Today in History for Aug. 28, 2015

Edgeworth David

Aug. 28, 1609 - Delaware Bay was discovered by Henry Hudson.

Aug. 28, 1749 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the father of German literature and the author of the epic drama “Faust,” was born in Frankfurt.

Aug. 28, 1774 - Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City. She went on to found the first Catholic school and the first female apostolic community in the United States. She was also the first American-born saint beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.

Aug. 28, 1776 - General George Washington ordered 1,200 more men from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Aug. 28, 1833 – The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 received Royal Assent, abolishing slavery through most of the British Empire.

Aug. 28, 1845 – The first issue of Scientific American magazine was published. It’s the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States, and it started as a four-page weekly newsletter.

Aug. 28, 1859 – The Carrington event disrupted electrical telegraph services and caused aurora to shine so brightly that they are seen clearly over the Earth's middle latitudes.

Aug. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, Union forces attacked Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, which lasted for two days. This closed an important outlet from Pamlico Sound for Confederate blockade runners. Its propaganda value was vastly greater. It was the first Federal incursion of Confederate soil in the Carolinas since secession, and caused rejoicing in the North, and corresponding despondency in the South, all out of proportion to its true value.

Aug. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Ball's Mill, Mo.

Aug. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Ball's Cross Roads and near Baily's Cross Roads, Va.

Aug. 28-30, 1862 – The Second Battle of Manassas (Second Bull Run) took place in Prince William County, Va. and four members of the Conecuh Guards were killed there - Thomas Robertson, Joseph Stallworth, James H. Thomas (who’d been wounded earlier at Seven Pines on May, 31, 1862) and Jasper Newton Stinson (who’d been promoted to color sergeant of the Fourth Alabama Regiment about a month before). Five other members of the Conecuh Guards were wounded - 1st Lt. Alfred Christian, 1st Lt. John G. Guice (who was wounded in two places, lost a leg and was honorably discharged), William Morrow (who was later wounded at Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864 and returned to live in Mobile County after war), Buck Stuckey (who would be killed at the Battle of Darbytown Road in September 1864) and Francis M. Sampey (who would be wounded later near Farmville, Va. in April 1865 and die in Selma in 1874).

Aug. 28, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg captured a Union garrison at Mumfordsvilled, Ky.

Aug. 28, 1863 - Confederate Naval Lt. George W. Gift paid a visit to the shipyard above Mobile Bay, Ala. to observe the progress in construction of the two vessels, the Tennessee and Nashville.

Aug. 28, 1864 - Union General Alfred Terry was promoted from brigadier general to major general in the United States Volunteers.

Aug. 28, 1869 - Convinced they would have a better chance surviving the desert than the raging rapids that lay ahead, three men (Seneca Howland, O.G. Howland and William H. Dunn) left John Wesley Powell’s expedition through the Grand Canyon and scaled the cliffs to the plateau above. When Powell reached the nearest settlement, he learned that the three men who left had encountered a war party of Shivwit Indians and were killed.

Aug. 28, 1895 – Monroe Masonic Lodge, No. 485, was scheduled to hold its regular communication at 10 a.m. at River Ridge, Ala. A.H. Johnson was the lodge’s secretary.

Aug. 28, 1895 – Col. B.L. Hibbard left on this Wednesday for Birmingham, Ala. to attend the Midsummer Carnival of United Confederate Veterans, given under the auspices of Camp Hardee, of which he was a member. Hibbard was on the program for an address on the theme, “Fraternal Patriotism.”

Aug. 28, 1898 – Caleb Bradham invented the carbonated soft drink that will later be called "Pepsi-Cola."

Aug. 28, 1906 – British poet laureate John Betjeman was born in the Highgate section of London.

