Today in History for April 21, 2016

Mark Twain

April 21, 1777 - British troops under the command of General William Tryon attacked the town of Danbury, Conn. They went on a rampage, setting fire to homes, farmhouses, storehouses and more than 1,500 tents.

April 21, 1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.

April 21, 1809 – Dr. William Cunningham was born in Mecklenburg County, Va. He would go on to work as a physician and serve as a state representative in Monroe County, Ala.

April 21, 1816 – Novelist Charlotte Bronte was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. Her books include 1847’s “Jane Eyre.”

April 21, 1838 – Naturalist and conservationist John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland.

April 21, 1861 - Upon the outbreak of the Civil War threats were made against the safety of the USS Constitution. On April 26, the ship began a three-day trip to New York, towed by the steam gunboat R.R. Cuyler.

April 21, 1861 - Rioting continued in Baltimore, Md., and state troops seized the U.S. Arsenal at Fayetteville, N.C.

April 21, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Pocahontas, Ark. and at Monterey, Va.

April 21, 1863 - Union Colonel Abel Streight began a raid into northern Alabama and Georgia with the goal of cutting off railroad traffic between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Streight surrendered near Rome, Ga. on May 3 to a force half the size of his own led by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

April 21, 1863 – During the Civil War, a Federal operation was conducted between Opelousas, La. and Barre’s Landing, La. A skirmish was also fought at Palo Alto, Miss., in the vicinity of present-day West Point, Miss. A comprehensive "tax-in-kind" plan was also passed by the Confederate Senate. It required that 10 percent of everything produced or grown be given to the Confederate government.

April 21, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Harrison Gap, Ala

April 21 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought along the Cache River, near Cotton Plant, Ark.; at Tunica Bend, La.; at Red Bone, Miss., between Vicksburg and the Big Black River; and at Masonborough, N.C.

April 21, 1865 - The steamboat Sultana left New Orleans. The craft exploded on April 27 killing about 1,700 people.

April 21, 1865 – During the Civil War, Federal troops entered Monroeville, Ala.

April 21, 1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left Washington, D.C.

April 21, 1865 – Newspaperman Thomas Easton died and was buried in Monroeville, Ala. He was a former publisher of The Halcyon newspaper at St. Stephens and later established The Alabama Whig at Claiborne and continued to publish the Alabama Intelligencer.

April 21, 1865 - A two-day Federal operation between Donalsonville and Bayou Goula, La. began, and a seven-day Federal operation began between Rolla and Thomasville, Mo.

April 21, 1887 – National Baseball Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy was born in Philadelphia, Pa. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957.

April 21, 1898 - The Spanish-American War began.

April 21, 1904 – Italian-Austrian SS officer Odilo Globocnik was born in Trieste, Austria-Hungary (now Italy).

April 21, 1905 – H.P. Lovecraft finished writing “The Beast in the Cave,” which was originally published “The Vagrant” No. 7 in June 1918.

April 21, 1906 - The members of George W. Foster Camp, United Confederate Veterans, were scheduled to meet in the Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville, Ala., at 3 p.m. on this Saturday. Business was to include the election of delegates to the annual Reunion at New Orleans, April 25-27. T.J. Emmons was the camp’s commander, and Thos. S. Wiggins was adjutant.

April 21, 1910 – Mark Twain died at the age of 74 in Redding, Connecticut. In 1909, Twain is reported to have said: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year and I expect to go out with it [...] The Almighty has said, no doubt: Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together." And he was true to his word: Twain died a day after the comet's closest approach to Earth.

April 21, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. James Atkins of Flat Rock, Ala. “died from disease.”

April 21, 1920 - Alabama author Andrew Glaze was born in Nashville, Tenn.

April 21, 1932 – Screenwriter, director, comedian and actor Elaine May was born Elaine Berlin in Philadelphia.

April 21, 1934 – The "Surgeon's Photograph," the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, was published in the Daily Mail. In 1999, it was revealed to be a hoax.

April 21, 1947 – Hank Williams’s first recording was made when eight songs were cut under the Sterling label.

April 21, 1947 – In their season opener, Evergreen High School’s baseball team lost, 10-2, to Bay Minette.

April 21, 1949 - The Medical Association of the State of Alabama presented Dr. P.L. Hollingsworth of Belleville, Ala. a Certificate of Distinction for 50 years in the practice of medicine.

