Today in History for Sept. 13, 2015

Wilhelm Filchner

Sept. 13, 1609 – Henry Hudson reached the river that would later be named after him – the Hudson River.

Sept. 13, 1781 - In North Carolina, in what is now known as the Battle of Lindley’s Mill or the Battle of Cane Creek, General Butler and 300 militiamen set an ambush at Lindley's Mill in an attempt to free captured Governor Burke and 13 high-ranking Whig officials. The battle closed the war in North Carolina a month before Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.

Sept. 13, 1782 – During the American Revolutionary War, Franco-Spanish troops launched the unsuccessful "grand assault" during the Great Siege of Gibraltar.

Sept. 13, 1788 - The Constitutional Convention decided that the first federal election was to be held on Wednesday the following February. On that day George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States. In addition, New York City was named the temporary national capital.

Sept. 13, 1806 - Charles James Fox, first foreign secretary of the United Kingdom and vocal supporter of American independence, died in Chiswick, Devon, England. Fox supported the protesting American colonists during his first stint in Parliament from 1768 to 1772, and the citizens of Foxborough, Massachusetts, responded by naming their town in his honor. Fox eventually resigned from Parliament after a squabble with George III and, while out of office, developed a strong friendship with British radical Edmund Burke, who also supported the American cause.

Sept. 13, 1814 – In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British failed to capture Baltimore. During the battle, Francis Scott Key composed his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry," which is later set to music and becomes the United States' national anthem.

Sept. 13, 1851 – Dr. Walter Reed was born on Sept. 13, 1851 in Gloucester County, Va. He would serve as post surgeon at Mount Vernon Arsenal and Barracks in the 1880s.

Sept. 13, 1855 – William J. Grissett was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Sept. 13, 1862 - During the Civil War, Union soldiers with the 27th Indiana found a copy of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's orders and battle plans (Special Order No. 191) for the Antietam campaign in a field outside Frederick, Maryland. But, Union General George B. McClellan was slow to react and lost the advantage that the intelligence had provided.

Sept. 13, 1863 – Federals conducted reconnaissance from Henderson’s Gap, Ala., to La Fayette, Ga.

Sept. 13, 1865 – Joseph Ganes Sanders, the “Turncoat of Dale County,” resigned from the U.S. Army and he returned home to Dale County, where he planned to resume his gristmill work.

Sept. 13, 1877 – German explorer Wilhelm Filchner was born in Bayreuth, Germany.

Sept. 13, 1892 - Three women passed entrance exams to earn admission to the junior class at Auburn, making the college the first in Alabama and the second in the Southeast to become coeducational. The young ladies, one of whom was the daughter of the Auburn president, were allowed on campus only when attending class.

Sept. 13, 1899 - Henry Bliss became the first American to die in an auto accident when he was run over by a taxicab as he exited a streetcar in New York City.

Sept. 13, 1899 – Mackinder, Ollier and Brocherel made the first ascent of Batian (5,199 m – 17,058 ft), the highest peak of Mount Kenya.

Sept. 13, 1904 – Gabby Street of Huntsville, Ala. made his Major League debut, taking the field for the Cincinnati Reds.

Sept. 13, 1906 – Excel Masonic Lodge No. 655 was established. The lodge’s original officers include G.W. Salter Sr., H.R. White, R.L. Casey, J.F. Kelly, Riley Kelly, E. Parvin, J.C. Griffin, L.B. Cohron and William Williams. The lodge began with 10 charter members.

Sept. 13, 1911 – Bill Monroe, the “Father of Bluegrass,” was born in Rosine, Ky.

Sept. 13, 1913 - The movie “The Clown's Daughter,” screenplay written by Alabama author Marie Stanley under her maiden name Marie Layet, was released.

Sept. 13, 1915 – “Probably the largest crowd that ever attended a session of commissioners court” assembled in Evergreen on this Monday. “Most of them were here in the interest of improving public roads in various sections. All who cared to be heard were given a patient hearing.”

Sept. 13, 1915 – The Conecuh County “commissioners court” awarded local contractors Fowler & Watson the contract to construct a road from Burnt Corn Creek to Bermuda and from the “stage road” to Repton, Ala.

Sept. 13, 1915 – The Monroe County High School opened its fourth annual session in Monroeville, Ala. with 95 pupils present, compared to 74 in 1914. Opening exercises were held in the auditorium and speakers included the Rev. C.W. Henson, Mr. Henson, attorneys A.C. Lee and L.S. Biggs, Superintendent Barnes, County Board of Education Chairman C.W. Jackson, and Prof. Harris.

Sept. 13, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Newton U. Blackman of Evergreen killed in action.

Sept. 13, 1922 - In El Azizia, Libya, the highest shade temperature was recorded at 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sept. 13, 1923 - George Burns of the Boston Red Sox performed the third unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history.

Sept. 13, 1932 - Joe McCarthy became the first manager to win pennants in both baseball leagues when his New York Yankees clinched the American League pennant.

Sept. 13, 1933 – Frank DuBose, 18, escaped from Atmore Prison, where he was serving a four-year sentence for grand larceny and perjury under the name of Thomas Mason. He would be arrested in Chicago over six years later on Dec. 13, 1939.

