Today in History for Nov. 5, 2015

Vivien Leigh

Nov. 5, 1605 - The "Gunpowder Plot" attempted by Guy Fawkes failed when he was captured before he could blow up the English Parliament. Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated every November 5th in Britain to celebrate his failure to blow up all the members of Parliament and King James I.

Nov. 5, 1775 - Continental Army commander in chief General George Washington condemned his troops' planned celebration of the British anti-Catholic holiday Guy Fawkes Night, as he was simultaneously struggling to win French-Canadian Catholics to the Patriot cause. In his general orders for the day, Washington criticized “that ridiculous and childish custom of burning the Effigy of the pope,” part of the traditional Guy Fawkes celebration. He went on to express his bewilderment that there could be “Officers and Soldiers in this army so void of common sense” and berated the troops for their inability to recognize that “defence [sic] of the general Liberty of America” demanded expressions of “public thanks” to the Canadian Catholics who Washington believed to be necessary allies, and wrote that he found “monstrous” any actions, which might “be insulting their Religion.”

Nov. 5, 1831 – Nat Turner, American slave leader, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in Virginia.

Nov. 5, 1850 – Poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox was born in Johnston, Wisc.

Nov. 5, 1855 – Speaker and labor organizer Eugene Debs was born in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Nov. 5, 1861 – Confederate General Robert E. Lee was named commander of one of the Confederacy’s new departments – the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and East Florida.

Nov. 5, 1861 - The Federal occupation of Prestonsburg, KY.

Nov. 5, 1862 - President Abraham Lincoln removed General George B. McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac for the second and final time. Lincoln was convinced that McClellan could not defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee. General Ambrose Burnside was selected to take McClellan's place.

Nov. 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, multiple skirmishes occurred at Shoal Creek, Ala.

Nov. 5, 1867 - The Alabama Constitutional Convention, consisting of delegates elected under U.S. Congress’s Radical Reconstruction plan, began meeting in Montgomery, Ala. The 100 delegates, of which 96 were Republicans, including 18 African Americans, drafted a liberal document that was declared ratified the next year to become the Alabama Constitution of 1868.

Nov. 5, 1876 – German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin died at the age of 52 in Stuttgart.

Nov. 5, 1879 – Capt. “Andy” Andrew Harrison Johnson, who was born at Franklin, Ala. in 1814, died. He owned the “Cremona,” a 268-ton steamboat that was built in New Albany in 1852 and was in service from 1852 to 1861 when it was seized by the Confederate Army for use as a supply transport. Prior to this, the boat was a part of the “Dispatch Line” and later the “Tombigbee Trade,” running a route on the Tombigbee River. Harrison’s plantation home, also called “Cremona,” was located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, south of Point Clear.

Nov. 5, 1891 – Pro football and baseball player Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Nov. 5, 1912 – Dr. Woodrow Eddins, longtime Monroeville physician, was born.

Nov. 5, 1913 – “Gone with the Wind” actress Vivien Leigh was born in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, British India.

Nov. 5, 1913 – “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” actor John McGiver was born in New York City.

Nov. 5, 1914 – The Davis Brothers Store near Manistee, Ala. caught fire and resulted in the “loss of their store building and entire stock of goods.” The fire was discovered around 3 a.m. and was thought to have been accidental. The loss was estimated at between $10,000 and $12,000 and was only partially covered by insurance.

Nov. 5, 1917 – Naval Lt. John Tillman Melvin, 30, of Selma, Ala. became the first Naval officer killed in World War I when his ship was torpedoed by a German sub.

Nov. 5, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. James W. Brown of Owassa, Ala. “died from disease.”

Nov. 5, 1954 - Thomas Manners, responsible for keeping 800 clocks wound, got his smock caught in the mechanism of the great clock in the London Law Courts tower, and was strangled to death by the clock he'd tended for so many years.

Nov. 5, 1959 - The American Football League was formed.

Nov. 5, 1960 - Johnny Horton was killed in an auto accident in Milano, Texas at the age of 33. His hits include "Battle of New Orleans."

Nov. 5, 1963 - Archaeologists found the remains of a Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.