April 21, 1949 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Ottis Johnson, former Evergreen Greenie star, was currently leading the Troy State Teacher’s College baseball team in batting with a .320 average. Ottis starred with the Greenies for three seasons, always batting near the .400 mark, and was one of the Tri-County Baseball League’s top outfielders. This was his first season with the college squad. The TROY MESSENGER, daily paper in Troy, Ala., had this to say about Ottis: “At present, right fielder Ottis Johnson is leading the pack at the plate with a .320 average. The big flychaser has added plenty of power to the Wave attack since breaking into the lineup. This is his first season of baseball with the Wavemen.”

April 21, 1958 - The 12th Annual Evergreen Junior Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Conecuh County Fat Calf Show was scheduled to be held in Evergeen on this Monday, according to John Horne, chairman of the Jaycee committee in charge.

April 21, 1963 – Dock Eli Higdon passed away at the age of 76 after a long illness. Higdon, a Mason, was a widely known and highly respected Conecuh County farmer and businessman, serving as director of the Conecuh County Exchange for many years. During World War I, he served with distinction in the U.S. Army in France as a scout for the famed Wildcat Division.

April 21, 1965 - The Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency reported a “most ominous” development: a regiment of the People’s Army of Vietnam – the regular army of North Vietnam – division was now operating with the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. Prior to this, it was believed that South Vietnam was dealing with an internal insurgency by the Viet Cong; the report detailed that, in fact, the Viet Cong forces were being joined in the war against the Saigon government by North Vietnamese army units. In short, the report revealed that South Vietnam was now involved in a much larger war than originally believed.

April 21, 1966 – During his campaign for a second term, former Alabama Gov. John Patterson visited Evergreen, Ala. at 4 p.m. and delivered a “major address” from a bandstand in “No Man’s Land” in downtown Evergreen, Ala. He was preceeded by Rebe Gosdin and the Sunny Valley Gang.

April 21, 1972 – A number of awards were presented at the Evergreen High School athletic banquet, including Whalon Oliver, Evergreen Civil Air Patrol Best Lineman Award; Wavie Ausby, WBLO Best Back Trophy and Basketball MVP Trophy; Marshall Davis, Best Sportsmanship Trophy; Frank Murphy, and Evergreen Jaycees Best All Around Player Award. Coach Wendell Hart was also presented with a special award in honor of his retirement after 26 years as a coach.

April 21, 1975 - Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, fell to the communists.

April 21, 1975 – Writer Nell Freudenberger was born in New York City.

April 21, 1981 – Belleville Baptist Church in Conecuh County, Ala. and Cedarcrest in Oak Hill in Wilcox County, Ala. were placed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

April 21, 1982 – NFL running back Cadillac Williams was born in Gadsden, Ala. He went on to play at Auburn, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the St. Louis Rams.

April 21, 1982 – Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers became the first pitcher to record 300 saves.

April 21, 1983 – NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was born in Montgomery, Ala. He went on to play for Sidney Lanier, Alabama State, the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahawks and the Buffalo Bills.

April 21, 1984 - David Palmer of the Montreal Expos pitched the fourth shortened, perfect game in major league baseball history. The game was called due to rain after five innings. Palmer had made 57 pitches.

April 21, 1986 - Geraldo Rivera opened a vault that belonged to Al Capone at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Nothing of interest was found inside.

April 21, 1991 - A television version of Alabama author Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews' book “The Perfect Tribute” was broadcast.

  

April 21, 1994 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Clayton Cobb had announced his candidacy for the office of coroner of Conecuh County in the upcoming Democratic primary. Cobb was a lifelong resident of the Brooklyn-Paul community. He was self-employed and operates Brooklyn Machine, Inc. He was a Blue Lodger and Scottish Rite Mason.

April 21, 1994 – The Evergreen Courant reported that when Conecuh County voters went to the polls that June they would be electing a new sheriff for the first time in 20 years. Conecuh County Sheriff Edwin L. Booker announced that week that he would not seek an unprecedented fifth term of office. He planned to retire when the new sheriff took office in January 1995.

April 21, 2004 – Five suicide car bombers targeted police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.

April 21, 2006 - A movie version of Alabama author James Redfield's book “The Celestine Prophecy” was released.