Today in History for Aug. 8, 2015

Joe McGinnity in 1904.

Aug. 8, 1585 – English navigator and explorer John Davis entered Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.

Aug. 8, 1775 - Captain Daniel Morgan and his Virginia riflemen arrived in Cambridge, Mass. to serve under General George Washington, the newly appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army. Fighting under Washington, Morgan’s men’s extraordinary skill as snipers earned them the nickname “Morgan’s Sharpshooters.” Later, Morgan led the three companies from Boston to the failed invasion of Canada, resulting in Morgan’s spending a year as a prisoner of war but also earning him a promotion to colonel.

Aug. 8, 1794 – British Naval officer Joseph Whidbey led an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.

Aug. 8, 1829 – Charles Edward Travis, the first child of William Barret Travis and Rosanna Cato Travis, was born.

Aug. 8, 1844 – The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, was reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After the killing of Joseph Smith on June 27, Brigham Young was chosen to lead the Mormons.

Aug. 8, 1861 – The “Monroe Rebels” were organized in Monroeville, Ala.

Aug. 8, 1861 – During the Civil War, an engagement was fought with Indians near the Great Salt Lake in the Utah Territory.

Aug. 8, 1862 – During the Civil War, because local guerrilla fighters continued firing into railroad cars, so Federal forces arrested local ministers and placed them throughout each train at Huntsville, Ala. and the firing ultimately ceased.

Aug. 8, 1863 – During the Civil War, in the aftermath of his defeat at Gettysburg, Pa., Confederate General Robert E. Lee sent a letter of resignation as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a letter that Davis did not accept. President Davis refused the request by writing "To ask me to substitute you by someone...more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army...is to demand an impossibility."

Aug. 8, 1864 – During the Civil War, Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island, Ala., unconditionally surrendered to Federal forces.

Aug. 8, 1866 – Explorer Matthew Henson, who along with Robert Peary and their Eskimo guide were the first people to reach the North Pole, was born in Nanjemoy, Maryland. He was an associate of Peary’s on seven voyages over a period of nearly 23 years. They made a total of six voyages and spent a total of 18 years in expeditions.

Aug. 8, 1868 – John DeLoach was commissioned for his fourth and final term as Monroe County’s Circuit Court Clerk, and John A. Simmons was commissioned as Monroe County’s Sheriff.

Aug. 8, 1884 – Poet Sara Teasdale was born in St. Louis, Mo.

Aug. 8, 1885 – More than 1.5 million people attend the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in New York City. His body had lain in state in City Hall for two days, and thousands filed past to view the former president and Civil War hero. The line of mourners that followed his funeral procession stretched for seven miles and included three presidents, and former Confederate and Union soldiers alike.

Aug. 8, 1896 – Writer and novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was born in Washington, D.C.

Aug. 8, 1901 – Noble Prize-winning physicist Ernest O. Lawrence was born in Canton, South Dakota.

Aug. 8, 1902 - After the death of Queen Victoria, Edward VII was crowned king of England.

Aug. 8, 1903 - Joe McGinnity of New York pitched two complete games in one day. He won, 6-1, and, 4-3, over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Aug. 8, 1914 – Monroe County’s Good Roads Association was organized during a meeting in Monroeville, Ala., and the “Federal Good Road Association” was also temporarily organized. Officers of the Good Roads Association included President J.U. Blacksher of Maros, First Vice President J.K. Kyser of Burnt Corn, Second Vice President Q. Salter of Monroeville, Ala., Secretary and Treasurer.

Aug. 8, 1914 – Baseball teams from Monroeville and Brewton played the final two games of a three-game series in Monroeville, Ala. On this day, Monroeville won the second game of the series, 3-2, but dropped the final game of the series, 9-2.

Aug. 8, 1915 - Gawy Gravath of Philadelphia hit four doubles and brought in eight runs in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Aug. 8, 1920 - Howard Ehmke of the Detroit Tigers set an American League record when he defeated the New York Yankees, 1-0, in one hour and 13 minutes.

Aug. 8, 1922 - Hattie Hooker Wilkins of Selma, Ala. became the first woman to win a seat in the Alabama legislature. One of three Alabama women to run for legislative office that year, Wilkins was the only successful candidate, beating out incumbent J. W. Green for a seat in the House of Representatives. Wilkins served only one term, choosing not to run for re-election in 1926.

