Today in History for Nov. 9, 2015

Ernst vom Rath

Nov. 9, 1620 – Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower sighted land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Nov. 9, 1780 – During the American Revolutionary War, British Major James Wemyss, commanding a force of 140 horsemen, attempted to surprise 300 South Carolina militiamen under General Thomas Sumter at Fishdam Ford, South Carolina. Instead of capturing Sumter as planned, Wemyss, “the second most hated man in the British army,” was wounded in the arm and knee, and captured by Sumter.

Nov. 9, 1813 – During the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814, the Battle of Talladega took place as Andrew Jackson led about 2,000 Tennesseee Volunteers and friendly Indians to victory over about 700 hostile “Red Sticks,” commanded by William Weatherford, in the vicinity of present-day Talladega, Ala. The battle led to the rescue of friendly Creeks besieged in Fort Leslie.

Nov. 9, 1814 – After capturing Pensacola and leaving Major Blue to scour the coast and drive out the Indians from the swamps of the Escambia and the Choctahatibee, General Jackson started back for Fort Montgomery – a new fort a mile or two north of the destroyed Fort Mims, erected by Col. Thomas H. Benton, who had command there in the all of 1814 – and went down the river to Mobile.

Nov. 9, 1818 – Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev was born in Orel, Russia. He is best known for his 1862 novel, “Fathers and Sons.”

Nov. 9, 1819 – The Rev. George Lassiter Lee was born near Burnt Corn, Ala. He would go on to serve as clerk and moderator of the Bethlehem Association.

Nov. 9, 1819 – William W. Bibb was inaugurated Alabama’s first governor.

Nov. 9, 1851 – Kentucky marshals abducted abolitionist minister Calvin Fairbank from Jeffersonville, Indiana, and took him to Kentucky to stand trial for helping a slave escape.

Nov. 9, 1861 - The first documented football game in Canada was played at University College in Toronto.

Nov. 9, 1861 - Soldiers of the 11th, 18th and 29th Illinois Regiments camped in Bloomfield, Mo. They used an empty newspaper office to print a newspaper about their activities. They named the paper the “Stars and Stripes.”

Nov. 9, 1861 – During the Civil War, the Federal occupation of Beaufort, S.C. began.

Nov. 9, 1861 – During the Civil War, the Federal expedition to Mathias Point, Va., on the York River, began.

Nov. 9, 1862 - General Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Union Army of the Potomac. General George B. McClellan had been removed from command on November 5. Burnside served until January 25 when General Joseph Hooker took the position.

Nov. 9, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes occurred at Shoal Creek and Florence, Ala.

Nov. 9, 1888 – Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in London, widely believed to be the fifth and final victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper.

Nov. 9, 1892 – William Calvin Maxwell, 3rd Aero Squadron, was born at Fork, Ala., about 1-1/2 mile west of Natchez. Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery was later named in his honor.

Nov. 9, 1901 - President Theodore Roosevelt established a naval base in the Philippines at Subic Bay, on territory won from Spain during the Spanish-American War. He believed that the spot should become the Navy’s Pacific headquarters, as the area’s rugged jungle terrain would provide an ideal training ground for naval and marine forces. Roosevelt also viewed a major naval base in the Philippines as a critical strategic asset in light of Japan’s growing military might in the Pacific region and increasing political unrest in China.

Nov. 9, 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt became the first sitting President of the United States to make an official trip outside the country. He did so to inspect progress on the Panama Canal.

Nov. 9, 1917 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Aubrey E. Moore of Andalusia, Ala. “died from disease.”

Nov. 9, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. John E. Autrey of Thomasville, Ala. was killed in action two days before the war officially ended.

Nov. 9, 1923 – In Munich, Germany, police and government troops loyal to the democratic government crushed the Beer Hall Putsch in Bavaria. The event began the evening before when Nazi leader Adolf Hitler took control of a beer hall full of Bavarian government leaders at gunpoint.

Nov. 9, 1926 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Strange High House in the Mist,” which was originally published in the October 1931 edition of Weird Tales magazine.

Nov. 9, 1928 – Poet Anne Sexton was born in Newton, Mass.

Nov. 9, 1931 – National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder and manager Whitey Herzog was born in New Athens, Ill. During his career, he played for the Washington Senators, the Kansas City Athletics, the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers and he went on to manage the Texas Rangers, the California Angels, the Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.

Nov. 9, 1934 – Scientist and author Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Nov. 9, 1935 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson was born in Omaha, Neb. He played his entire career, 1959-1975, for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.

Nov. 9, 1938 – The Nazi German diplomat Ernst vom Rath died from the fatal gunshot wounds of Jewish resistance fighter Herschel Grynszpan, an act which the Nazis used as an excuse to instigate the 1938 national pogrom, also known as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass).

