Today in History for July 19, 2016

Neal Ball

July 19, 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sank off Portsmouth. In 1982 the wreck was salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.

July 19, 1692 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good and Sarah Wildes were hanged at Gallows Hill.

July 19, 1776 - Congress decided to produce a handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence to bear all the delegates' signatures.

July 19, 1779 – Massachusetts, without consulting either Continental political or military authorities, launched an ill-fated 4,000-man naval expedition commanded by Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, Adjutant General Peleg Wadsworth, Brigadier General Solomon Lovell and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Revere. The expedition consisted of 19 warships, 24 transport ships and more than 1,000 militiamen. Their objective was to capture a 750-man British garrison at Castine on the Penobscot Peninsula, in what would later become Maine.

July 19, 1799 – The “Rosetta Stone” was found by one of Napoleon’s soldiers at a port town on the Mediterranean coast, about 35 miles north of Alexandria, Egypt. Containing fragments of Greek and Egyptian, it held the key to translating hieroglyphics.

July 19, 1814 – Firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Conn.

July 19, 1832 – The village of Walker’s Mill (present-day Monroeville, Ala.) got its first post office, and Joel Rawls was named the first postmaster. Rawls had a general store on the town square, and the post office was probably located within his store. Rawls named the community Centreville because it lay in the center of the county.

July 19, 1834 – French Impressionist Edgar Degas was born in Paris.

July 19, 1848 – The first women’s rights conference in history was organized in Seneca Falls, N.Y. by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her friend Lucretia Mott.

July 19, 1860 - Lizzie Borden was born in Fall River, Mass. She is best remembered for being tried and acquitted for the 1892 axe murders of her father and her stepmother in Fall River. The case was a cause célèbre throughout the United States.

July 19, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought on the Black River Road and another near the New Market Bridge in Virginia. Confederate troops continued being moved along the Manassas Gap Railroad from the Shenandoah Valley to strengthen the Confederate position along the Bull Run line.

July 19, 1862 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal operation began in Polk and Dallas counties, Missouri, and a two-day Federal operation began between Fredericksburg and Beaver Dam Station, Virginia. A skirmish was also fought at Brownsville, Tennessee.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil War, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into Union-held territory was dealt a serious blow when a large part of his force was captured as they tried to escape across the Ohio River at Buffington Island, Ohio. Cut off from the south, Morgan fled north with the remnants of his command and was captured a week later at Salineville, Ohio.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Brandon and the hamlet of Danville, Mississippi; and with Indians on the Rio de las Animas in the New Mexico Territory. Two days of skirmishing also began near Hedgesville and Martinsburg, West Virginia.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil War, a 10-day Federal operation began in the vicinity of Trenton, Tennessee.

July 19, 1863 – During the Civil War, Confederate Lt. Gen. Daniel H. Hill was assigned to the command of the 2nd Confederate Army Corps, relieving Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee, Army of the Tennessee, under Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Hardee refused to serve under Bragg, and it became a messy affair.

July 19, 1864 – Confederate soldier Lewis Lavon Peacock was admitted to General Hospital at Howard’s Grove, Richmond, Va. for acute diarrhea.

July 19, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Little Rock, Arkansas; at Decatur and Peach Tree Creek in Georgia; in Washington County, Missouri, southwest of Potosi, Missouri; and at Ashby’s Gap and at Berry’s Ford, Virginia. Skirmishing and maneuvering also continued all along the Atlanta, Georgia front, and multiple skirmishes were fought at Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Darkesville, and Kabletown in West Virginia.

July 19, 1864 – During the Civil War, Federal activity occurred in the vicinity of Taos, Missouri.

July 19, 1879 - Doc Holliday committed his first murder, shooting former army scout Mike Gordon for shooting up his Las Vegas, New Mexico saloon. Gordon died the next day.

July 19, 1880 – Amasa Coleman Lee - Harper Lee’s father - was born in Georgiana, Ala.

July 19, 1896 - Mr. A.T. Sowell, the “handsome and popular” salesman for the Bear Creek Mill Co., was in Monroeville, Ala. on this Sunday on his “bike.”

July 19, 1898 – H.P. Lovecraft’s father, Winfield Scott Lovecraft, died at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. A traveling salesman for Gorham & Co., Silversmiths of Providence, W.S. Lovecraft suffered a nervous breakdown in a hotel room in Chicago and was brought back to Butler Hospital, where he remained for five years before dying on July 19, 1898.

July 19, 1898 – Novelist Emile Zola fled France in the wake of what would become known as the “Dreyfus Affair.”

