving Iraq, and three young American men were detained by the Iraqis.

Aug. 27, 1994 - The largest mass balloon release --a staggering 1,592,744 balloons-- was staged by Disney Home Video in Wilts, UK.

Aug. 27, 2003 – Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles distant.

Aug. 27, 2007 - Michael Vick, a star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, formally pleaded guilty before a Richmond, Va., judge to a federal felony charge related to running a dogfighting ring.

Aug. 27, 2014 – Former Conecuh County Superintendent of Education, principal, teacher and coach Walter B. Hudson Jr. of Evergreen passed away at the age of 85 at West Florida Regional Medical Center in Pensacola, Fla. A native of Louisville, Ala., he served in Japan with the U.S. Air Force. He was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Evergreen.