Today in History for June 5, 2016

Harriet Beecher Stowe

June 5, 1688 – Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon was executed in Lopburi, Thailand.

June 5, 1723 - Adam Smith, future author of “The Wealth of Nations” (1776), a critique of the mercantilist model of trade in the British empire, was baptized in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.

June 5, 1776 - In Philadelphia, Congress began requiring monthly status reports from all non-combat or supply departments of the Army in Canada.

June 5, 1781 - Thomas Brown surrendered Fort Cornwallis after a two-week battle.

June 5, 1815 – Monroe County was established by proclamation of Mississippi Territorial Governor David Holmes. At the time, Monroe County embraced almost two-thirds of the State of Alabama. It extended from the Florida line to the mountains of Blount and from the Tombigbee River to the Chattahoochee River. (Some sources say this occurred on June 29, 1815.)

June 5, 1829 – HMS Pickle captured the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba.

June 5, 1837 – Houston was incorporated by the Republic of Texas.

June 5, 1851 – Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, “Uncle Tom's Cabin,” or “Life Among the Lowly,” started a 10-month run in The National Era abolitionist newspaper. Stowe received $300 for the original work.

June 5, 1862 - Union forces arrived at Fort Pillow, which the Confederates had evacuated the previous day. Fort Pillow was a key stronghold on the Mississippi River.

June 5, 1862 – As the Treaty of Saigon was signed, ceding parts of southern Vietnam to France, the guerrilla leader Trương Định decided to defy Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam and fight on against the Europeans.

June 5, 1862 - Abraham Lincoln was authorized by Congress to establish diplomatic relationships with the "Negro nations" of Haiti and Liberia

June 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Round Grove, Oklahoma and at Sedalina, Missouri. An “action” also occurrred at Tranter's Creek, North Carolina.

June 5, 1863 – The CSS "Alabama" captured the "Tailsman" in the mid-Atlantic Ocean.

June 5, 1863 – Louise Cooper was born into slavery at Claiborne, Ala. The subject of several George Singleton articles and columns, she would live until June 3, 1977, which was just two days shy of her 114th birthday. She is buried in the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Cemetery at Claiborne.

June 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Franklin's Crossing, Virginia and at Smithville, Tennessee.

June 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, the siege of Vicksburg, Miss. entered Day 18.

June 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, at the Battle of Piedmont, Union forces under General David Hunter defeated a Confederate army under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones at Piedmont, Virginia. Six hundred soldiers were killed or wounded, and another 1,000 were captured; the Yankees lost 800. The victory cleared the way for Union occupation of the upper Shenandoah Valley.

June 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Worthington's Landing, Mississippi.

June 5, 1866 – Scottish explorer and surveyor John McDouall Stuart passed away at the age of 50 in London, England. He was one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers, and his explorations of Stuart eventually resulted in the Australian Overland Telegraph Line being built and the main route from Port Augusta to Darwin being established, which is now known as the Stuart Highway in his honour.

June 5, 1884 - U.S. Civil War General William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected."

June 5, 1898 – Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca was born in Fuente Vaqueros, in the province of Granada.

June 5, 1911 - Author and Poet Laureate Helen Blackshear was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

June 5, 1913 – The Monroe Journal reported that the following merchants had agreed to close their stores at 6 p.m., except on Saturdays, during the months of June, July and August: Hixon Bros., Fancy Grocery, T.L. Roberts, Sowell Mercantile Co., Lazenby Mercantile Co., J.D. Rawls.

June 5, 1914 – Col. Hugh M. King died at the age of 81, and a funeral conducted by the local Masonic lodge was held at the family home on Evergreen, Alabama’s Main Street the next day. He was a former principal of the Evergreen Academy and a lawyer.

June 5, 1915 – The baseball teams from Bowles and Skinnerton were scheduled to play a rematch on this day, a week after Bowles beat Skinnerton, 17-12.

