Today in History for Oct. 9, 2015

Alabama native Joe Sewell

Oct. 9, 1604 – Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way, was reported.

Oct. 9, 1767 – Surveying for the Mason–Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania was completed.

Oct. 9, 1775 - Just a few short months after commanding British soldiers during the Battle of Bunker Hill, General Sir William Howe wrote to the British-appointed secretary of state for the American colonies, Lord Dartmouth, to inform him of his belief that the British army should be evacuated from Boston to Rhode Island. From there, British forces could move expeditiously to the southern colonies, without having to go around Cape Cod. As Lord Dartmouth had previously received reports that men were needed in the southern colonies from the likes of Josiah Martin, the royal governor of North Carolina, and John Murray, the royal governor of South Carolina, he ordered General Howe to send officers stationed in Boston to North Carolina to assist Martin in the southern campaign.

Oct. 9, 1781 - The last major battle of the American Revolutionary War took place in Yorktown, Va. The American forces, led by George Washington, defeated the British troops under Lord Cornwallis.

Oct. 9, 1814 – The USS Wasp disappeared while sailing in the Caribbean with a crew of 140.

Oct. 9, 1824 – Slavery was abolished in Costa Rica.

Oct. 9, 1835 – French composer Camille Saint-Saens was born in Paris, and he is best remembered for his famous 1877 opera “Samson and Dalila.”

Oct. 9, 1861 – During the Civil War, at the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, about 600 Union troops under Col. Harvey Brown repelled a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens led by Brigadier General Richard H. Anderson. Union losses were about 70, Confederate about 90.

Oct. 9, 1861 - Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Joseph G. Sanders, aka “The Turncoat of Dale County,” enlisted in Co. C of the 31st Georgia Infantry (known as "Captain Archer Griffith's Company of Mitchell Guards") in Glennville, Ala.

Oct. 9, 1862 - Confederate cavalry leader General J.E.B. Stuart left Virginia with 1,800 cavalrymen. He looted Chambersburg, Pa. on Oct. 11.

Oct. 9, 1863 – Joseph Ganes Sanders, the “Turncoat of Dale County,” took a furlough from the army and returned home.

Oct. 9, 1864 – During the Civil War, at the Battle of Tom's Brook, Union cavalrymen in the Shenandoah Valley dealt a humiliating defeat to Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Va. The Yankees captured 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry’s wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers were killed, and 48 were wounded. It was the most complete victory of Union cavalry in the eastern theater during the entire war.

Oct. 9, 1864 – During the Civil War, an attack occurred on the U.S. steamer “Sebago” in Mobile Bay, Ala.

Oct. 9, 1865 – The Greenville Advocate newspaper in Greenville, Ala. was established by Col. James B. Stanley.

Oct. 9, 1886 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Marquard was born in Cleveland, Ohio. During his career, he played for the New York Giants, the Brooklyn Robins, the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

Oct. 9, 1888 – The Washington Monument was opened to the public for the first time. The 555-foot structure was the tallest building in the world at the time.

Oct. 9, 1898 – National Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop and third baseman Joe Sewell, who also lettered in football at the University of Alabama, was born in Titus in Elmore County, Ala. During his career, he played for the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees. A 1916 graduate of Wetumpka High School, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977. Sewell-Thomas Stadium, the baseball stadium at the University of Alabama, is named in his honor and is nicknamed by Crimson Tide fans as "The Joe". He served as head baseball coach at his alma mater from 1964 to 1969, and one of his pitchers was future NFL standout, Alabama quarterback and 1966 MLB 10th round draftee (Yankees) Ken "Snake" Stabler.

Oct. 9, 1890 – Outlaw train robber Rube Burrow was killed in Linden, Ala. during a shootout with Jefferson Davis “Dixie” Carter who shot Burrow once in the abdomen, severing an artery and causing almost instant death. (Some sources say this occurred on Oct. 8, 1890.) A native of Lamar County, Ala., Burrow robbed his first train in 1886 and by 1890 was the most wanted outlaw in the South.

Oct. 9, 1908 - Two-term Alabama governor James “Big Jim” Folsom was born in Coffee County, Ala. Folsom, known for farm-to-market road paving and other programs to benefit Alabama’s common folk, served as governor from 1947-1951 and 1955-1959.

Oct. 9, 1912 - The Alabama Equal Suffrage Association was founded in Birmingham. Its goal was gain the right to vote for white women in the state. At its inception, the organization consisted of members of the Birmingham Equal Suffrage Association and the Selma Equal Suffrage Association and included 350 white, upper-class men and women from Birmingham and 80 from Selma, as well as individuals from Montgomery, Auburn, and Marion. In January 1913 the AESA held its inaugural state convention at the Hotel Albert in Selma, with seven chapters participating, and its second convention in Huntsville in 1914, with 11 chapters attending.

Oct. 9, 1914 – Conecuh County, Ala. farmer Jenks Ewing exhibited a potato in Evergreen that weighed 9-1/2 pounds.

Oct. 9, 1915 – A “deplorable shooting affray” occurred near Roy, Ala. on this Saturday night in which a young man named King was shot in the face with a shotgun by a Miss Garrett. It was allegeded that King went to the Garrett House in an “intoxicated condition” and caused a disturbance. Miss Garrett shot King when he allegedly drew a knife and approached her mother in a “threatening manner.” King was taken to Mobile for treatment and Garrett was placed in the Monroe County Jail.

