Today in History for Sept. 11, 2015

William Sydney Porter

Sept. 11, 1609 - Explorer Henry Hudson sailed into New York harbor and discovered Manhattan Island and the Hudson River.

Sept. 11, 1771 – Scottish surgeon and explorer Mungo Park was born in Selkirkshire, Scotland. He was the first Westerner known to have traveled to the central portion of the Niger River.

Sept. 11, 1775 – Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec left Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sept. 11, 1776 – A British–American peace conference on Staten Island failed to stop the nascent American Revolutionary War. The conference was held between British General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe and three representatives of the Continental Congress (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge). The conference failed when the British refused to accepted American independence and the American war for independence continued for seven years.

Sept. 11, 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, at the Battle of Brandywine, the British celebrated a major victory in Delaware County, Pennsylvania near Chadds Ford, on the road linking Baltimore and Philadelphia. During the battle, 11,000 in American forces, under General George Washington, were forced to retreat by 18,000 in British forces under General William Howe and General Charles Cornwallis. The “Stars and Stripes” American flag was carried for the first time in the battle, and the one-day battle at Brandywine cost the Americans more than 1,100 men killed or captured while the British lost approximately 600 men killed or injured.

Sept. 11, 1786 - The Convention of Annapolis opened with the aim of revising the Articles of the Confederation.

Sept. 11, 1789 - Alexander Hamilton was appointed by U.S. President George Washington to be the first secretary of the treasury.

Sept. 11, 1792 - The Hope Diamond was stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored.

Sept. 11, 1824 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette, celebrated the 47th anniversary of the Battle of Brandywine with French residents in New York.

Sept. 11, 1826 – Captain William Morgan was arrested in Batavia, N.Y. for debt. This set into motion the events that lead to his mysterious disappearance.

Sept. 11, 1830 – The Anti-Masonic Party convention, one of the first American political party conventions, was held in Philadelphia, Pa.

Sept. 11, 1836 – American journalist, author, and explorer Fitz Hugh Ludlow was born in New York City. He is best known for his autobiographical book “The Hasheesh Eater” (1857). Ludlow also wrote about his travels across America on the overland stage to San Francisco, Yosemite and the forests of California and Oregon, in his second book, “The Heart of the Continent.”

Sept. 11, 1842 - 1,400 Mexican troops captured San Antonio, Texas. The Mexicans retreated with prisoners.

Sept. 11, 1843 – French mathematician and explorer Joseph Nicollet passed away at the age of 57 in Washington D.C, United States. He is best known for mapping the Upper Mississippi River basin during the 1830s. Nicollet led three expeditions in the region between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, primarily in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Sept. 11, 1861 - U.S. President Lincoln revoked General John C. Frémont's unauthorized military proclamation of emancipation in Missouri. Later, Lincoln replaced Frémont with General David Hunter.

Sept. 11, 1861 - Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee moved into position against a Union stronghold on Cheat Mountain in western Virginia. Three days later the Confederates retreated without firing a shot.

Sept. 11, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Lewinsville, Va.

Sept. 11, 1862 – William Sydney Porter, better known as “O. Henry,” was born in Greensboro, N.C. He's the author of the beloved short stories "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Ransom of Red Chief," and he became a writer while serving time in a federal prison for embezzlement. He was sentenced to five years, but was let out after three for good behavior; during his incarceration he published 14 stories, and wrote about 400 more upon his release.

Sept. 11, 1864 - A 10-day truce was declared between General Sherman and General Hood so that civilians could leave Atlanta, Ga.

Sept. 11, 1885 – Novelist and poet David Herbert “D.H.” Lawrence was born in Eastwood, England. He is the author of “Sons and Lovers” (1913), “The Rainbow” (1915), “Women in Love” (1920), and “Lady Chatterley's Lover” (1928).

Sept. 11, 1901 – The dispensation (organizational) meeting was held for Downing Lodge No. 580 in Castleberry, Ala.

Sept. 11, 1911 – Aviation pioneer Robert G. Fowler departed San Francisco, Calif. in his attempt to win the $5,000 Hearst Prize as the first person to fly coast-to-coast in 30 days. Fowler arrived in Evergreen, Ala. on Jan. 15, 1912 and went on become the first person to fly from west to east across the county when he landed in Jacksonville, Fla. on Feb. 8, 1912.

Sept. 11, 1911 – French explorer and author Louis Henri Boussenard passed away at the age of 62 in Orleans, France. Dubbed "the French Rider Haggard" during his lifetime, but better known today in Eastern Europe than in Francophone countries. As a measure of his popularity, 40 volumes of his collected works were published in Imperial Russia in 1911.

Sept. 11, 1912 - Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics stole six bases against the Detroit Tigers.

Sept. 11, 1913 – College Football Hall of Fame player and coach Paul William “Bear” Bryant was born in Moro Bottom, Ark.

