Today in History for Dec. 1, 2015

Walter Alston

Dec. 1, 1589 – The first part of Edmund Spenser’s epic poem “The Faerie Queene” was registered for publication in London.

Dec. 1, 1768 – The former slave ship Fredensborg sank off Tromøy in Norway.

Dec. 1, 1779 - General George Washington established winter quarters at Morristown, N.J. and his army settled into a second winter season at Morristown. Washington’s personal circumstances improved dramatically as he moved into the Ford Mansion and was able to conduct his military business in the style of a proper 18th-century gentleman. However, the worst winter of the 1700s coupled with the collapse of the colonial economy ensured misery for Washington’s underfed, poorly clothed and unpaid troops as they struggled for the next two months to construct their 1,000-plus “log-house city” from 600 acres of New Jersey woodland.

Dec. 1, 1834 – Slavery was abolished in the Cape Colony in accordance with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

Dec. 1, 1851 – The organizational charter was issued to Coffeeville Lodge No. 122 in Coffeeville, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1860 – The first two chapters of Charles Dickens’ novel “Great Expectations” were published in “All the Year Round,” his weekly magazine.

Dec. 1, 1861 - The British government sent a message to the Lincoln administration insisting that the U.S. respond within a week concerning two British diplomatic envoys being held. The British also began preparing for war.

Dec. 1, 1861 – During the Civil War, the first of two days of skirmishing began in the vicinity of Camp Goggin, Ky. A skirmish was also fought at Whippoorwill Creek, Ky. A Federal gunboat demonstration was held on Fort Holt, Ky., and a 12-day series of Federal operations about Mill Springs and Somerset, Ky. began.

Dec. 1, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Shanghai, Mo.

Dec. 1, 1862 – In his State of the Union Address President Abraham Lincoln addressed the U.S. Congress and reaffirmed the necessity of ending slavery as ordered 10 weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.

Dec. 1, 1863 – Butler County, Ala. native Thomas H. Watts began serving as Alabama’s Confederate governor. His term would end on May 1, 1865 at the end of the Civil War when he was arrested for treason by the Union in Union Springs.

Dec. 1, 1903 – The organizational charter was issued to Opp Lodge No. 605 in Opp, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1907 - Damage to the extent of $15,000 and the complete upsetting of the railroad schedules on the Montgomery and Mobile division of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad followed a “peculiar wreck” at Bolling on this Sunday. “Tracks were torn up for nearly a mile, ties were splintered into kindling wood and a trestle went down into the bed of a small stream, carrying with it three coal cars.”

Dec. 1, 1908 – The organizational charter was issued to Garland Lodge No. 684 in Garland in Butler County, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1911 – National Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman and manager Walter Alston was born in Venice, Ohio. He went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals and managed the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

Dec. 1, 1912 - Alabama journalist and author Nell Brasher was born in Perry County, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1928 – The Jones Mill Post Office in Monroe County, Ala. officially changed its named to the Frisco City Post Office after the Town of Jones Mill officially changed its name to Frisco City after a 153-50 vote in favor of the change on Sept. 17, 1928.

Dec. 1, 1931 – In Lovecraftian fiction, two intruders died at the Cabot Museum of Archaeology in Boston while trying to steal a mummy, which had been found on a Pacific island.

Dec. 1, 1937 - Haiman Long, age 63, prominent Evergreen, Ala. merchant and citizen, died suddenly at his home on Belleville Street at 1:40 p.m. as result of a heart attack, an ailment from which he had suffered for several years. Long was born on a farm in the province of Kovona, Latvia and spent his early youth there. He came to the United States in 1888 and for a time engaged in business in Philadelphia. He later moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was in business for about two years. On July 8, 1890 he came to Evergreen and opened a business known as the “Red Front Store,” which later became known as “I. Long & Sons.” He was a member of the local Masonic lodge, of the Bethel Synagogue and the Kanasha Ierael Synagogue of Birmingham. His body was prepared for burial by Rutland’s Funeral Home and was to be carried to Birmingham on Train No. 4 on Dec. 2 where funeral services were to be held on Dec. 3.

Dec. 1, 1941 – During World War II, Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed Administrative Order 9, which created the Civil Air Patrol. In April 1943, the Civil Air Patrol was placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces.

Dec. 1, 1946 – Paula Jean Welden, a sophomore at Bennington College in Vermont, disappeared while walking on Vermont’s Long Trail, and her disappearance remains an unsolved mystery.