Nov. 5, 1966 – On homecoming night in Lyeffion, Ala., the Lyeffion High School Yellow Jackets beat J.U. Blacksher, 34-6.

Nov. 5, 1969 – Marine PFC Michael Toxey Rutherford of Greenville, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam.

Nov. 5, 1971 – Andalusia High School beat Evergreen High School, 43-0, in Evergreen, Ala.

Nov. 5, 1971 – Fort Dale Academy beat Sparta Academy, 54-0, in Evergreen, Ala. Martha Gaines was named Sparta’s Miss Football.

Nov. 5, 1971 – On homecoming night in Lyeffion, Ala., Lyeffion High School beat Highland Home, 30-0. Helen Hendrix was named Miss Homecoming, and Laura Oakley was named Miss Football. Members of Lyeffion’s homecoming court were Vicki Robinson, Lynn Oakley, Laura Oakley, Helen Hendrix, Sylvia Booker, Sharon Boykins and Dottie Chavers.

Nov. 5, 1975 - Travis Walton, a 22-year-old logger, said he was abducted into a glowing disc-shaped object while working with a logging crew in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Five co-workers allegedly witnessed Walton's body rising up in an intense beam of light. Walton could not be found, but reappeared after a five-day search.

Nov. 5, 1981 – Former Miami Dolphin Mercury Morris was sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking, conspiracy and possession of cocaine.

Nov. 5, 1984 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the National Football League had exceeded antitrust limits in attempting to stop the Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles.

Nov. 5, 1984 – The J.C. Watson House (Watson Hospital) in Georgiana, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Nov. 5, 1992 – The Greek ship HS Leon (D-54), formerly the USS Eldridge, was decommissioned and on Nov. 11, 1999 it was sold as scrap to the Piraeus-based firm V&J Scrapmetal Trading Ltd.

Nov. 5, 1993 – Episode No. 8 of “The X-Files” – entitled “Ice” – aired for the first time.

Nov. 5, 1995 - Warren Moon of the Minnesota Vikings became the sixth player in NFL history to pass for 40,000 career yards.

Nov. 5, 1995 - John Elway of the Denver Broncos became the seventh player in NFL history to pass for 40,000 career yards.

Nov. 5, 1997 - The Milwaukee Brewers became the first Major League Baseball team to switch leagues during the 20th century. They moved from the American League to the National League.

Nov. 5, 1997 – In “V for Vendetta,” Evey Hammond was nearly raped by three Fingermen. She is rescued by V, who blows up the Houses of Parliament and takes Evey to the Shadow Gallery.

Nov. 5, 1998 – In “V for Vendetta,” V obliterates the headquarters of the Nose, the Ear and the Mouth. Addressing London (and presumably all of England) he announces that the populace is no longer under the watch of the government. For the next three days, they may do as they will.

Nov. 5, 1998 - Liam Gallagher of Oasis was arrested for allegedly attacking a photographer and damaging his camera equipment.

Nov. 5, 1998 – The Monroe Journal named Frisco City High School senior fullback John Tucker and Excel High School junior linebacker Al Black as The Journal’s Players of the Week. Tucker had 109 yards on just eight rushes in the Whippets’ 44-12 whipping of McKenzie on Oct. 30 in Frisco City. Black led Excel’s defense with 15 tackles in the Panthers’ 27-20 win over Flomaton High in Flomaton on Oct. 30.

Nov. 5, 1998 – The Monroe Journal reported that Monroe County High School’s marching band won superior ratings during a recent marching band competition in Bay Minette. The band received superior ratings for drum major, color guard, majorettes, drum line and overall band. Section leaders were Mary Jo Dailey, Billie Watson, Joey Grabill, Jodi Kirchharr, Sarah Sawyer, Brandy Stacey, Josh Dewberry, Tiffany Willis, Keri Eddins, Chris Allen and Stephanie Pulfrey.

Nov. 5, 2006 – Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, and his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar were sentenced to death in the al-Dujail trial for the role in the massacre of the 148 Shi'a Muslims in 1982.

Nov. 5, 2007 – President George W. Bush awarded “To Kill A Mockingbird” author Harper Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, to recognize contributions in science, the arts, literature and the cause of peace and freedom.