June 5, 1915 – The Butler County Sheriff’s Department confiscated 80 cases of whiskey at a farm house belonging to W.F. Walker near Greenville, Ala. on this Saturday morning. The liquor was said to have come from a Montgomery liquor dealer and was conveyed in two large touring cars.

June 5, 1916 – Conecuh County court was in session on this Monday and “quite a large docket was disposed of,” according to The Conecuh Record. The commissioners court was also in session this week.

June 5, 1917 – During World War I, conscription began in the United States as "Army registration day” when American men began registering for the draft.

June 5, 1920 – Pro Football Hall of Fame fullback and linebacker Marion Motley was born in Leesburg, Ga. He went on to play for the University of Nevada, the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968.

June 5, 1922 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “What the Moon Brings,” which was originally published in the May 1923 issue of The National Amateur.

June 5, 1924 – Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Art Donovan was born in Bronx, N.Y. He went on to play for Notre Dame, Boston College, the Baltimore Colts, the New York Yanks and the Dallas Texans. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968.

June 5, 1926 – Poet and novelist David Wagoner was born in Massillon, Ohio.

June 5, 1933 – The U.S. Congress abrogated the United States' use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.

June 5, 1934 – Journalist Bill Moyers was born in Hugo, Okla.

June 5, 1934 - Milledge Bonam Garvin, age 74, well known farmer and substantial citizen of Conecuh County, died at his home in the Horton community on this Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. Garvin had been in failing health for a period of years but had only been confined to his bed for about two weeks. Deceased was born in South Carolina but moved to Conecuh County when he was a boy and had lived in the community where he died, continuously since.

June 5, 1939 – Novelist Margaret Drabble was born in Sheffield, England.

June 5, 1941 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Beth Deming, a junior at the University of Alabama, had become “one of the first girls in the South” to complete the Civil Aviation Authority’s aviation course, which included a cross-country solo flight.

June 5, 1941 – The Evergreen Courant reported that State Highway Director Chris J. Sherlock had announced that the contract had been awarded for the construction of a new bridge on U.S. Highway 31, over Escambia Creek, in Flomaton, Ala. The contract was awarded to low bidder, Goodwin & Murphee of Troy, whose bid was $118,269.58.

June 5, 1944 – Evergreen, Ala. Mayor Dr. John R. Brooks passed away at the age of 67. He was a native of Monroe County, a 1909 graduate of Atlanta’s Southern Dental College, a former Evergreen city councilman, Evergreen mayor for eight years, a Methodist and a Shriner.

June 5, 1947 – The Evergreen Greenies beat McCullough, 11-0, behind the shutout pitching of Wendell Hart. Wade Nobles, who finished the game with a .455 overall batting average, led Evergreen with three hits, and Haskew Page hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning.

June 5, 1949 – Welsh author Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.

June 5, 1956 - Elvis Presley introduced his new single “Hound Dog” on "The Milton Berle Show," stirring up controversy with his swiveling hip motions.

June 5, 1956 - A television version of Alabama author Lonnie Coleman's book “Nick and Letty” is broadcast as part of the “Playwrights '56” series.

June 5, 1956 - During a mass meeting at Birmingham, Alabama's Sardis Baptist Church, Fred Shuttlesworth and other local black ministers established the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR). Founded in response to the State of Alabama's recent ban on the NAACP which lasted eight years, ACMHR was central to the civil rights movement in Birmingham.

June 5, 1956 – The Evergreen, Ala. Recreation Center opened for the summer, and Ray Owens was director of the facility. The center was open daily from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

June 5, 1956 – The first two cotton blooms of the 1956 cotton season arrived at The Evergreen Courant almost simultaneously. One of the blooms belonged to Grady Ralls, who lived about 14 miles from Evergreen, Ala. on Rt. D. The other bloom belonged to Everette Gross, who lived two to three miles east of Castleberry, Ala. and said the bloom opened on June 1.

