Today in History for Aug. 5, 2015

Edward John Eyre 

Aug. 5, 1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, was captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he was put on trial and executed.

Aug. 5, 1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert established the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Aug. 5, 1620 – The Mayflower departed from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.

Aug. 5, 1692 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard and John and Elizabeth Proctor were pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang.

Aug. 5, 1735 – New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.

Aug. 5, 1779 - Lieutenant Colonel James DeLancey’s New York Loyalists and Patriot William Hull’s Connecticut Brigade engaged in a civil war for the Bronx in New York. The Patriots destroyed numerous buildings and food stores while also capturing several Loyalists, along with some horses and cattle. First-hand accounts give conflicting figures as to the number of casualties sustained by each side.


Aug. 5, 1811 – With 20 warriors, Tecumseh left Vincennes and went down the Wabash River, headed south to visit the Southern Indians after being unable to come to an agreement with Governor Harrison over disputed Indian treaties.

Aug. 5, 1815 – English explorer Edward John Eyre was born in Whipsnade, England. He is best remembered for being a land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator and a controversial Governor of Jamaica.

Aug. 5, 1829 – James Calloway Travis, the brother of William Barrett Travis, was born in Evergreen, Ala. He entered the Confederate service as a private on Oct. 1, 1861 in Co. E of the 4th Alabama Infantry and continued until the end of the month before being discharged on account of being a cripple (His right hip was three inches shorter than his left hip). He served as a 2nd Lt. in the home guards at Stallington, Ala. under Capt. Nathan Wright from April 1, 1861 to Oct. 1, 1861. He was conscripted in the summer of 1862 and was held at Camp Watts for 60 days, examined and discharged not able to serve.

Aug. 5, 1850 – Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne met at a picnic with friends at Monument Mountain near Stockbridge, Mass. In the fall of 1851, Melville dedicated his novel “Moby-Dick” to Hawthorne.

Aug. 5, 1850 – French short story writer Guy de Maupassant was born in Normandy.

Aug. 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, in order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levied the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3 percent of all incomes over $800). The tax was rescinded in 1872.

Aug. 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Athens, Missouri.

Aug. 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought in Virginia, opposite Point of Rocks, Maryland.

Aug. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred near New Market, Ala.

Aug. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War’s Battle of Baton Rouge, along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempted to take the city, but were driven back by fire from Union gunboats.

Aug. 5, 1864 – The Battle of Mobile Bay began on this day as U.S. Admiral David Farragut, with a force of 14 wooden ships, four ironclads, 2,700 men, and 197 guns, overpowered outnumbered Confederate defenses guarding the approach to Mobile Bay. The fall of Mobile Bay was a huge blow to the Confederacy, and the victory was the first in a series of Yankee successes that helped secure the re-election of Abraham Lincoln later that year. Farragut's victory removed Mobile as a center of blockade-running and freed Union troops for service in Virginia.

Aug. 5, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman declared that John Schofield was senior to John Palmer. An issue had arisen the day before and Palmer had not carried out orders at Utoy Creek. Palmer was resigned and returned to Illinois.

Aug. 5, 1867 – The Burnt Corn, Ala. post office was reestablished, after being discontinued on July 25, 1866, with E.P. Clingman as postmaster.

Aug. 5, 1879 – Lawrence Rikard was buried at the Methodist Church burying ground in Monroeville, Ala. Around 70 years old, he passed away “after a long and lingering illness” at his residence at few miles from Monroeville.

Aug. 5, 1908 – L. Jackson sold the City Grocery in Evergreen, Ala. to A.A. Williams and Coley Millsap.

Aug. 5, 1917 - Members of the Alabama National Guard Brigade, which had been federalized in 1916, were discharged from guard service, so that they can be drafted into the regular army. Once drafted, the guardsmen were assigned to their former units, and one of these, the 4th Alabama, would become the 167th U.S. Infantry Regiment and serve with distinction in France during World War I as a part of the famed 42nd "Rainbow" Division.

Aug. 5, 1921 - The first play-by-play broadcast of a baseball game was done by Harold Arlin. KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, Pa. described the action between the Pirates and Philadelphia.

Aug. 5, 1926 – Harry Houdini performed his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

Aug. 5, 1934 – Writer and poet Wendell Berry was born near Port Royal in Henry County, Ky.

Aug. 5, 1944 – Charles Young Henderson, 23, of Conecuh County, Ala. lost his life in an airplane accident over Italy during World War II. He was a turret gunner on a B-24.

Aug. 5, 1953 – The installation of 216 parking meters in downtown Evergreen, Ala. began on East and West Front Streets, Rural Street and Court Street.

Aug. 5, 1954 – A meeting of the board of directors and committee chairmen of the Evergreen (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce was scheduled to be held at Evergreen City Hall. They planned to discuss plans for auctioning off the first bale of cotton of the 1954 season and plans for “opposing the construction of the proposed new Highway 31, which is said would bypass Evergreen by following a survey located about a mile west of the city.” They also planned to discuss helping the Evergreen Quarterback Club put a fence around Brooks Stadium before the start of the football season in September. C.C. Miller was Chamber president.

