Today in History for May 3, 2016

Eppa Rixey

May 3, 1469 – Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote “The Prince” in 1513, was born in Florence, Italy.

May 3, 1765 - The first Quartering Act was enacted by the Parliament of Great Britain. This act expired on May 24, 1767.

May 3, 1775 - William Legge instructed colonial Governor Josiah Martin of North Carolina to organize an association of Loyalists and raise militias.

May 3, 1794 – James Osgood Andrew was born in Washington township in Wilkes County, Ga. He was the first native of Georgia to enter the Methodist ministry, and the Andrews Chapel in McIntosh, Ala. was later named in his honor.

May 3, 1802 - Washington, D.C. was incorporated as a city.

May 3, 1848 – William R. King died in Orizaba, Mexico during Mexican War. He is buried at Belleville Baptist Church Cemetery in Conecuh County, Ala. Mexican War military records indicate that 2nd Lt. Wm. R. King served with Co. E (McAlpin’s), 1st Battalion of Alabama Volunteers of Mobile.

May 3, 1849 – Photojournalist Jacob Riis was born in Ribe, Denmark. His most famous book is “How the Other Half Lives” (1890).

May 3, 1855 – American adventurer William Walker departed from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.

May 3, 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln on this day issued a second call for volunteers to augment the miniscule Union standing army. The first call had been for 75,000 volunteer troops; this one asked for 42,000 more volunteers to sign up for three years plus an expansion of the “regular” army from 16,000 to 24,000. There was also a call for 18,000 to join the Navy for at least one year. All of this was done without authorization from Congress, under Lincoln’s role as Commander in Chief.

May 3, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Batesville, Ark.; along Lookout Creek, near Lookout Mountain, Ga.; and at Watkins’ Ferry, Ga. Federal reconnaissance was conducted of the area around Farmington, Miss. and to the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, in north Mississippi.

May 3, 1862 – Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had been battling for more than a month to fend off the Army of the Potomac under George McClellan. The Federals had brought in siege guns, and were adding more forces across the Rappahannock, and Johnston finally decided to evacuate Yorktown, Va., to move further up the Peninsula. McClellan, despite outnumbering the Confederates 2-1, had never launched an actual attack because he feared he was the one outnumbered.

May 3, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Cedar Bluff, Ala. that ended the Streight raid. Union Colonel Abel Streight surrendered to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

May 3, 1863 - Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson took Hazel Grove, a hill that provided a prime artillery location, during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Once Stuart’s artillery occupied Hazel Grove, the Confederates proceeded to wreak havoc on the Union lines around Chancellorsville. Rebel cannons shelled the Union line, and the fighting resulted in more Union casualties than Jackson’s attack the day before.

May 3, 1863 – Battle of Suffolk. Noah Dallas Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock’s older brother) fought there with Co. F, 15th Ala. Inf., Army of Northern Va.

May 3, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought on the North Fork of Bayou Pierre, Willow Springs, Ingraham’s Heights, Jones Crossroads, Forty Hills, Hankinson’s Ferry, and along the Big Black River in Mississippi; at Saint Joseph’s Island, Texas; at Ashland, a Chuckatuck, Warrenton Junction, and Hanover Station, Va.

May 3, 1863 - Confederates evacuated Grand Gulf, Miss. A seven-day Federal operation began in Cass and Bates Counties, Missouri. Federal reconnaissance began along the Sante Fe Road, Mo. Federal reconnaissance began between Triune and Eagleville, Tenn.

May 3, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman sent troops against Confederate forces at Dalton, Ga.

May 3, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near the mouth of Richland Creek, Ark.; with Cheyenne Indians at Cedar Bluff in the Colorado Territory; at Catoosa Springs, Chickamauga Creek, and at Red Clay, Ga.; at Bayou Redwood and Bayou Olive Branch, and near Baton Rouge, La.; and at Bulltown, West Virginia.

May 3, 1877 – Labatt Park in London, Ontario, Canada, the oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world, had its first game.

May 3, 1891 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Eppa Rixey was born in Culpepper, Va. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

May 3, 1905 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Red Ruffing was born in Granville, Ill. He went on to play for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.

May 3, 1912 – Poet, novelist and memoirist May Sarton was born in Wondelgem, Belgium.

May 3, 1913 – William Inge, who came to be known as the “Playwright of the Midwest,” was born in Independence, Kansas.

May 3, 1915 – The first episode of the ‘Trey of Hearts’ was show at the Arcade Theatre in Evergreen, Ala.

May 3 – Sept. 1, 1915 – Per their customary, traditional agreement, stores in Evergreen, Ala. began closing at 6 p.m. on every day except for Saturday.

May 3, 1920 – Daniel Robert “Dan” Bankhead, the first black pitcher in Major League Baseball, was born in Empire, Ala. in Walker County.

May 3, 1924 – Israeli poet and novelist Yehuda Amichai was born in Wurzburg, Germany.

May 3, 1936 - Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees made his Major League debut. He got three hits.

May 3, 1937 - Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Prize for "Gone with the Wind."

