Today in History for Jan. 18, 2016

John Tyler

Jan. 18, 1535 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.

Jan. 18, 1776 - On this evening, the Council of Safety in Savannah, Georgia, issued an arrest warrant for the colony’s royal governor, James Wright. Patriots led by Major Joseph Habersham of the Provincial Congress then took Wright into custody and placed him under house arrest. Wright remained under guard in the governor’s mansion in Savannah until Feb. 11, 1776, when he escaped to the British man-of-war, HMS Scarborough. After failing to negotiate a settlement with the revolutionary congress, he sailed for London.

Jan. 18, 1778 - English navigator Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, which he called the "Sandwich Islands."

Jan. 18, 1779 – Peter Mark Roget, who is best known for “Roget’s Thesaurus,” was born in London.

Jan. 18, 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrived at Botany Bay.

Jan. 18, 1803 - Thomas Jefferson, in secret communication with Congress, sought authorization for the first official exploration by the U.S. government. Determined to begin the American exploration of the vast mysterious regions of the Far West, Jefferson asked Congress for money to fund the journey of Lewis and Clark.

Jan. 18, 1823 – Outlaw James Copeland was born to Isham and Rebecca Wells Copeland near the Pascagoula River in Jackson County, Miss.

Jan. 18, 1838 – Samuel White Oliver, around 41 years old, passed away at his residence on Pine Barren Creek in Dallas County, Ala. Born in Virginia around 1796, he moved to the Sparta area of Conecuh County, Ala. in 1819. He began serving in the state legislature in 1822 and represented Conecuh County there for 12 years and was elected speaker in 1834. He entered the state senate in 1836, representing Conecuh and Butler counties, but resigned the next year to move to Dallas County. He ran for governor in 1837 but was defeated by Arthur P. Bagby of Monroe County.

Jan. 18, 1843 – Steamboat pilot Charles Langdon Johnson was born at River Ridge (now called Franklin) in Monroe County, Ala. He fought in the Civil War as a private, and he was the nephew of Capt. “Andy” Andrew Harrison Johnson, the captain of the “Cremona.”

Jan. 18, 1845 – Confederate soldier James Kenard Kendall was born in Brooklyn, Ala. and on Sept. 13, 1863 at McGowin’s Bridge he enlisted as a private in Co. I of the 15th Confederate Cavalry, under the command of W.B. Amos. He passed away at the age of 74 in Conecuh County and was buried in the Brooklyn Baptist Cemetery.

Jan. 18, 1861 – U.S. Army Lt. Adam Slemmer refused the third demand for the surrender of Fort Pickens in Pensacola Harbor, Fla. Also on that day, Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, off Key West, Fla., was garrisoned by Federal troops and used to hold political prisoners.

Jan. 18, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Confederate Territory of Arizona was formed.

Jan. 18, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought in the Cherokee Territory, the Indian Territory.

Jan. 18, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Grand Gulf, Miss. and at Flint Hill, Va.

Jan. 18, 1865 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Clarksville, Ark. and near Lovettsville, Va. A three-day Federal operation between Napoleonville and Grand River, La. began, and a five-day Federal operation from Warrensburg to the Snibar Hills, Mo. also began.

Jan. 18, 1862 - Former U.S. President and current Confederate Congressman-elect John Tyler passed away at the age of 71 in Richmond, Va., most likely due to a stroke. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Jan. 18, 1868 – John Singleton Peacock, the oldest of Lewis Lavon and Safronia Caroline Martin’s 10 (possibly 11) children, was born at Burnt Corn. He was named after his maternal grandfather.

Jan. 18, 1876 – Samuel G. Forbes named postmaster at Burnt Corn, Ala.

Jan. 18, 1882 – Children’s author Alan Alexander Milne, better known as A.A. Milne, was born in London. He is best known for his books, “Winnie-the-Pooh” (1926) and “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928).

Jan. 18, 1903 – United States President Theodore Roosevelt sent a radio message to King Edward VII, the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States. The message was sent from a transmitter in Wellfleet, Mass.

Jan. 18, 1907 – At the Monroeville, Ala. school house on this Friday, public exercises were planned to commemorate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. The Hon. John M. Burns was to deliver the principal address on the subject of “Lee’s Place in History.”  Q. Salter was to talk on “Lee as a Model Citizen.” “The school will render several concert songs applicable to the occasion,” The Monroe Journal reported.

Jan. 18, 1915 – Charles Henderson of Troy was inaugurated as Alabama’s governor at noon at the state capitol in Montgomery, succeeding Emmet O’Neil of Florence. The oath was administered by Chief Justice John C. Anderson of the State Supreme Court.

Jan. 18, 1915 – On this Monday, the Conecuh County (Ala.) Circuit Court convened. A number of cases on the civil docket were heard with the criminal docket to be taken up the following week.

Jan. 18, 1915 - L.M. Sawyer assumed the duties of Monroe County, Ala. Sheriff on this Monday. Claude Kilpatrick and J.W. Urquhart were members of his official staff.

Jan. 18, 1915 – A.A. Williams began his term as Conecuh County, Ala. Sheriff, succeeding E.C. Hines. Williams named Conrad Davis as his chief deputy, replacing former Chief Deputy R.G. Kendall.