Sept. 11, 1914 – Florence, Ala.’s W.C. Handy published his most famous song, “St. Louis Blues.”

Sept. 11, 1915 – Holly Grove and Belleville played a baseball doubleheader on this Saturday at Belleville, Ala. The first game ended in a 6-6 tie, and Belleville won the second game, 5-4.

Sept. 11, 1921 - The first-ever Hollywood scandal began when silent-film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was arrested for the murder of actress Virginia Rappe. At the time of his arrest, Arbuckle was a massive movie star, commanding an unheard-of $1 million per year salary from his studio. After two mistrials, a third trial saw Arbuckle acquitted of the charges, though his career never recovered from the scandal.

Sept. 11, 1922 – The school at Loree, Ala. opened for the 1922-23 school year with Mrs. Aubrey Davis as principal and Battie Johnson as assistant.

Sept. 11, 1924 – Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Tom Landry was born in Mission, Texas.

Sept. 11, 1926 - In southeast Florida and Alabama, 243 people died in a hurricane.

Sept. 11, 1936 - Boulder Dam in Nevada was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt by turning on the dam's first hydroelectric generator. The dam is now called Hoover Dam.

Sept. 11, 1937 – Owassa, Ala. farmer Lee Peacock killed 17 rattlesnakes “on the same spot of ground” near his home. The largest snake was six feet long and the others were about 1-1/2 feet long.

Sept. 11, 1941 – Ground was broken for the Pentagon Building in Arlington, Va.

Sept. 11, 1946 - The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds played to a scoreless tie in 19 innings.

Sept. 11, 1953 - A television version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book “Lost and Found” was broadcast as part of the “Schlitz Playhouse of Stars” series.

Sept. 11, 1956 - Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds tied a rookie record for most home runs in one season when he hit his 38th of the year.

Sept. 11, 1959 - Roy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates ended a 22-game winning streak. He finished the season 18-1.

Sept. 11, 1961 – Experienced tractor operator Mack Tallant, 58, of Gainesville, Ga. was instantly killed by a crawling tractor at the construction site of the interstate highway project just north of Owassa, Ala. During this morning accident, the tractor overturned, crushing his body when he attempted to drive the tractor onto a lowboy from the side. The piece of heavy equipment was being driven onto a couple of blocks of wood and from there onto a truck, but something slipped or gave way, causing the accident. Tallant was an employee of Southeastern Highway Construction Co. and had been working in Conecuh County for about eight months, living at the Trahan residence on Desplous Street in Evergreen, Ala.

Sept. 11, 1974 - The St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets set a National League record when they played 25 innings. It was the second longest game in professional baseball history.

Sept. 11, 1976 - Alabama author Carl Carmer died in Bronxville, N.Y.

Sept. 11, 1985 - Cincinnati Reds player-manager Pete Rose got the 4,192nd hit of his career, breaking Ty Cobb’s major league record for career hits. Rose’s hit came in the first inning of a game against the San Diego Padres in front of a home crowd at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. Eric Show was the opposing pitcher.

Sept. 11, 1987 - Howard Johnson of New York Mets became the first National League infielder to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season.

Sept. 11, 1990 - U.S. President George Bush vowed "Saddam Hussein will fail" while addressing Congress on the Persian Gulf crisis. In the speech Bush spoke of an objective of a new world order - "freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace".

Sept. 11, 1998 – Hillcrest High School won its second straight game of the 1998 season, improving to 2-1 overall, by beating Monroe County High School, 44-24. Henry Jones led Hillcrest’s offense with two touchdowns and 183 rushing yards, and Sedrick Rudolph led the defense with five tackles and a tipped pass.

Sept. 11, 1998 – Sparta Academy suffered an 8-7 loss to Greenville Academy at Stuart-McGehee Field in Evergreen, Ala. Quarterback Seth McIntyre scored Sparta’s only touchdown and collected 114 rushing yards on 14 carries. Other standout players in that game included David Bush, Aaron Clanton, John McKenzie, Kyle Johnston, Stephen Salter and Jared Brogden.

Sept. 11, 1999 - Brett Favre and Robert Brooks of the Green Bay Packers completed a 99-yard touchdown reception against the Chicago Bears to tie an NFL record.

Sept. 11, 2001 – Army Sgt. Tamara Thurman, a 25-year-old native of Brewton, Ala., was working in a classified job for the Army at the Pentagon and died when a plane flew into the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sept. 11, 2007 – American explorer, theologian, and author Gene Savoy died in Reno, Nevada at the age of 80. Rising to prominence as one of the premier explorers of Peru in the 1960s, he is best known for his claims to have discovered more than 40 lost cities in Peru and is credited with bringing to light a number of Peru’s most important archeological sites, including Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Incas during the Spanish conquest, and Gran Pajaten, which he named but did not discover.