Nov. 9, 1939 – The Monroe Journal reported that work started during the preceding week on a new building to be occupied by Lee Motor Co. in Monroeville, Ala. The building was located on a lot between the “Sinclair Place” and the building occupied by J.F. Lathram. The paper predicted that it would be several weeks before the building would be ready for occupancy. Once complete, the building was to be one of the largest in Monroeville.

Nov. 9, 1941 – On this night, film exploded within the unoccupied Monroeville (Ala.) Theatre building, and the resulting fire destroyed the building. Damage to the 800-seat theatre was estimated at $50,000, according to Monroeville Fire Chief John Wiggins. Stock in a neighboring hardware store was also damaged.

Nov. 9, 1946 - The second-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the first-ranked Army Cadets play to a historic 0-0 tie at Yankee Stadium in New York. Notre Dame-Army was college football’s biggest rivalry, and more than 74,000 people crowded the stands. At a time when football tickets typically cost $1 to $5, many fans had paid scalpers as much as $250 for their seats. The game had been sold out since June.

Nov. 9, 1953 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a 1922 ruling that Major League Baseball did not come within the scope of federal antitrust laws.

Nov. 9, 1956 – In an incident attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, a U.S. Navy Martin Marlin P5M patrol seaplane vanished while on patrol near Bermuda with a crew of 10.

Nov. 9, 1965 - Willie Mays was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player.

Nov. 9, 1965 - The Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 happened on this day, with nine states, as well as two provinces of Canada, hit by a series of power failures that lasted up to 13 hours. In New York City, 800,000 people were caught in the subways, when the blackout struck at rush hour. Though the cause was blamed on human error, many UFO sightings occurred the same night over the area, suggesting to some that their presence was connected to the blackout.

Nov. 9, 1967 - The first issue of Rolling Stone was published in San Francisco.

Nov. 9, 1979 – Monroe Academy beat Glenwood Academy, 21-7, to collect the 100th football win in school history.

Nov. 9, 1984 - A bronze statue titled "Three Servicemen" by Frederick Hart, was unveiled at the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Nov. 9, 1989 – During the Cold War, the Fall of the Berlin Wall occurred when Communist-controlled East Germany opened checkpoints in the Berlin Wall allowing its citizens to travel to West Germany. This key event led to the eventual reunification of East and West Germany, and the fall of communism in eastern Europe including Russia.

Nov. 9, 1991 - Roman Anderson of the Houston Cougars became the first player in NCAA history to surpass 400 points when he kicked a 32-yard field goal.

Nov. 9, 1992 – The Hawthorne House (also known as the Col. J.R. Hawthorne House) in Pine Apple in Wilcox County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Nov. 9, 1995 – Hugh Hunter Allen, who is buried in the Belleville Baptist Church cemetery, passed away. Born March 20, 1917, he served in World War II and Korea after enlisting in 1936. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese in April 15, 1942, and survived the Bataan Death March and POW camps in the Phillipines and Japan. He was a POW for three years and seven months and later received the Purple Heart. He retired in 1960 as a Master Sergeant in the Air Force.

Nov. 9, 1997 - Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions became the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in nine straight seasons. In the same game, Sanders passed former Dallas Cowboy Tony Dorsett for third place on the all-time rushing list.

Nov. 9, 1998 – In “V for Vendetta,” a parade was staged to foster the illusion that Susan was still in control. Creedy told Harper that the coup was coming within the next few days. Harper then told Helen, and she planned accordingly. Finch returned to London. He confronted V in Victoria Station and shot him. Rosemary brought her gun to the parade. She confronted Susan and shot him. Susan was pronounced dead at the hospital. Creedy put himself in charge of Norsefire. Finch arrived and announced that he’d killed V. Conrad Heyer received a videotape. He played it and watched his wife having sex with Harper. Norsefire publicly announced that V was presumed killed. Harper, under Helen’s orders, killed Peter Creedy. V returned to the Shadow Gallery, mortally wounded. Before dying, he asked Evey for a Viking funeral and asked that without lifting the mask, she must discover whose face was behind it. After thinking for some time, Evey discovered whose face was behind the mask. Harper, sneaking into the Heyer household to meet Helen, met Conrad instead. Later, Helen returned home to discover Harper dead and Conrad bleeding to death. Outraged, she left them both. A mob gathered outside the Head to await final word on V’s – and their own – fate. Finch resigned. With Creedy and Heyer missing, Dominic was put in charge. At midnight, V appeared announcing the end of Norsefire, and instructed the populace that they must choose what to do next. After V’s announcement, the mob riots. Dominic was wounded, but rescued by V.

Nov. 9, 2001 - U.S. President George W. Bush announced a 25 percent increase in the number of National Guard troops stationed at airports during the holiday season.

Nov. 9, 2004 - U.S. First Lady Laura Bush officially reopened Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to pedestrians.

  

Nov. 9, 2007 – After 35 years in prison, Arthur Bremer, who attempted to assassinate George C. Wallace in May 1972, was released on parole.

Nov. 9, 2010 - Former President George W. Bush's book "Decision Points" was released.