May 3, 1938 - Author and Poet Laureate Samuel Minturn Peck died in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

May 3, 1938 - Lefty Grove got the first of a record 20 consecutive wins.

May 3, 1951 - Gil McDougald of the New York Yankees became the fifth player to get six RBI in an inning.

May 3, 1952 – Lieutenant Colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict of the United States landed the first plane at the geographic North Pole.

May 3, 1952 – The Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network.

May 3, 1957 – Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, agreed to move the team from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California.

May 3, 1960 – The Anne Frank House museum opened in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

May 3, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that work began during the previous week on the construction of a new red brick sanctuary and educational building for the Castleberry Methodist Church. This new building was constructed on the site of the old wood frame church, which was dismantled prior to the start of construction. The new structure was scheduled to be complete by Aug. 25.

May 3, 1963 - Peaceful African American demonstrators, many of them teenagers, were beaten back in downtown Birmingham by fire hoses and police dogs. The extreme tactics, ordered by police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor brought international attention to Project C, the name given to civil rights demonstrations in the city led by Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth.

May 3, 1965 - Alabama author Shirley Ann Grau is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book “The Keepers of the House.”

May 3, 1965 - The lead element of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (“Sky Soldiers”), stationed in Okinawa, departed for South Vietnam. It was the first U.S. Army ground combat unit committed to the war. Combat elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade included the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions, 503rd Infantry; the 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Artillery; Company D, 16th Armor; Troop E, 17th Cavalry; and the 335th Aviation company.

May 3, 1968 - After 34 days of discussions to select a site, the United States and North Vietnam agreed to begin formal negotiations in Paris on May 10, or shortly thereafter. Hanoi disclosed that ex-Foreign Minister Xuan Thuy would head the North Vietnamese delegation at the talks. Ambassador W. Averell Harriman was named as his U.S. counterpart.

May 3, 1971 - National Public Radio broadcasted for the first time.

May 3, 1971 - James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's assassin, was caught in a jailbreak attempt.

May 3, 1973 – The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago was topped out at 1,451 feet as the world's tallest building.

May 3, 1976 – On this Monday, Wilcox Academy’s baseball team clubbed Sparta Academy, 12-4, to put the Warriors season record at four wins and nine losses. Jerry Peacock was the losing pitcher. Walker Scott had three hits; Bobby Johnson, two; and Jerry Peacock, Joe Andrews and Sam Wiggins, one each.

May 3, 1978 – Evergreen weather reporter Earl Windham reported 3.44 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

May 3, 1978 – Former Troy placekicker Lawrence Tynes was born in Greenock, Scotland. He went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Giants.

May 3, 1980 - Ferguson Jenkins of the Texas Rangers became the fourth player to win 100 games in the American League and the National League.

May 3, 1980 - At Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Mobile, Ala. native Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants hit his 521st and last home run, off Scott Sanderson of the Montreal Expos. This home run gave McCovey the distinction, along with Ted Williams (with whom he was tied in home runs), Rickey Henderson and Omar Vizquel of homering in four different decades.

May 3, 1983 – Three new members were welcomed into the Evergreen Kiwanis Club during the club’s regular meeting at Giuseppi’s. The new members were Mike Lanier, Jimmy Register and Bill Hart.

May 3, 1985 - A movie version of Alabama author Charles Gaines's book “Pumping Iron II: The Women” was released.

May 3, 1986 - Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees became the sixth player to hit three sacrifice flies in a game.

May 3, 1987 – A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to develop the restrictor plate for the following season both at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega.

May 3, 1990 – Evergreen, Ala. attorney Tommy Chapman, 40, was administered the oath of office as district attorney for Conecuh and Monroe counties, having been appointed to the position by Ala. Gov. Guy Hunt to replace Ted Pearson of Monroeville, who retired.

May 3, 1992 - Gregg Olson of the Baltimore Orioles became the youngest player to record 100 saves. He was 25 years old.

May 3, 1992 - Eddie Murray of the New York Mets became the 24th player to hit 400 home runs.

May 3, 1994 - Author Mary Elizabeth Counselman died in Gadsden, Ala.

May 3, 1995 - David Bell debuted for the Cleveland Indians.

May 3, 1997 - The "Republic of Texas" surrendered to authorities ending an armed standoff where two people were held hostage. The group asserted the independence of Texas from the U.S.

May 3, 2000 – The sport of geocaching began when the first official geocache ever was hidden in Oregon and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.

May 3, 2002 - The Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished Writer was given to Alabama author Mary Ward Brown at the Alabama Writers Symposium in Monroeville, Ala.

May 3, 2006 - In Alexandria, Va., Al-Quaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was given a sentence of life in prison for his role in the terrorist attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

May 3, 2007 – Evergreen, Ala. weather reporter Harry Ellis reported that total rainfall for the month of April 2007 was 5.44 inches.

May 3, 2014 – Sarah Katherine Powell, daughter of Mike and Lynn Powell of Excel, Ala., was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Monroe County 2015.