Aug. 28, 1914 – N.B. Jones, a “well known and highly esteemed citizen of Evergreen,” passed away at his home on Pecan Street at the age of 73. (Some sources say he died on Aug. 26.) A former Evergreen postmaster, merchant and farmer, he was also a Confederate veteran and a member of Camp Capt. Wm. Lee, U.C.V. and of Armor Lodge, No. 31, Knights of Pythias. Born at Fort Decatur, Macon County, Ala. on Nov. 21, 1841. Moved to Butler County with his family in 1858 and joined the Confederate Army in 1862, serving with Capt. Isbell’s company from Talladega County, which was part of the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment. He served in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, and was taken prisoner during the battle and siege at Port Hudson. He was later exchanged and was sent with his regiment to Georgia. He was later severly wounded in the Battle at New Hope Church, which closed his active service, but he served on detail duty until the end of the war. He and his family moved to Conecuh County in 1865.

Aug. 28, 1922 - The first radio commercial aired on WEAF in New York City. The Queensboro Realty Company bought 10 minutes of time for$100.

Aug. 28, 1934 – Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer Edgeworth David passed away at the age of 76 in Sydney, Australia. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter Valley coalfield in New South Wales and leading the first expedition to reach the South Magnetic Pole. He also served with distinction in World War I.

Aug. 28, 1941 - The Football Writers Association of America was organized.

Aug. 28, 1955 – In Sunday afternoon baseball action, McKenzie beat Paul, 9-3.

Aug. 28, 1963 – In a disappearance attributed to the “Bermuda Triangle,” two new KC-135, four-engine jet Stratotankers, on a refueling mission out of Homestead Air Force Base, Fla. on their way to a classified refueling range in the Atlantic, disappeared shortly after giving their position as 300 miles southwest of Bermuda.

Aug. 28, 1963 - Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

Aug. 28, 1981 – Leroy, Ala. native Kelvin Moore would make his major league debut, playing first base for the Oakland A’s against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston. Oakland lost, 12-5. Batting fifth, Moore went 1-for-4, his hit coming on a single to center field in the top of the eighth.

Aug. 28, 1981 - "The New York Daily News" published its final afternoon edition.

Aug. 28, 1981 - John Hinckley, Jr. pled innocent to the charge of attempting to kill U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Hinckley was later acquitted by reason of insanity.

Aug. 28, 1985 – Hurricane Elena, which destroyed about 300 coastal Alabama homes, formed in the Atlantic. The hurricane did very little damage in Conecuh County, but did knock out power to a number of homes.

Aug. 28, 1985 – ABC Agent Dennis Farr, Conecuh County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Lambert and Conversation Officer Glenn McDaniel destroyed an illegal liquor still in the Lenox community. No arrests were made in connection with the still, which was capable of making between 20 and 25 gallons of moonshine at a time.

Aug. 28, 1986 – Six historic districts in Greenville, Ala. were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Those districts included the Commerce Street Residential Historic District, the Fort Dale-College Street Historic District, the King Street Historic District, the South Greenville Historic District, the South Street Historic District and the West Commerce Street Historic District.

Aug. 28, 1987 – Evergreen High School was scheduled to open the season against J.F. Shields at Brooks Memorial Stadium in Evergreen, Ala. at 7:30 p.m. Projected offensive starters for Evergreen included Travis Stallworth, tight end; Patrick Atkins, tackle; James Gross, guard; Craig Blackburn, center; Russell Meeks, guard; Scott Jones, tackle; Marvin Cunningham, split end; Tony Simpson, tailback; Steve Cunningham, fullback; Jack Harvey, quarterback; and Greg Stanton, tailback. Projected defensive starters for Evergreen included Craig Palmer, James Gross, Patrick Atkins, James Grace, Travis Stallworth, Greg Stanton, Tony Simpson, Russell Meeks, Earl Johnson, Steve Cunningham and Marvin Cunningham.

Aug. 28, 1988 - Sixty-nine spectators were killed when three jets collided at an air show in Germany. The carnage from the accident was horrific, as debris and jet fuel covered the crowd below. It would be three years before Germany allowed another air show to be held, this time with more stringent safety precautions.

Aug. 28, 1990 - Iraq declared Kuwait to be its 19th province and renamed Kuwait City al-Kadhima.

Aug. 28, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast of the United States. At least 1,200 people were killed in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Aug. 28, 2008 – The Beda Cemetery and Butler Cemetery in Covington County, Ala. were added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.