Today in History for Jan. 24, 2016

Edith Wharton

Jan. 24, 1670 – Playwright and poet William Congreve was born in West Yorkshire, England.

Jan. 24, 1781 - Patriot commanders Lieutenant Colonel “Light Horse” Henry Lee and Brigadier General Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion raided Georgetown, S.C. and captured three British officers, including the British commander.

Jan. 24, 1814 – The Battle of Enitachopco occurred only two days after General Andrew Jackson’s victory over the Red Sticks in the Battle of Emuckfau. Jackson and his Tennessee militia were ambushed by Red Sticks in a ravine near the village of Anatitchapko in present-day Clay County, Ala.

Jan. 24, 1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, staged a revolt, which was instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.

Jan. 24, 1848 – In the incident that sparked the “California Gold Rush,” carpenter and wheelwright James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento, Calif.

Jan. 24, 1861 - Federal reinforcements headed to Fort Pickens, Fla. set sail from Fortress Monroe, Va. Also on that day, the U.S. Arsenal at Augusta, Ga. was seized by Georgia state troops

Jan. 24, 1862 - A six-day Federal expedition to the Little Sandy and Piketon, Ky. began.

Jan. 24, 1862 – Novelist and short story writer Edith Wharton was born in New York City.

Jan. 24, 1863 – A skirmish was fought at Woodbury, Tenn. Three days of Federal reconnaissance also began in Fauquier County, Va.

Jan. 24, 1864 – Skirmishes were fought at Baker's Springs, Ark.; at Love’s Hill, 5-1/2 miles northeast of Knoxville, Tenn.; and at Tazewell, Tenn. Confederate cavalry, under the command of Brig. Gen. Wirt Adams, began operations in the vicinity of Natchez, Miss. A two-day Federal expedition began up the James River, with assistance of the gunboats General Jessup, Smith Briggs, and the transport, George Washington.

Jan. 24, 1865 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Boggs' Mills and Fayetteville, Ark. and near Bayou Goula, La. A month-long Federal expedition began from Cape Girardeau, Mo. to Eleven Points River, Ark. An action took place at Fort Brady on the James River, Virginia.

Jan. 24, 1865 - The Confederate Congress agreed to continue prisoner exchanges, a process had only operated sporadically for three years.

Jan. 24, 1888 – Novelist Vicki Baum was born in Vienna.

Jan. 24, 1895 – In this edition of The Monroe Journal, the correspondent from the Nero community reported that “we had a snowfall here last night of about half an inch in depth and have had one of the hardest freezes we have experienced in several years.”

Jan. 24, 1895 – The Monroe Journal reported that work on the Monroe County Courthouse was progressing rapidly. “A few days more and Monroe will have the largest, neatest and most conveniently arranged courthouse of any interior county in Alabama. The large oak trees surrounding the courthouse have been topped and trimmed adding greatly to the appearance of court square.”

Jan. 24, 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop was organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.

Jan. 24, 1913 – Confederate veteran Thomas C. Cargill, “an old and respected citizen of Evergreen,” passed away at the age of 86 after a lingering illness. Born on Dec. 25, 1826 in Maplesville, Ala., he served as a private in Co. A&K of the 2nd Alabama Cavalry. He enlisted at Camp Hunter in April 1862.

Jan. 24, 1914 – On this Saturday afternoon, eight women met at the home of Mrs. E.C. Page in Evergreen, Ala. for the purpose of formally organizing a United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter in Conecuh County. Mrs. Page was elected President; Mrs. Mathews, Vice-President; Miss Mary McCreary, Recording Secretary and Treasurer; Mrs. G.G. Newton, Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. Crumpton, Director; and Mrs. A. Cunningham, Historian.

Jan. 24, 1914 – Congressional candidate Woodford Mabry delivered a speech at the Conecuh County Courthouse in Evergreen, Ala., but the audience wasn’t large “owing to the fact that on Saturday afternoons businessmen are engaged with customers and shoppers are anxious to get off home.”

Jan. 24, 1916 – Several horses and mules were sold at public auction in front of the Conecuh County (Ala.) Courthouse on this Monday, according to The Conecuh Record.

Jan. 24, 1925 - A moving picture of a solar eclipse was taken from dirigible over Long Island.

Jan. 24, 1928 – Zoologist and writer Desmond Morris was born in Purton, England.

Jan. 24, 1929 – The Evergreen Courant reported that there were only 21 living Confederate veterans left in Conecuh County. Six passed away during 1928 and another died in early 1929.

Jan. 24, 1932 – The county-wide interdenominational revival meeting, part of a statewide series, was held at the Conecuh County Courthouse in Evergreen, Ala., starting at 2:30 p.m. Dr. D.L. Coale, “noted evangelist of California,” was the guest preacher.

Jan. 24, 1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.

Jan. 24, 1935 - Canned beer made its debut. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Va. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light to further production.

Jan. 24, 1941 - Alabama author John Finlay was born in Ozark, Ala.

Jan. 24, 1947 - NFL owners voted to allow a sudden-death overtime in playoff games, but the rule wasn't used until 1958.