July 19, 1901 – The Southwest Alabama Agricultural School’s board of control met in Evergreen, Ala. on this Friday and elected Prof. J.A. Duncan, who had been teaching at Lowndesboro, as principal. Prof. L.A. Smith of Ozark was chosen as first assistant principal, and Mrs. L.A. Smith was elected as music teacher.

July 19, 1906 – Monroeville, Ala. marshal C.E. Hunter overheard an incriminating conversation between two men in seats near him on the train between Monroeville and Peterman, which led him to arrest C.S. Bowen, who was wanted for shooting and killing Charles Revill in Opp on July 12.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Capt. Luck Wainwright, the oldest river steamboatman in Alabama, died at Jackson the week before.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that rainfall had been heavy in most parts of Monroe County during the past week to 10 days, and there were already complaints in some sections of too much moisture. Also that week, in news from the Wesley Chapel community, The Journal reported that most of the farmers were behind with their work on account of so much rain.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Jones Mill and Snider communities, that Clay Hybart’s new house was nearing completion.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that I.A. Weaver, who served as principal of the Monroe Institute during the 1905 session, was now editor of the Lineville Headlight, published at his hometown, Lineville.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Pineville community, that Miss Gennie Burns had began teaching a school at Cuba, near Livingston.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Mr. E.T. Blackburn was teaching a “flourishing” school near the Monday community.

July 19, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Capt. C.M. Marriott was “up from Homewood last week attending the commissioners court.”

July 19, 1909 - The first unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball was made by Cleveland Indians shortstop Neal Ball in a game against Boston.

July 19, 1909 – Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young earned his 500th career pitching victory.

July 19, 1911 – The State Baptist Convention was scheduled to begin in Greenville, Ala.

July 19, 1914 – Sarah Cunningham, wife of the late Dr. William Cunningham, passed away at the age of 91. She was one of Conecuh County, Alabama’s oldest residents.

July 19, 1915 – “Lola,” a silent film starring Clara Kimball Young, was scheduled to be shown at the Arcade Theatre in Evergreen, Ala. at 5:45 p.m. Admission was 10 cents and 20 cents.

July 19, 1915 – B.G. McCalman of The Troy Herald visited The Evergreen Courant’s office.

July 19, 1915 – The Hon. H.C. Miller of Birmingham, the Grand Master of Masons of Alabama, passed through Monroeville on this Monday on his way to Uriah for the Monroe County Masonic Conference.

July 19-20, 1915 – The Monroe County Masonic Conference was held at Blacksher Lodge, No. 593, at Uriah, Ala. Eleven of the 12 lodges in Monroe County were represented at the Conference, and 102 Masons attended the event. Grand Master H.C. Miller of Birmingham conducted the conference and instructed the craft in the ritualistic work, and Dr. J.H. McCormick of Mobile gave lectures on the various phases of Masonry.

July 19, 1916 - Mrs. W.F. Price, the wife of W.F. Price, residing near Castleberry, committed suicide on this Wednesday morning by cutting her throat “from ear to ear with a razor. She left a note stating that she was tired of life. Mrs. Price has been in ill health for a number of years and it is believed that she was temporarily insane at the time she committed the act.”

July 19, 1920 - Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's play “Come Seven” opened on Broadway.

July 19, 1922 – Politician George McGovern, a leading opponent of the war in Vietnam, was born in Avon, South Dakota.

July 19, 1934 – Evergreen’s baseball team was scheduled to play Luverne on this Thursday afternoon in Luverne, Ala.

July 19, 1940 – During what is now known as the “Field Marshal Ceremony,” Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements for the first time in World War II.

July 19, 1941 - The first black pilots in the American military begin their primary flight training at Tuskegee Institute's Moton Field. This first class of "Tuskegee Airmen" graduated the next March after transferring to Tuskegee Army Air Field to complete their training. The group saw its first action in World War II in 1943 as members of the segregated 99th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Corps.

July 19, 1949 – Gene Raynor of Fitzgerald, Ga. arrived in Evergreen, Ala. to assume his duties as the new manager of the Pix Theatre, succeeding Clarence E. Moses, who has been transferred to Marietta, Ga., where he was to serve as manager of one of the Martin theatres in that city.

July 19, 1950 – Army PFC Ernest C. South of Covington County, Ala. was killed in action in Korea.

July 19, 1954 - The first part of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Fellowship of the Ring” was published on this day.

July 19, 1959 - A radio version of Alabama author Ambrose Bierce's story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was broadcast as part of the “Suspense” series.

July 19, 1960 - Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants became the first pitcher to get a one-hitter in his major league debut.

July 19, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Evergreen Postmaster Bill Salter had asked the city to cut a path through from the dead end of Martin Street in the C.P. Strong subdivision to Highway 31 South to facilitate mail delivery to homes in that section. The path would permit the city mail carrier to make his rounds here without having to double back. The Evergreen city council voted for city crews to cut the path through the undergrowth, provided property owners agreed.

