Today in History for Oct. 19, 2015

Mordecai Brown

Oct. 19, 1765 - In the United States, the Stamp Act Congress met and drew up a declaration of rights and liberties.

Oct. 19, 1781 – During a formal surrender ceremony at Yorktown, Va., representatives of British commander Lord Cornwallis handed over Cornwallis' sword and formally surrendered 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau, bringing the American Revolution to a close. Cornwallis did not attend due to illness but his second in command General Charles O'Hara carried Cornwallis' sword to the American and French commanders. The Patriot victory at Yorktown effectively ended fighting in the American colonies, peace negotiations began in 1782, and on Sept. 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation after eight years of war.

Oct. 19–22, 1824 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette visited Williamsburg and the College of William & Mary.

Oct. 19, 1836 – The Creek Regiment joined the main Army of Keith Call, who was governor of Florida, and Capt. David Moniac of Alabama was promoted to major. Moniac was the first Native American graduate of West Point.

Oct. 19, 1859 - Soldiers under Col. Robert E. Lee and Lt. J.E.B. Stuart captured abolitionist John Brown after his raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

Oct. 19, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Big Hurricane Creek, Mo.

Oct. 19, 1864 – At the Battle of Cedar Creek, which was the last major battle of the Shenandoah Campaign, Union Calvary General Philip H. Sheridan defeated Confederate General Jubal Early's troops at Cedar Creek in Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan lost 5,500 out of 31,000 troops. Early lost almost 3,000 of the 22,000 men in his command, but nearly all of the Confederate artillery was captured during the battle.

Oct. 19, 1864 – In what is now known as the St. Albans Raid, Confederates entered Vermont from Canada and raided the town of St. Albans.

Oct. 19, 1876 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown was born in Nyesville, Fla. During his career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Terriers, the Brooklyn Tip-Tops and the Chicago Whales and also managed the Terriers for one season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949.

Oct. 19, 1882 – Flames destroyed the two-story house belonging to Dr. J.T. Russell in Monroeville, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1913 - Alabama author William Garrott Brown died in New Canaan, Conn.

Oct. 19-21, 1915 – The Monroe County Fair was scheduled to be held in Monroeville, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. William Hopkins of Monroeville, Ala. died from wounds. Army Pvt. Robert E. Thames of Roy, Ala. (Frisco City), Army Pvt. Percy W. Johnston of Monroeville, Ala.; Army Pvt. William R. Hart of Andalusia, Ala. and Army Pvt. Thomas J. Bell of Opp, Ala. “died from disease.” Thames is buried at Polar Bridge Cemetery at Manistee, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1924 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Shunned House,” which was originally published in 1928’s “The Shunned House.”

Oct. 19, 1928 – Dr. Milton Monroe McPherson Sr., professor emeritus of history at Troy State University, was born in Pineville near Beatrice, Ala. He would go on to write “The 90-Day Wonders – OCS and the Modern American Army.”

Oct. 19, 1928 – Excel High School played McKenzie High School in football, but little is known about the game, including where it was played, who won and the final score.

Oct. 19, 1931 - Spy novelist David Cornwell who writes under the name John le Carre was born in Poole, England.

Oct. 19, 1934 – Excel High School beat Wallace High School, 19-0, in football.

Oct. 19, 1939 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Mrs. J.W. Grace “who lives in the northern part of the county on Evergreen, Route 2,” killed a rattlesnake near her home that was five feet, two inches long and had 16 rattles.

Oct. 19, 1939 – The Monroe Journal warned readers of large rattlesnakes still being killed in the Monroeville, Ala. area. Game warden C.V. Hines killed a large rattler a few days earlier, and S.W. Westbrook killed a large one on Oct. 16 that had just swallowed a rabbit.

Oct. 19, 1942 - Alabama author Jim Rogers was born in Wetumpka, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1945 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman received the 33rd Masonic Degree.

Oct. 19, 1949 – NFL quarterback Lynn Dickey was born in Osawatomie, Kansas. He would go on to play for the Houston Oilers and the Green Bay Packers.

Oct. 19, 1951 – Under head coach Walter Allen, Excel High School improved to 4-1-1 on the season with a 39-0 win over Millry High School in Frisco City, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1951 – On homecoming night in Greenville, Ala., Greenville High School beat Evergreen High School, 18-12. While scoring Evergreen’s second touchdown, Aggie quarterback Gillis “Red” Morgan hit an unpadded light post only inches off the playing field head-on and cracked his collarbone, knocking him out of the game.

Oct. 19, 1954 – The Evergreen City Council considered a proposal to keep the Evergreen Airport partially lighted at night after the federal government notified them that they would withdraw the service of keeping the runways lighted and the beacon operating. The concil considered paying the cost of operating the beacon and maintaining the lights on a standby basis, so that the field could be used in emergencies at night by aircraft in trouble.