June 5, 1958 – The Monroe Journal reported that an ordinance relating to the prohibiting of livestock pens in the city limits of Monroeville, Ala was adopted recently by the Town Council. Passing of the ordinance was listed “to protect the health and general welfare of the people of Monroeville.” The new statute forbid the presence of a livestock pen within 200 yards of any dwelling house or business establishment within the corporate limits.

June 5, 1965 – In connection with the “Bermuda Triangle,” a C-119 “Flying Boxcar” on a routine mission and carrying a crew of 10 vanished while on a flight from Homestead Air Force Base to Grand Turk Island, in the southeast Bahamas.

June 5, 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, a U.S. presidential candidate, was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian. Kennedy died the next day.

June 5, 1969 - The Doors documentary "Feast of Friends" premiered.

June 5, 1971 – The first Monroe County Horse Show was scheduled to be held on this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Vanity Fair Park in Monroeville, Ala. The Hon. Larry Edwards of Dawson, Ga. was the Walking Horse Judge, the Hon. T.H. McCollum of Albany, Ga. was Gaited Horse Judge, Hunter McDuffie of Camden was the Master of Ceremonies and Dr. Larry Knight of Monroeville was Ringmaster. Show Chairman was Dr. S.A. Weeks of Frisco City.

June 5, 1972 - Since Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace, who’d been shot five times in May 1972, was out of Alabama for more than 20 days while he was recovering in Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, the state constitution required Lieutenant Governor Jere Beasley to serve as acting governor from June 5 until Wallace's return to Alabama on July 7.

June 5, 1972 - Testifying before a joint Congressional Appropriations Committee, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird said the increase in U.S. military activity in Vietnam could add up to $5 billion to the 1973 fiscal budget, doubling the annual cost of the war. This increased American activity was in response to the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive, also called the Easter Offensive, which had been launched on March 31.

June 5, 1976 – NFL wide receiver Torry Holt was born in Gibsonville, N.C. He went on to play for North Carolina State, the St. Louis Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

June 5, 1986 – Adams Grove Presbyterian Church, located near Sardis in Dallas County, Ala., was added to the National Register of Historic Places. (Reportedly haunted location.)

June 5, 1989 – Bo Jackson ran down a long line-drive deep to left field on a hit-and-run play against the Seattle Mariners. With speedy Harold Reynolds running from first base on the play, Scott Bradley's hit would have been deep enough to score him against most outfielders. But Jackson, from the warning track, turned flat footed and fired a strike to catcher Bob Boone, who tagged the sliding Reynolds out. Jackson's throw reached Boone on the fly. Interviewed for the "Bo Jackson" episode of ESPN Classic's SportsCentury, Reynolds admitted that he thought there was no way anyone would throw him out on such a deep drive into the gap in left-center, and was shocked to see his teammate telling him to slide as he rounded third base.

June 5, 1989 - The Toronto Blue Jays lost their debut game in the Skydome against the Milwaukee Brewers.

June 5, 1993 – The Hank Williams Boyhood Home & Museum opened in Georgiana, Ala.

June 5, 1999 – On this Saturday night in the Wiley Salter Auditorium at Reid State Technical College, Cassie Crane was crowned Conecuh County’s Junior Miss for the 2000. Crane was the daughter of David and Mildred Crane. Other participants in the program included LaJuana Johnson, first runner-up; Kristie Faulkner, second runner-up; Kristen Godwin; and Jamie Neese.

June 5, 2004 – Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, passed away from pneumonia at the age of 93 in Bel Air, Los Angeles, Calif.

June 5, 2005 - Aruban police detained Nick John and Abraham Jones, former security guards from the nearby Allegro Hotel, which was then closed for renovation, on suspicion of murder and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Mountain Brook, Ala. John and Jones were released on June 13 without being charged.

June 5, 2012 – American author Ray Bradbury passed away at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, Calif.