Today in History for Oct. 26, 2015

Oct. 26, 1773 – French explorer Amédée-François Frézier passed away at the age of 90 (possibly 91) in Brest, Britanny, France. He is best remembered for bringing back five specimens of Fragaria chiloensis, the beach strawberry, from an assignment in South America, thus introducing this New World fruit to the Old.

Oct. 26, 1774 - The First Continental Congress of the United States adjourned in Philadelphia.

Oct. 26, 1775 – King George III of Great Britain went before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.

Oct. 26, 1776 - Exactly one month to the day after being named an agent of a diplomatic commission by the Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin set sail from Philadelphia for France, with which he was to negotiate and secure a formal alliance and treaty.

Oct. 26, 1828 – William Barrett Travis, who would become famous as the commander of the ill-fated Alamo, married Rosanna Cato at Claiborne, Ala.

Oct. 26, 1861 – The Pony Express officially ceased operations.

Oct. 26, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Romney, South Branch Bridge and Springfield, West Va.

Oct. 26, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes occurred at Barton's Station near Cane Creek and at Little Bear Creek on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad in Alabama.

Oct. 26, 1864 – During the Civil War, notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William 'Bloody Bill" Anderson was killed in a Union ambush outside of Albany, Missouri. The body of the “blood-drenched savage,” as he became known in the area, was placed on public display. Anderson kept a rope to record his killings, and there were reportedly 54 knots in it at the time of his death.

Oct. 26, 1880 – Russian novelist and poet Boris Nikolayevich Bugaev, who wrote under the pseudonym Andrei Bely, was born in Moscow.

Oct. 26, 1881 – Richard Thomas Baggett, said to have been the first child born to white settlers in Conecuh County, Ala., died.

Oct. 26, 1881 - The "Gunfight at the OK Corral" took place in Tombstone, Az. The fight was between Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and Doc Holiday and the Ike Clanton Gang.

Oct. 26, 1895 – Enoch, the son of Lafayette Riley of Bermuda, killed a large rattlesnake that was five feet, four inches long, was five to six inches in diameter and had eight rattles and a button.

Oct. 26, 1899 – National Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Judy Johnson was born in Snow Hill, Md. During his career, he played for the Hilldale Club, the Bacharach Giants, the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

Oct. 26, 1905 – The Monroe Journal reported that the Bear Creek Mill Co. had sold its plant at Manistee, Ala. to V.J. Herlong, who ran the business under the name of the Manistee Mill Co.

Oct. 26, 1908 – T.O. Fulkerson, the former manager of the Southern Bell Telephone Co. in Evergreen, Ala., was arrested by Conecuh County Sheriff J.F. Irwin in Pensacola and was brought back to Evergreen. Fulkerson was charged with embezzling around $700 while manger of the local telephone company.

Oct. 26, 1914 - The movie “Sir Galahad of Twilight,” screenplay written by Alabama author Marie Stanley under her maiden name Marie Layet, was released.

Oct. 26, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Caesar George of Nichburg, Ala. “died from disease,” and Army 2LT James N. Malcomb of Andalusia, Ala. died from wounds.

Oct. 26, 1926 - Alabama author Margaret Searcy was born in Raleigh, N.C.

Oct. 26, 1930 – Playwright John Arden was born in Barnsley, England.

Oct. 26, 1931 – National Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman, manager and owner Charles Comiskey passed away at the age of 72 at Eagle River, Wisc. During his career, he played for the St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns, the Chicago Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds and he managed the Browns, the Chicago Pirates and Reds. He owned the Chicago White Sox from 1901 to 1931 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.

Oct. 26, 1938 – A group of business and professional men met at the Conecuh County (Ala.) Courthouse on this Wednesday afternoon, at the invitation of a Rotary Club committee, to organize a local Chamber of Commerce, a matter that had been under consideration for several weeks by members of the Rotary Club and other citizens. C.A. Jones was unanimously elected president of the organization and by motion empowered to appoint a board of directors composed of seven members, himself as ex-officio chairman.