Oct. 9, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. James W. Dease of Coffeeville, Ala. was killed in action.

Oct. 9, 1919 - The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series. The win would be later tainted when eight Chicago White Sox were charged with throwing the game. The incident became known as the "Black Sox" scandal.

Oct. 9, 1926 – Auburn’s junior varsity football team, under coach Red Brown, played the Marion Cadets. Auburn’s “Baby Tiger” team included two first-year Auburn students from Evegreen, Ala. – Ellis Shannon and Watson Spence, who both played at Evergreen High School the year before.

Oct. 9, 1934 - The St. Louis Cardinals “Gashouse Gang” defeated the Detroit Tigers, 11-0, in the seventh game of the World Series.

Oct. 9, 1934 – Australian writer Jill Ker Conway was born in Hillston, New South Wales, Australia.

Oct. 9, 1939 - The Fall Term of Monroe County (Ala.) Circuit Court began with Judge F.W. Hare presiding.

Oct. 9, 1939 – South African journalist and crime writer James Howe McClure was born in Johannesburg.

Oct. 9, 1941 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Walter C. Wells, a 24-year-old former Evergreen, Ala. resident and 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, had graduated from the Platoon Commander’s School at the Marine Barracks in Quantico, Va. Afterwards, Wells was assigned to active duty with the regular troops of the Marine Corps.

Oct. 9, 1945 – PFC Raymond N. Bradley of Castleberry, Ala. arrived home safely after being wounded in Italy on May 12, 1944. A member of the 17th Field Artillery, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Austria, Germany and France.

Oct. 9, 1947 – Evergreen High School beat Frisco City, 13-0, in Frisco City, Ala. Players for Evergreen included Bozeman, Brooks, Craig, Hanks, Logue, McIntyre, Rawls and Salter. Players for Frisco included Junior Jones, Majors and Punk Gorday was Frisco’s head coach.

Oct. 9, 1948 – Irish poet Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast.

Oct. 9, 1951 – Southside Baptist Church in Monroeville, Ala. officially organized with 24 charter members. A planning committee for the construction of a new church building was also appointed with A.B. Blass as chairman. Other members of the committee included M.L. Bergman, Ed Lee, Mrs. Oscar Lambert and Raymond Bayles.

Oct. 9, 1956 – Fred Myles of Ackworth, Ga. and 28-year-old Foy Reynolds, alias Foy Brady, of Summerville, Ga. were placed in the Conecuh County, Ala. Jail after being arrested by Highway Patrolman Wallace Jackson at the end of a high-speed chase that ended on the Brooklyn Road, outside Evergreen, near the old drive-in theater. Myles was charged with driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident and possible charges of car theft, and Reynolds was held for investigation. Myles allegedly sideswiped a truck at the north end of Travis Bridge, and Myles left the scene of the accident, attempting to escape, but Jackson spotted Myles about three miles outside Evergreen, gave chase to Evergreen, and on out the Brooklyn Road at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, to a point near the old drive-in theatre, where Myles was apprehended.

Oct. 9, 1958 – NFL Hall of Famer Mike Singletary was born in Houston, Texas.

Oct. 9, 1963 – The State Board of Education announced that Evergreen, Ala. had been selected for a “major, full-fledged trade school” under the provisions of the governor’s trade school and junior college program.

Oct. 9, 1971 – Conecuh County, Ala. Sheriff James “Shorty” Brock arrested two 14-year-old run-aways from Ft. Walton, Fla. in Greenville after they broke into the Ray Brothers Grocery Store at Travis Bridge around midnight the night before. The run-aways were hitchhiking to Ohio, where one of their sisters lived, and broke into the store to get something to eat, stealing soft drinks, cookies, chewing gum and a transistor radio. The run-aways were released from the Conecuh County Jail to their parents on Oct. 11.

Oct. 9, 1976 – Former professional Scottish soccer player Lee Peacock was born in Paisley, Scotland.

Oct. 9, 1976 – American actor, producer, and screenwriter Nick Swardson was born in Minnesota.

Oct. 9, 1986 - The musical "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber had its first performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, England

Oct. 9, 1986 – A meeting of all Conecuh and Butler County Master Masons was scheduled to be held at the lodge in Castleberry, Ala. at 7 p.m. Invited lodges included Dean, Downing, Greening, McKenzie, Garland and Georgiana.

Oct. 9, 1989 – Tass, the official Soviet news agency, first reported a bizarre UFO incident in the city of Voronezh. The report included a trio of tall aliens that had visited the city of Voronzh. "As many as three aliens, 13 feet tall, left the spacecraft, described as a large shining ball," according to descriptions provided by a group of children said to have witnessed the event.

Oct. 9, 1992 - A 28-pound (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite landed in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu.

Oct. 9, 1993 – Valerie Griffin was crowned Miss Heritage during the Miss Heritage of Conecuh County Pageant at the Wiley Salter Auditorium at Reid State Technical College in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 9, 1993 – Over 200 aircraft visited Evergreen during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual Fly-In at Middleton Field in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 9, 1994 - The U.S. sent troops and warships to the Persian Gulf in response to Saddam Hussein sending thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks toward the Kuwaiti border.

Oct. 9, 2009 - Alabama author Barbara Robinette Moss died in Kansas City, Mo.