Jan. 18, 1916 – A 611-gram chondrite type meteorite struck a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.

Jan. 18, 1929 – Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team beat Georgiana, 39-13.

Jan. 18, 1934 – Author and illustrator Raymond Briggs was born in London.

Jan. 18, 1943 - The U.S. banned sales of pre-sliced bread for the duration of World War II.

Jan. 18, 1949 – In an incident attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, British and American plane crews searching for the missing Star Ariel reported seeing “a strange light” on the sea, but search-and-rescue units dispatched to the vicinity found nothing.

Jan. 18, 1950 – The People’s Republic of China formally recognized the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam and agreed to furnish it military assistance; the Soviet Union extended diplomatic recognition to Hanoi on Jan. 30. China and the Soviet Union provided massive military and economic aid to North Vietnam, which enabled North Vietnam to fight first the French and then the Americans. Chinese aid to North Vietnam between 1950 and 1970 is estimated at $20 billion. It is thought that China provided approximately three-quarters of the total military aid given to Hanoi since 1949, with the Soviets providing most of the rest. It would have been impossible for the North Vietnamese to continue the war without the aid from both the Chinese and Soviets.

Jan. 18, 1951 – Beatrice, Ala. native Butch Avinger was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jan. 18, 1951 - The NFL passed a rule that said that a tackle, guard or center was not eligible to catch a forward pass.

Jan. 18, 1967 - Albert DeSalvo, who claimed to be the "Boston Strangler," was convicted in Cambridge, Mass. of armed robbery, assault and sex offenses. He was sentenced to life in prison. Desalvo was killed in 1973 by a fellow inmate.

Jan. 18, 1969 – Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams was appointed manager of the Washington Senators.

Jan. 18, 1971 – George C. Wallace began serving his second term as Alabama’s governor. He would later be re-elected and would remain for a third term that would eventually end on Jan. 15, 1979.

Jan. 18, 1971 - In a televised speech, Senator George S. McGovern (D-South Dakota) began his antiwar campaign for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination by vowing to bring home all U.S. soldiers from Vietnam if he was elected. McGovern won his party’s nomination, but was defeated in the general election by incumbent Richard Nixon. With only 55 percent of the electorate voting–the lowest turnout since 1948–Nixon carried all states but Massachusetts, taking 97 percent of the electoral votes. During the campaign, Nixon pledged to secure “peace with honor” in Vietnam. Aided by the potential for a peace agreement in the ongoing Paris negotiations and the upswing in the American economy, Nixon easily defeated McGovern, an outspoken dove whose party was divided over several issues, including McGovern’s extreme views on the war. McGovern said during the campaign, “If I were president, it would take me 24 hours and the stroke of a pen to terminate all military operations in Southeast Asia.” He further stated that he would withdraw all American troops within 90 days of taking office, whether or not U.S. POWs were released. To many Americans, including a large number of Democrats, McGovern’s position was tantamount to total capitulation in Southeast Asia. Given this alternative, most voters chose Nixon.

Jan. 18, 1973 – Sturdivant Hall in Selma, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

Jan. 18, 1973 - Pink Floyd began recording "Dark Side Of The Moon."

Jan. 18, 1976 - The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17, in Super Bowl X. The CBS telecast was viewed by an estimated 80 million people. Excel, Ala. native Lee Roy Jordan started for Dallas at middle linebacker. Jordan, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jordan of Excel, was a 13-year NFL veteran at the time.

Jan. 18, 1979 – The Wilcox County Courthouse Historic District in Camden, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Jan. 18, 1979 – The Oak Island “Money Pit” mystery was the subject of an episode of the television series “In Search of...,” which first aired on this date, bringing the legend of Oak Island to a wider audience.

Jan. 18, 1980 - The Conecuh County Cattlemen and CowBelles were scheduled to hold their annual banquet this on this Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Evergreen, Ala. Gerald and Kathy Salter were presidents of the organizations. The featured speaker was to be Robert Vaughn of Ozark, a highly sought after humorous speaker.

Jan. 18, 1994 – The Cando event, a possible bolide impact, occurred in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.

Jan. 18, 1994 – Conecuh County Probate Judge Rogene Booker administered the oath of office to newly appointed Evergreen Police Chief Thomas Booker at Evergreen City Hall in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 18-19, 1994 – On both of these days, weather reporter Harry Ellis reported low temperatures of 16 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 18, 1995 - A network of caves were discovered near the town of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in southern France. The caves contained paintings and engravings that were 17,000 to 20,000 years old.

Jan. 18, 1996 - Baseball owners unanimously approved interleague play for 1997.

Jan. 18, 2001 - The Cartoon Network exclusively aired the last episode of "Batman Beyond."

Jan. 18, 2010 – Anne Crook Hines Farish passed away in Monroeville, Ala. at the age of 83. She was Monroeville’s first female council member and served as Monroeville’s mayor for 16 years.

  

Jan. 18, 2015 – Around 6 p.m. in Alabaster in Shelby County, Ala., a UFO witness was on his back patio when he saw two star-like objects. The witness watched these objects for about five minutes before they flew off to the north and faded from sight. The witness said “it was obvious it was not an aircraft, star, satellite, etc.”