Sept. 13, 1936 - 17-year-old Cleveland Indians pitching ace "Rapid" Robert Feller struck out 17 batters in a game, setting a new American League record. Feller allowed just two hits in the game to help his team to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia A’s.

Sept. 13, 1939 - The Alabama legislature outlawed open-range livestock grazing in Alabama, effective March 1, 1941, although counties are given the option of holding referendums on allowing cattle to range free within county boundaries. Closing of the range in Alabama began shortly after the Civil War, when fencing of livestock was required in certain agricultural districts, and various local-option measures followed in subsequent years. In 1951, the legislature, in what by then was largely a symbolic act, took away local option, thereby permanently closing the open range.

Sept. 13, 1939 – Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn of Hartford, Ala. made his Major League debut, taking the field for the Washington Senators.

Sept. 13, 1946 - Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit his only inside-the-park home run.

Sept. 13, 1948 - A radio version of Alabama author Lillian Hellman's play “Another Part of the Forest” was broadcast on “The Lux Radio Theatre” series.

Sept. 13, 1953 – Kilby Prison parolee Willie Miles, 36, allegedly raped a 59-year-old widow at her rural home on this Sunday night around 7:30 p.m. Miles, who lived at Skinnerton, allegedly broke into the woman’s house, beat, choked and raped her. The woman reported the crime the next day, and Conecuh County Sheriff John H. Brock arrested Miles for rape, which he admitted to.

Sept. 13, 1963 Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn of Hartford, Ala. made his last Major League appearance, taking the field one last time for the Cleveland Indians.

Sept. 13, 1965 - Willie Mays became the fifth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 career home runs.

Sept. 13, 1968 – Evergreen High School, under head coach Wendell Hart, beat Monroe County High School, 14-7, in Monroeville on this Friday night. Buck Quarles scored Evergreen’s first touchdown on a five-yard run, and Jimmy Hart added the extra point. Evergreen’s game-winning touchdown came on a 42-yard pass play from Hart to Leon “Hoss” Hinson with Hart adding the extra point. Other standout Evergreen players in that game included Jimmy Bell, John Brantley, Jimmy Hamiter, Don Montgomery, Ronald Parker, Eddie Ralls, Forrest Simpson, Hollis Tranum, Roger Waller and Charlie Wild.

Sept. 13, 1968 – Lyeffion High School, under head coach Buck Powell, beat Repton High School, 21-13, at Lyeffion. Standout players for Repton in that game included Andy Higdon and Joe Smith. Standout players for Lyeffion included James Riley, Jerry Dykes and Johnny Shaw.

Sept. 13, 1970 - The first New York City Marathon took place. Fireman Gary Muhrucke won the race. The race was run entirely inside Central Park.

Sept. 13, 1971 - Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles hit his 500th career home run.

Sept. 13, 1977 – “The Amityville Horror” by Jay Anson was first published by Prentice Hall.

Sept. 13, 1978 – The Dickinson House, which was built in 1845 and is located on Dickinson Avenue in Grove Hill, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Sept. 13, 1981 - President Ronald Reagan declared Commodore John Barry Day to honor a man he called one of the earliest and greatest American patriots, a man of great insight who perceived very early the need for American power on the sea.

Sept. 13, 1986 - Bert Blyleven of the Minnesota Twins surrendered five homes runs. The game raised Blyleven's total to 44 for the year setting an American League record.

Sept. 13, 1989 - Fay Vincent was named commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti.

Sept. 13, 1996 - Alex Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners set a team record when he became the first player for the Mariners to reach 200 hits in a season.

Sept. 13, 1996 – In a game against the New York Yankees, Charlie O'Brien of the Toronto Blue Jays became the first catcher in Major League Baseball history to wear a hockey goalie-style catcher's mask.

Sept. 13, 1996 - John Wetteland of the New York Yankees became on the second Yankee to record 40 or more saves in a season.

Sept. 13, 1998 - George Wallace, Alabama’s 45th governor and one of the most controversial politicians in U.S. history, died of septic shock from a bacterial infection in Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Ala., at the age of 79. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery.

Sept. 13, 2001 - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the terror attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Limited commercial flights resumed in the U.S. for the first time in two days.

Sept. 13, 2003 - In Oakland, Calif., Frank Francisco of the Texas Rangers, a relief pitcher, threw a chair into the right field box seats. Two spectators were hit in the head. The game was delayed for 19 minutes. The Athletics won the game, 7-6, in the tenth inning.

Sept. 13, 2013 – Sparta Academy recorded its first win of the 2013 season by shutting out region opponent Sumter Academy, 28-0, at Wild Turkey Stadium in York. Chance House scored all four of Sparta’s touchdowns and finished the night with 140 yards rushing, which was two more rushing yards than Sumter’s entire team. He scored on runs of three, 30, 21 and eight yards.

Sept. 13, 2013 – Hillcrest High School dropped to 0-2 in region play after a 29-21 loss to Andalusia High School at Memorial Stadium in Andalusia, Ala. Hillcrest quarterback Keyshawn Roache scored two rushing touchdowns against the Bulldogs and Rajos Smith added to Hillcrest’s score with a 56-yard run.