Aug. 8, 1931 - Bob Burke of the Washington Senators pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.

Aug. 8, 1934 – National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher and manager Wilbert Robinson passed away at the age of 71 in Atlanta, Ga. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Baltimore Orioles and the St. Louis Cardinals and he managed the Orioles and the Brooklyn Robins. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.

Aug. 8, 1935 – On this day in Lovecraftian fiction, Milwaukee painter and weird fiction author Robert Harrison Blake was found dead from electrical shock in his rooms following a thunderstorm. Blake originally first appeared in “The Shambler from the Stars” by Robert Bloch.

Aug. 8, 1938 – The first bale of cotton from the 1938 cotton crop in Monroe County, Ala. was ginned on this day.

Aug. 8, 1944 – During World War II, Pfc. Burley C. Wallace was killed in action in France. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Wallace of the Garland-Asbury Church community.

Aug. 8, 1946 – Evergreen, Alabama’s first ever horse show, which was sponsored by the Evergreen Rotary Club, was scheduled to be held at the High School Athletic Stadium in Evergreen, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 8, 1954 - The Brooklyn Dodgers scored 13 runs in the eighth inning to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 20-7, at Ebbets Field.

Aug. 8, 1967 – The first cotton bales of the 1967 crop in Conecuh County, Ala. were ginned on the same day at the Castleberry Gin Co. and the Evergreen Gin Co. W.J. Davis of Repton delivered the first bale to Castleberry, and partners Isaac Franklin and Les Crosby of Evergreen delivered the first bale to Evergreen.

Aug. 8, 1968 - Richard Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach.

Aug. 8, 1969 – At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan took the photo that became the cover of the Beatles album “Abbey Road.”

Aug. 8, 1972 - The New York Yankees signed a 30-year lease with the City of New York which called for Yankee Stadium to be completely modernized in time for the 1976 season.

Aug. 8, 1973 - Boston Red Sox Orlando Cepeda hit four doubles against the Kansas City Royals.

Aug. 8, 1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announced his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.

Aug. 8, 1975 - Hank Williams, Jr. fell 500 feet down a mountain in Montana. After, two years of surgeries he returned to music.

Aug. 8, 1982 - Doug DeCinces hit three home runs against the California Angels. He had hit three home runs against Minnesota five days earlier.

Aug. 8, 1985 – Alabama native Oscar Gamble made his final Major League Baseball appearance, playing for the Chicago White Sox.

Aug. 8, 1985 - Major League baseball players returned to work after a two-day walkout.

Aug. 8, 1988 - It was announced that a cease-fire between Iraq and Iran had begun.

Aug. 8, 1988 - The Chicago Cubs hosted the first night game in the history of Wrigley Field after 74 seasons of playing only day games at home. With the Cubs playing the Phillies, the game was called due to rain with the Cubs leading 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Because the five innings needed for the game to be official were not completed, Wrigley’s first night game is officially recorded as a 6-4 win over the New York Mets on Aug. 9, 1988.

Aug. 8, 1989 - Danny Elfman's musical score "Batman: Motion Picture Score" was released.

Aug. 8, 1990 – Iraq occupied Kuwait and the state was annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward. Also on this day, American forces began positioning in Saudia Arabia.

Aug. 8, 1995 - Saddam Hussein's two eldest daughters, their husbands and several senior army officers defected.

Aug. 8, 1996 - Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles moved into 15th place on the career home run list when he hit his 494th.

Aug. 8, 1996 - Willie McGee of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 2,000th major league hit.

Aug. 8, 1998 - Paul Molitor of the Minnesota Twins stole his 500th career base.

Aug. 8, 1999 - Wade Boggs of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays got his 3,000th hit of his Major League Baseball career.

Aug. 8, 2000 - In Portugal, Oasis walked off stage for the second time in two weeks when drummer Alan White was hit by a rock.

Aug. 8, 2000 - The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was raised from ocean bottom after 136 years after it sank on Feb. 17, 1864 and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence. The sub had been lost during an attack on the U.S.S. Housatonic in 1864. The Hunley was the first submarine in history to sink a warship.

Aug. 8, 2002 - Major League Baseball players and owners agreed to a $100,000 increase in baseball's minimum salary. The minimum was set at $300,000 starting in 2003.