Oct. 26, 1942 – During World War II, Monroeville, Ala. was scheduled to have a “blackout practice test,” beginning at 7:30 p.m. and was to last 15 minutes. Claude D. Kelley was the commander of the local Civilian Defense Corps and the signal for the drill to begin was a series of several short blasts on the city fire siren.

Oct. 26, 1945 – French sinologist and explorer Paul Pelliot passed away at the age of 67 in Paris, France. He is best known for his explorations of Central Asia and his discovery of many important Chinese texts among the Dunhuang manuscripts.

Oct. 26, 1947 – Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was born in Chicago.

Oct. 26, 1948 – Major League Baseball’s Colbert Dale “Toby” Harrah was born in Sissonville, West Virginia. He would go on to play for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees.

Oct. 26, 1949 – Former Montreal Expos pitcher Stephen Douglas “Steve” Rogers was born in Jefferson City, Mo.

Oct. 26, 1949 – Major League first baseman and manager Mike Hargrove was born Perryton, Texas. He would go on to play for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and the Cleveland Indians. He would also manage the Indians, the Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Mariners.

Oct. 26, 1950 - Alabama author Clement Woodd died in Schenectady, N.Y.

Oct. 26, 1950 – NFL running back Chuck Foreman was born in Frederick, Maryland. He would go on to play for the Minnesota Vikings and the New England Patriots.

Oct. 26, 1951 – Major League third baseman Steve Ontiveros was born in Bakersfield, Calif. He would go on to play the San Fransisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs.

Oct. 26, 1963 – Nadine Turnipseed, a former teacher at J.U. Blacksher High School at Uriah, Ala., was scheduled to be the guest speaker at the alumni homecoming banquet on this Saturday. A football game between Blacksher and Excel was to follow the supper, and during halftime, the John Sawyer stadium dedication was to take place. The late John Sawyer was principal of the Uriah school until his death.

Oct. 26, 1967 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Marine Lance Corporal Calvin D. “Snuffy” Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith of 147 Knoxville St. in Evergreen, Ala., was serving with the 7th Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, in Vietnam. The mission of the battalion was to build and maintain roads, support the infantry units and instruct Marines in the use of mines and booby traps. In support of infantry units, the engineers cleared mine fields, destroyed caves and tunnels and other enemy fortifications.

Oct. 26, 1967 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Dr. Carl Wilson had opened a new veterinary clinic, to be known as Animal Health Center, with facilities for large and small animals on Yarbrough (Old Sparta) Road in Conecuh County, Ala.

Oct. 26, 1968 - Lyeffion High School was scheduled to observe its annual homecoming on this Saturday night in Lyeffion, Ala. The featured event was to be the homecoming game between Lyeffion and Coffeeville at 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 26, 1968 - All members of Greening Masonic Lodge No. 53 and their wives and members of Conecuh Chapter No. 217 O.E.S. and their husbands were invited to a barbecue supper scheduled for this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge. The Rev. Robert Brown was to be the speaker.

Oct. 26, 1975 – The Conecuh County Sheriff’s Auxiliary held its inaugural Air Show at Middleton Field in Evergeen, Ala.

Oct. 26, 1978 – Magnolia Manor in Greenville, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Oct. 26, 1986 - Bill Buckner earned a place in sports infamy when the Red Sox first baseman failed to field a routine ground ball, allowing the NY Mets to defeat Boston in Game 6 of the World Series.  The error was so egregious that Buckner became vilified by the team's fan base and he was forced to leave the state of Massachusetts.  Twenty-two years later, Buckner returned to Boston to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the 2008 season and received a four-minute standing ovation from the remorseful Fenway Park crowd.

Oct. 26, 1998 - A French lab found a nerve agent on an Iraqi missile warhead.

Oct. 26, 2005 - The Chicago White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years, defeating the Houston Astros, 7-5, in the first World Series game to be held in Texas. The game was also the longest in World Series history at five hours and 41 minutes. The game actually began on Oct. 25. The White Sox won the series, four games to none.

Oct. 26, 2012 - The 21st Annual South-East Regional Fly-In was scheduled to officially open at Middleton Field in Evergreen, Ala.

  

Oct. 26, 2014 – Britain withdrew from Afghanistan after the end of Operation Herrick which started on June 20, 2002 after 12 years four months and seven days.