Oct. 19, 1954 – Evergreen High School head football coach Wendell Hart was named The Montgomery Advertiser’s “Coach of the Week” after his team’s 6-0 win over undefeated Greenville on Oct. 15. Hart, Assistant Coach Bill Parsons, Capt. Richard Taylor and Co-Capt. Ward Alexander attended a luncheon on this day at the Montgomery Quarterback Club and their picture appeared in the Oct. 20, 1954 edition of The Montgomery Advertiser.

Oct. 19, 1954 - A public inquiry into the Comet airliner disasters found that metal fatigue was the most likely cause of two plane crashes that year.

Oct. 19, 1956 – Under head coach W.C. Majors, Excel High School improved to 2-3 on the season with a 26-13 win over Beatrice High School in Beatrice, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1959 - Patty Duke, at the age of 12, made her Broadway debut in "The Miracle Worker." The play lasted for 700 performances.

Oct. 19, 1962 – Evander Holyfield was born in Atmore, Ala. The youngest of nine children, Holyfield and his family moved to Atlanta, where he began boxing at age 12 and won the Boys Club boxing tournament. He would go on to become the Undisputed World Champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal."

Oct. 19, 1962 – Tracy Chevalier was born in Washington, D.C.

Oct. 19, 1963 – Under head coach Reed Hughes, Wilcox County High School beat Excel High School, 27-13, in Excel, Ala. Ed Comer was Excel’s head coach.

Oct. 19, 1967 - The 100th episode of "Batman" aired on ABC.

Oct. 19, 1968 – Under head coach Carvel Rowell, Excel High School improved to 5-1 with a 33-0 win over J.U. Blacksher High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1970 - Alabama author Harriet Hassell died in Port Washington, Long Island, N.Y.

Oct. 19, 1972 – The Monroe Journal reported that the sportswear firm of M. Hoffman & Co., Inc., with headquarters in Boston, Mass., had announced an agreement to purchase the Frisco City, Ala. plant of Marlene Industries, effective Dec. 1, 1972.

Oct. 19, 1973 – President Richard Nixon rejected an Appeals Court decision that he turn over the Watergate tapes.

Oct. 19, 1973 – Under head coach Lee Holladay, Excel High School improved to 8-0 on the season with a 42-6 win over Lowndes County High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1974 – Under head coach Lee Holladay, Excel High School improved to 7-0 on the season with a 38-14 win over J.U. Blacksher High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1975 – As of this date, Evergreen, Ala. had received 94.2 inches of rain since Jan. 1, 1975.

Oct. 19, 1978 – In an unusual game in which Excel High School’s football stadium hosted a regular season football game between two teams from outside Monroe County, Ala., Millry High School played Dozier High School. Because of the distance between the two schools, they decided to play in Excel, which is roughly halfway between Millry and Dozier. Millry won, 28-8.

Oct. 19, 1979 – Evergreen High School upset undefeated T.R. Miller High School, the No. 1-ranked team in 3A, 16-14, at Brooks Memorial Stadium.

Oct. 19, 1979 – The Beck-Darwin House and Cook Hill, both near Camden, Ala., were listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Oct. 19, 1979 – The Corry-Morton House and the Thaggard-Poole House, both in Greenville, Ala., were added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Oct. 19, 1984 – Under head coach Roland Pettie, Georgiana High School improved to 5-3 with a 34-6 win over Excel High School in Excel, Ala. Larry Allen was Excel’s head coach.

Oct. 19, 1990 – Under head coach Bo Bishop, Excel High School improved to 6-1 on the season with a 33-0 win over Frisco City High School in Frisco City, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1991 – Under head coach Bo Bishop, Excel High School improved to 6-1 on the season with a 43-12 win over Frisco City High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 1997 – The day before the 30th anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin filming of Bigfoot and just prior to a release by the North American Science Institute that would announce their analyses that the creature depicted on the film was genuine, stories appeared in the media claiming that John Chambers, the makeup genius behind such classic movies as “The Planet of the Apes,” had been responsible for creating the gorilla suit that had fooled the monster hunters.

Oct. 19, 1997 – In this day’s edition of the Sunday Telegraph, Bigfoot researcher Chris Murphy said that “very high computer enhancements of the (Patterson-Gimlin) film show conclusively that, whatever it was, it was not wearing a suit. The skin on the creature ripples as it walks.”

Oct. 19, 2001 – Under head coach Al Bowen, Excel High School dropped to 5-3 on the season after a 22-14 loss to Greene County High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 2001 - Two U.S. Army Rangers were killed in a helicopter crash in Pakistan. The deaths were the first American deaths of the military campaign in Afghanistan.

Oct. 19, 2002 – Under head coach Al Bowen, Excel High School improved to 5-3 on the season with a 21-14 win over Georgiana High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 2005 – Saddam Hussein went on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity.

Oct. 19, 2007 – Under head coach Andy Lambert, Excel High School improved to 6-2 on the season with a 24-7 win over Flomaton High School in Excel, Ala.

Oct. 19, 2012 – Under head coach Richard Anderson, Excel High School improved to 2-6 on the season with a 41-14 win over Southside-Selma High School in Excel, Ala.

  

Oct. 19, 2014 - DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys became the first NFL player to run for more than 100 yards in each of the first 7 games of a season.