Jan. 24, 1948 – Austrian SS officer Maria Mandl was executed by hanging at the age of 36 at Kraków, People's Republic of Poland (present-day Kraków, Poland).

Jan. 24, 1949 – Monroeville, Ala. Mayor Fred A. Fountain, a 58-year-old retired merchant, passed away from a heart attack at his home a few months into his term as Monroeville’s mayor after his election without opposition to that office in September 1948. Prior to his retirement, he operated Fountain’s Fancy Grocery. Funeral services were held the following day.

Jan. 24, 1953 – The Alabama Historical Association erected six historical markers in Butler County. The markers were erected in memory of the Creek Indian Confederacy, Fort Bibb, the Butler Massacre, the Ogly Massacre, Gary’s Stockade and Fort Dale.

Jan. 24, 1955 - The rules committee of Major League Baseball announced a plan to strictly enforce the rule that required a pitcher to release the ball within 20 seconds after taking his position on the mound.

Jan. 24, 1958 - Two light atoms were bashed together resulting in first man-made nuclear fusion.

Jan. 24, 1961 – In what’s now called the “Goldsboro B-52 crash,” a bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.

Jan. 24, 1964 - CBS-TV acquired the rights to televise the National Football League’s 1964-1965 regular season. The move cost CBS $14.1 million a year. The NFL stayed on CBS for 30 years.

Jan. 24, 1964 – Evergreen High School’s varsity boys basketball team, led by Coach John Law Robinson, ended a long losing streak against Conecuh County High School by beating the Blue Devils, 85-59. Sid Lambert and Kenny Harper led Evergreen with 18 points each, and George Godwin led CCHS with 17 points. CCHS Principal M.C. Thomasson coached CCHS in place of head coach Wayne Pope, who missed the game because he was recuperating from surgery.

Jan. 24, 1966 – The Royal Air Force issued its analysis of the Tim Dinsdale film, stating that the movement in the water of the “hump” of the creature in Loch Ness indicated that the 12 to 16-foot-long object was moving at the speed of about 10 miles per hour. After much technical discussion about the relative size and perspective of the “solid black, approximately triangular shape” (the hump) and a comparison of the unidentified creature with a motorboat moving in the same area, the RAF conceded that the object was not a surface vessel.” And: “One can presumably rule out the idea that it is any sort of submarine vessel for various reasons, which leaves the conclusion that it probably is an animate object.”

Jan. 24, 1966 - In the largest search-and-destroy operation to date – Operation Masher/White Wing/Thang Phong II – the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), South Vietnamese, and Korean forces swept through Binh Dinh Province in the central lowlands along the coast. The purpose of the operation was to drive the North Vietnamese out of the province and destroy enemy supply areas. In late January, it became the first large unit operation conducted across corps boundaries when the cavalrymen linked up with Double Eagle, a U.S. Marine Corps operation intended to destroy the North Vietnamese 325A Division. Altogether, there were reported enemy casualties of 2,389 by the time the operation ended.

Jan. 24, 1966 - Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, in a memorandum to President Lyndon Johnson, recommended raising the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam to more than 400,000 by the end of the year. However, he warned that planned deployments and increased bombing would not ensure military success. Ultimately, McNamara was correct and the war raged on even as total U.S. troop strength in country went over 500,000 soldiers in 1969

Jan. 24, 1968 - A television version of “Laura,” teleplay by author Truman Capote, was broadcast.

Jan. 24, 1968 – During the Vietnam War, the 1st Australian Task Force launched Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.

Jan. 24, 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi was found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.

Jan. 24, 1973 - National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger announced that a truce was expected in Laos and Cambodia. Kissinger had been meeting privately with Le Duc Tho and other North Vietnamese and Viet Cong representatives in Paris since early January. They had worked out a peace agreement that was initialled in Paris on Jan. 23 “to end the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.” 

Jan. 24, 1974 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Repton High School linebacker Gerry Watson had been named to the Who’s Who National High School Athletics All-American Football Team. He was one of only 26 players from Alabama named to the team, which was selected by the vote of more than 1,500 coaches and sportswriters on a nationwide panel. Watson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Watson of Bermuda.

Jan. 24, 1982 - The San Francisco 49ers won their first Super Bowl, and Joe Montana won the first of his three MVP awards.

Jan. 24, 1984 - Apple unveiled its Macintosh personal computer.

Jan. 24, 1987 - Walter Payton and Joe Montana were guests on "Saturday Night Live."

Jan. 24, 1989 - Ted Bundy, the confessed serial killer, was put to death in Florida's electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.

Jan. 24, 1994 – The Conecuh County Commission and election officers in Conecuh County, Ala. met to discuss possible solutions to potential problems brought about by the new House of Representative and State Senate division lines that split the county. The problem arose because the court-approved lines did not follow district and voting precinct lines in the county.

Jan. 24, 2002 - John Walker Lindh appeared in court for the first time concerning the charges that he conspired to kill Americans abroad and aided terrorist groups. Lindh had been taken into custody by U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.

Jan. 24, 2015 – Former Conecuh County (Ala.) Sheriff Edwin L. Booker, who served as sheriff for 28 total years, passed away at the age of 74.