Today in History for Sept. 25, 2015

William Faulkner

Sept. 25, 1237 – England and Scotland signed the Treaty of York, establishing the location of their common border.

Sept. 25, 1492 - The crew of the Pinta, one of Christopher Columbus' ships, mistakenly thought that they had spotted land.

Sept. 25, 1493 - Christopher Columbus left Spain with 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

Sept. 25, 1513 – Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa reached what would become known as the Pacific Ocean when he crossed the Isthmus of Panama. He named the body of water the South Sea. He was truly just the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.

Sept. 25, 1525 – English explorer and navigator Steven Borough was born in Northam, Devon.

Sept. 25, 1540 – The chief of the ancient Indian town of Talisi in present-day Dallas County, Ala. gave DeSoto men and women to carry their baggage and in return DeSoto released the chieftain of Coosa.

Sept. 25, 1690 - One of America's earliest newspapers published its first and last edition. The "Publik Occurences Both Foreign and Domestik" was published at the London Coffee House in Boston, Mass. by Benjamin Harris.

Sept. 25, 1775 – During the American Revolutionary War, Continental Army Colonel Ethan Allen surrendered to British forces after attempting to capture Montreal during the Battle of Longue-Pointe. Allen was taken prisoner and sent to England to be executed but was imprisoned and returned to the United States on May 6, 1778 as part of a prisoner exchange. Benedict Arnold and his expeditionary company set off from Fort Western, bound for Quebec City.

Sept. 25, 1789 – The United States Congress passed 12 amendments to the United States Constitution - the Congressional Apportionment Amendment (which was never ratified), the Congressional Compensation Amendment, and the 10 that are known as the Bill of Rights.

Sept. 25, 1804 – The Teton Sioux (a subdivision of the Lakota) demanded one of the boats from the Lewis and Clark Expedition as a toll for allowing the expedition to move further upriver.

Sept. 25, 1861 – During the Civil War, a 10-day Federal expedition from San Bernardino to the Temecula Ranch and Oak Grove, Calif. began.

Sept. 25, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Canada Alamosa, New Mexico.

Sept. 25, 1861 – During the Civil War, an engagement was fought at Freestone Point and Lewinsville, Va.

Sept. 25, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Kanawha Gap, near Chapmanville, West Va.

Sept. 25, 1864 – Confederate Gen. Nathan B. Forrest drove in the Union pickets at the Sulphur Branch Trestle Fort in Limestone County, Ala. and placed his artillery in a position from which he delivered a deadly bombardment into the fort. Union forces surrendered the fort later that day.

Sept. 25, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis met with General John Bell Hood at Hood's Palmetto, Ga. headquarters to discuss the recent misfortunes of the Army of Tennessee. Since Hood had assumed command of the army in July, he had launched an unsuccessful series of attacks on Union General William T. Sherman’s forces, endured a month-long siege in Atlanta, and was finally forced to abandon the city.

Sept. 25, 1867 - The oldest newspaper in Alabama owned by a single family, The Southern Star, was first published in Dale County. Except for a few issues, the editor has always been a family member. The current editor, Joseph H. Adams, is the fourth generation family editor.

Sept. 25, 1882 - The first Major League Baseball double header was played between the Worcester and Providence baseball teams.

Sept. 25, 1883 – Legislator and judge John McDuffie was born at River Ridge in Monroe County, Ala.

Sept. 25, 1889 – Shortly after 3 a.m., Rube Burrow and Rube Smith robbed the southbound Mobile & Ohio passenger and mail train near Buckatunna, Miss. This was Burrow’s seventh train robbery.

Sept. 25, 1890 – The United States Congress established Sequoia National Park in Central California.

Sept. 25, 1897 – Noble Prize-winning author William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Miss.

Sept. 25, 1905 – Sportswriter Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith was born in Green Bay, Wisc.

Sept. 25, 1905 – The Monroeville, Ala. school opened on this Monday with “a fair enrollment of pupils.” Prof. Weaver was the principal and Gertrude Deer was his assistant. Mary Stallworth was in charge of the music department.

Sept. 25, 1906 – In the presence of the king and before a great crowd, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo successfully demonstrated the invention of the Telekino in the port of Bilbao, guiding a boat from the shore, in what is considered the birth of the remote control.

Sept. 25, 1911 – Ground was broken for Fenway Park in Boston, Mass.

Sept. 25, 1912 – Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism was founded in New York City.

Sept. 25, 1914 - Richard H. Parks, “a prominent lawyer and former solicitor,” committed suicide in Dothan, Ala. by shooting himself.

Sept. 25, 1914 – Up to this date, 5,691 bales of cotton had been baled in Conecuh County, Ala., compared with 4,924 as of Sept. 25, 1913.

Sept. 25, 1917 – National Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizzuto was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He went on to play his entire career for the New York Yankees. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994.

Sept. 25, 1917 – Major League Baseball pitcher John Franklin “Johnny” Sain was born in Havana, Ark.

Sept. 25, 1918 – The Bank of Monroeville (Ala.) opened on the lower floor of the old 1852 Courthouse with a capital of $25,000. It would later merge with the Monroe County Bank in 1922.

Sept. 25, 1920 – American Legion Post No. 61 in Monroeville, Ala. was organized.

Sept. 25, 1926 – The international Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery was first signed.

  

Sept. 25, 1929 – National Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman and manager Miller Huggins passed away at the age of 51 in New York City. During his career, he played for the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals, and he managed the Cardinals and New York Yankees. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964.

Sept. 25, 1930 – Poet, cartoonist, playwright and songwriter Shel Silverstein was born Sheldon Allan Silverstein in Chicago.