Aug. 5, 1954 – The Evergreen Courant reported the “passing of another old Evergreen (Ala.) landmark,” when during the previous week the Farnham sisters, Augusta and Aline, sold an old 1917 Hanson automobile that had sat beside their home in the Farnham garage for over 20 years, countinously since about 1928. “Many teenagers and young adults hold fond memories of this vintage model automobile. It was almost like a shrine, with children coming from all over the city to gape at it and play in it.” The car was sold to E.R. Stephens, who lived near Ponce de Leon, Fla., who had it towed to Florida for renovation.

Aug. 5, 1954 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the Rev. Robert Miller, pastor of the Evergreen (Ala.) Presbyterian Church, won the Annual Handicap Golf Tournament at the Evergreen Country Club. In the last match, Bill Ivey, who was only 14, led Miller up to the seventh hole by one stroke. Miller, won the eighth hole and went on to take the ninth, winning the match and tournament.

Aug. 5, 1957 - American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuted on the ABC television network. Hosted by baby-faced Dick Clark, the show opened its first national broadcast with Jerry Lee Lewis’s song “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”

Aug. 5, 1960 - For the first time two major league baseball clubs traded managers. Detroit traded Jimmy Dykes for Cleveland's Joe Gordon.

Aug. 5, 1962 - At the age of 36, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home. While her death was ruled to be "acute barbiturate poisoning," subsequent investigations and theories have suggested she may have been murdered.

Aug. 5, 1965 – The Monroe Journal reported that Mary Aline Culpepper, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.V. Culpepper of Monroeville, Ala., had been named one of the 26 finalists for the second consecutive year in the Miss Alabama Contest.

Aug. 5, 1966 - In New York, groundbreaking for the construction of the original World Trade Center began.

Aug. 5, 1974 - U.S. President Nixon said that he expected to be impeached. Nixon had ordered the investigation into the Watergate break-in to halt.

Aug. 5, 1978 – Sidney Stacey died and was buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Monroe County, Ala.

Aug. 5, 1978 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jesse Haines passed away at the age of 85 in Dayton, Ohio. During his career, he played for the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970.

Aug. 5, 1984 - Toronto’s Cliff Johnson set a major league baseball record by hitting the 19th pinch-hit home run in his career.

Aug. 5, 1989 - The largest game of Musical Chairs took place in China with a whopping 8,238 participants.

Aug. 5, 1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush angrily denounced the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Aug. 5, 1991 - Iraq admitted to misleading U.N. inspectors about secret biological weapons.

Aug. 5, 1998 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began not cooperating with U.N. weapons inspectors.

Aug. 5, 1999 - Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 500th career home run. He also set a record for the fewest at-bats to hit the 500 home run mark.

Aug. 5, 1999 – The Sons of Confederate Veterans were scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. at the David Burt Building in Evergreen, Ala., and Nell Stuart was scheduled to give the program.

Aug. 5, 1999 – The Evergreen Courant reported that a new head coach, Arlton Hudson, would be leading Hillcrest High School’s football team during the 1999 season. His assistant coaches included David Godwin, secondary coach; Joseph Dean, defensive coordinatory; Danny Covin, offensive line; Dewan Salter, offensive backs; Louis Berry, junior high head coach. Hudson was expecting 60 players, including Frederick Rudolph, Sedrick Rudolph, Sam Fountain and Jason Watkins.

Aug. 5, 1999 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Sparta Academy head football coach Jack Akins was expecting 25 players to report for the first day of fall practice. Key players included Kyle Johnston, David Bush, Jeremy McClain, Derek Faulkner, John Anderson, Michael Henry, Jared Brogden and Derek Williams.

Aug. 5, 2002 – Divers recovered the USS Monitor’s rusty iron turret, 140 years after it sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C. during the Civil War. Many of the ironclad’s artifacts are now on display at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia

Aug. 5, 2002 - U.S. General Tommy Franks presented President George W. Bush and his key advisors the latest Pentagon scenario for a U.S. attack on Iraq.

Aug. 5, 2012 – State Rep. Harry Shiver of Bay Minette, Ala., who represented Conecuh, Monroe, Baldwin and Escambia counties in the legislature, was among seven sports officials recognized for over 30 years of officiating AHSAA events during the AHSAA’s annual Officials Luncheon at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Montgomery.

Aug. 5, 2013 - It was announced that 13 players had accepted 50-game suspensions for violation of MLB drug policies.

Aug. 5, 2014 – At 10:24 a.m. on this Tuesday, 12 Evergreen firefighters, Evergreen police and local ambulance workers responded to a house fire at 501 Roland Dees Road in Evergreen, Ala. Firefighters took two engines and a service truck to the scene, where they found flames coming from a kitchen window and the home’s attic.