Dec. 1, 1947 – Cpl. Lawrence M. Durant was laid to rest on this Monday at 3 p.m. with full military honors at Mineola Cemetery near Uriah. Durant was the first war fatality from World War II to be returned to Monroe County for interment after the war, and he was laid to rest in the presence of his friends and a full honor guard as the Rev. Frank Morrison of Uriah, assisted by the Rev. Cleve Ellis, read a passage of scripture and followed it with prayer. Durant was critically wounded in action in December 1944 while fighting in the European theater of operations and died soon afterwards in a hospital in France.

Dec. 1, 1947 - J.O. Hendrix was named president of the Frisco City Chamber of Commerce at the regular meeting of the organization on this Monday night at Frisco City (Ala.) town hall. He succeeded George S. Williams.

Dec. 1, 1948 – In connection with the famous “Taman Shud Case,” the body of an unidentified man was found in Adelaide, Australia, involving an undetectable poison and a secret code in a very rare book. The case remains unsolved and is "one of Australia's most profound mysteries."

Dec. 1, 1948 – Major League Baseball outfielder George Arthur Foster was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He would go on to play for the San Francisco Giants, the Cinncinnati Reds, the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox.

Dec. 1, 1950 – Army SFC Fred Fuqua of Escambia County, Ala. was killed in action in Korea.

Dec. 1, 1950 – Army Cpl. Ruben Thurman Jr. of Escambia County, Ala. died while a prisoner of war in Korea.

Dec. 1, 1952 – Police officer John Andrews of Evergreen, Ala., who’d been hired by the Evergreen City Council, officially began working for the Evergreen Police Department. At that time, the city’s police force included Police Chief R.A. Emmons, officers John Andrews and W.H. Williamson, traffic consultant H.L. Riley and part-time officer R.Z. Wells.

Dec. 1, 1955 - Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a boarding white passenger as required by Montgomery city ordinance. Her action prompted the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott and earned her a place in history as “the mother of the modern day civil rights movement.” Ms. Parks was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in August 2000.

Dec. 1, 1962 – The births of the first triplets ever recorded in Monroe County occurred at the Monroe County Hospital in Monroeville, Ala. Parents were Emma and Tom Rankin Jr. of Frisco City. Time of births was 2:11, 2:22 and 2:30 a.m. Members of the staff at Monroe County Hospital stated that all three babies were normal, taking their formula and doing fine. They were named Harry, Larry and Barry.

Dec. 1, 1964 – Major League Baseball’s Houston Colt .45s changed their name to the Astros.

Dec. 1, 1967 - Seattle was awarded an American League Baseball franchise.

Dec. 1, 1971 - Muhammad Ali reported seeing a UFO while jogging in Central Park.

Dec. 1, 1971 – “All the Way Home,” a television version of Alabama author James Agee's book “A Death in the Family,” was broadcast.

Dec. 1, 1975 – National Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox died at the age of 47 in Baltimore, Md. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Colt .45s/Astros. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

Dec. 1, 1976 – Journalist Laura Ling was born in Carmichael, Calif.

Dec. 1, 1977 – The Monroe Journal reported that construction continued on two Monroe County, Ala. wood products plants, one of which was nearly complete. The Scotch Plywood Co. plant near Beatrice was 98-percent finished and was expected to be operating by mid-December, job superintendent Joe Deville said on Nov. 30. At the Georgia Pacific Corp. construction site near Peterman, the plant was about 50-percent complete, plant manager Ray Ellen said.

Dec. 1, 1984 – Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie won the 50th Heisman Trophy.

Dec. 1, 1989 – Courtland beat Excel, 13-2, in the Class 1A title game in Courtland, Ala. Excel junior lineman Drexel Lambert tackled Courtland’s Warren Bailey in the end zone for a safety to give Excel a 2-0 lead with 7:15 left in the game’s first quarter.

Dec. 1, 1990 - Iraq accepted a U.S. offer to talk about resolving the Persian Gulf crisis.

Dec. 1, 1994 - Mike Frier of the Seattle Seahawks was paralyzed in a car accident.

Dec. 1, 2003 - Bidding began on the baseball that was deflected by a fan in the stands during a Chicago Cubs game. The ball was sold on Dec. 18, 2003, for $106,600 at auction. The foul ball appeared to be headed for the glove of left fielder Moises Alou in Game 6 of the National League Championship series. The Florida Marlins ended up winning the game, 8-3. The Cubs then lost Game 7.