Sept. 25-27, 1939 – Heavy rains fell in Alabama during this three-day period and did considerable damage to crops, highways and bridges. Many streams flooded, including Burnt Corn and Murder Creeks, which rose at a rate of about 18 inches per hour on Sept. 26. On Sept. 26, the Conecuh River rose 11-1/2 feet and traffic between Monroeville and Atmore was interrupted due to damage to the concrete bridge south of the state prison.

Sept. 25, 1940 – Indian-English explorer, historian, and author Tim Severin was born in Assam, British India. Severin is noted for his work in retracing the legendary journeys of historical figures. Severin was awarded both the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Sept. 25, 1942 – Lt. Laula Middleton sent a cablegram to his family in Conecuh County, Ala. to let them know he had safely arrived overseas. The family received the message on Sept. 26 and believed he was in either England or Ireland.

Sept. 25, 1944 - Alabama author Johnniece Wilson was born.

Sept. 25, 1953 - "TV Guide" released its cover with Superman leaping over the head of Clark Kent.

Sept. 25, 1955 – Brazilian sailor and explorer Amry Klink was born in São Paulo, Brazil. One of his projects, "Antarctica 360," was circumnavigating the Antarctic continent on his own, in 79 days in 1998.

Sept. 25, 1959 – Evergreen High School, under head coach Wendell Hart, beat Monroe County High School, 19-14, in Evergreen, Ala.

Sept. 25, 1964 – Jackson High School beat Frisco City High School, 26-14, in Frisco City, Ala. Pat Boothe scored FC’s first touchdown, and Mike Johns kicked the PAT. Larry Jones scored FC’s second TD.

Sept. 25, 1964 – Repton High School beat Excel High School, 14-6, in Repton, Ala. Robert Lowery and Nickey Thompson scored Repton’s touchdowns, and Wayne Wright scored Excel’s only TD.

Sept. 25, 1964 – During a family argument, Evelyn M. Booker allegedly shot her husband, Monroeville native J.D. Booker, age 48, in the stomach with a .38-caliber pistol at their home in Causeyville, about nine miles from Meridian, Miss. J.D. Booker died on the morning of Sept. 27, and his wife was charged with murder. J.D. Booker was buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Monroe County, Ala.

Sept. 25, 1965 – The first installment of what would become Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” was published in The New Yorker.

Sept. 25, 1965 - Willie Mays, at the age of 34, became the oldest man to hit 50 home runs in a single season. He had also set the record for the youngest to hit 50 ten years earlier.

Sept. 25, 1965 - Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Athletics, at the age of 59, pitched three shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox. Paige’s three innings for the Kansas City Athletics made him, at 59 years, 2 months and 18 days, the oldest pitcher ever to play a game in the major leagues.

Sept. 25, 1967 – The Conecuh County (Ala.) Circuit Court’s Fall Term began with Judge Robert E.L. Key presiding. Two murder cases were on the docket. Joe Green faced charges of second-degree murder in connection with the pistol shooting death of Jack Manual on March 3 near Castleberry. Miller Baldwin faced charges of first-degree murder and assault to murder in connection with the shooting death of Ruth Boykin and the shooting of John H. Stallworth on April 16 at Boykin’s home.

Sept. 25, 1974 – The first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery (Tommy John surgery) was performed, on baseball player Tommy John.

Sept. 25, 1977 – About 4,200 people take part in the first running of the Chicago Marathon.

Sept. 25, 1978 - Melissa Ludtke, a writer for "Sports Illustrated," filed a suit in U.S. District Court. The result was that Major League Baseball could not bar female writers from the locker room after the game.

Sept. 25, 1980 – Conecuh County Sheriff Edwin Booker, his deputies and Alabama Beverage Control agents uprooted 700 marijuana plants that ranged in height from four to 12 feet. Officers staked out the marijuana patch for over two weeks, but no one ever showed up. Deputies involved in the operation included West Booker, Jerome Boykin, Mack Goneke and Leroy Ferrell.

Sept. 25, 1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as a justice in the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming the first woman to hold that office.

Sept. 25, 1985 – A cropduster owned by J.G. Booker of Booker Flying Service of Goodway, Ala. crashlanded in a field at Uriah, Ala. owned by W.E. Garrett of Uriah. The plane, which was flown by Duke Farrar, suffered from apparent engine failure. No one was injured in the incident.

Sept. 25, 1987 – Alba High School handed Evergreen High School its third straight loss by beating them 21-3 in Bayou LaBatre, Ala. Russell Meeks kicked a 21-yard field goal with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter to give Evergreen their only points.

Sept. 25, 1987 – Sparta Academy beat South Montgomery Academy, 14-7, at Stuart-McGehee Field in Evergreen, Ala. Robbie Bolton scored on a five-yard run, and Jeff Carrier scored on a four-yard run. Jamie Deason kicked both extra points.

Sept. 25, 1987 – Carolyn Pate Castleberry took the oath of office Conecuh County, Alabama’s Tax Collector. She was appointed to the office by Alabama Gov. Guy Hunt to fill the unexpired term of Marvin Johnston, who retired.

Sept. 25, 1987 - The booty collected from the Wydah, which sunk off Cape Cod in 1717, was auctioned off for around $400 million.

Sept. 25, 1990 - The U.N. Security Council voted to impose an air embargo against Iraq. Cuba was the only dissenting vote.

Sept. 25, 1993 - Charles Barkley and Nirvana were guests on "Saturday Night Live."

Sept. 25, 2002 – Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported 3.10 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

Sept. 25, 2002 – The Vitim event, a possible bolide impact, occurred in Siberia, Russia.

Sept. 25, 2002 – Horton Insurance Co. moved into a new location on Rural Street in Evergreen, Ala. The company was owned by Earl Horton, and Jim Ryan was the Evergreen office’s manager.