July 19, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that pictures of the Evergreen area were being featured on the six o’clock newscasts of television station WALA, Channel 10, in Mobile, according to the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce. Pictures were to be shown on the Friday night and Wednesday night newscasts, according to present scheduling, according to Claude Evans of the station’s news staff. The pictures were from the C of C’s new information pamphlet recently prepared and published under the direction of Blake Campbell, publicity and promotion chairman Blake Campbell. Arrangements for the news-picture spots were made by Billy Moody of local Radio WBLO who did spot reports for the TV station and Waynard Price, chamber president.

July 19, 1963 – The Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Ala. was named a National Historic Landmark.

July 19, 1964 - The TV show “The Twilight Zone” aired its final episode on CBS after a five-year run.

July 19, 1964 – During the Vietnam War, on what the South Vietnamese called the “Day of Shame”– the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Accords that partitioned Vietnam – South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Khanh, at a rally in Saigon, called for an expansion of the war to North Vietnam. Ambassador Maxwell Taylor and other U.S. officials present declined comment on Khanh’s position, but it was known that the United States regarded this as breaking an agreement to consult with Washington before issuing such a call.

July 19, 1966 - At the Astrodome, the first Major League Baseball game to be played totally on artificial turf took place. Prior to this game, the outfield had consisted of painted dirt and the infield was covered with artificial turf.

July 19, 1971 - In New York, the topping out ceremony for Two World Trade Center (South Tower) took place. The ceremony for One World Trade Center had taken place on December 23, 1970.

July 19, 1972 – A “posse” of about 25 men scoured Marzolf Hill in Missouri – the snake-infested, cave-packed terrain where the Harrison children had first sighted the “Missouri Monster” – and didn’t even find a rabbit. Police Chief Shelby Ward told the media that he was satisfied that there was no longer a monster on Marzolf Hill.

July 19, 1972 - Washington and Hanoi announced that the private Paris peace talks had resumed. Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho conferred for over six hours and, by mutual agreement, neither side revealed details of the meetings. The talks had been suspended when the North Vietnamese had launched their Nguyen Hue Offensive earlier in the year.

July 19, 1974 - The House Judiciary Committee recommended that U.S. President Richard Nixon should stand trial in the Senate for any of the five impeachment charges against him.

July 19, 1976 – Actor Benedict Cumberbatch was born in Hammersmith, London, England.

July 19, 1979 – The Evergreen Courant reported that 24-year-old Roger Pritchard, a graduate assistant football coach at Alabama State University in Montgomery, had been named head football and basketball coach at Lyeffion High School. Pritchard, a native of Fort Myers, Fla., was a three-year regular at linebacker for the Hornets after transferring to ASU from The Citadel. He was a 1972 graduate of North Fort Myers High School where he was a star football player.

July 19, 1979 – The Conecuh County High School Quarterback Club was scheduled to meet on this Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in the school lunchroom in Castleberry, Ala. The football team’s new coach, Doug Williamson, was scheduled to meet the public at the event.

July 19, 1985 - Christa McAuliffe of New Hampshire was chosen to be the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the space shuttle. She died with six others when the Challenger exploded the following year.

July 19, 1986 - Chon Mitchell of Evergreen High School was crowned Conecuh County’s 1987 Junior Miss at the 1987 Junior Miss Pageant held at the new Wiley Salter Auditorium at Ed Reid State Technical College in Evergreen, Ala.

July 19, 1990 - Two enlisted men stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina lost their lives when the 1988 Ford Ranger they were riding in went over a bridge on Interstate Highway 65 at the 106-mile marker. Their truck was airborne for over 100 feet before landing on its top at the bottom of the bridge some 34 feet down. The accident took place just inside the Conecuh County, Ala. line.

July 19, 1990 – Mobile City’s 16-year-old Advanced Babe Ruth All-Stars beat Monroe County, 6-0, during the South State All-Star Baseball at Patrick Henry State Junior College in Monroeville. Standout players on Monroe County’s 16-year-old team included Nick Ackerman, Mike Bishop, Richard Chatman, Steve Goodman, Trey Harris and Mitchell Turberville.

July 19, 1996 - HBO aired the final episode of "Tales from the Crypt."

July 19, 1998 – Swedish journalist and lake monster hunter Jan Sundberg told Reuters that the echoing equipment that he used on his expedition to Seljord Lake in 1977 had detected large objects moving under the water in unison and separating in different directions.

July 19, 2007 – Paranormal investigator and newspaper columnist George Buster Singleton passed away at the age of 79 in Monroeville, Ala.

July 19, 2007 – One week after signing a minor league contract with the Mets, Marlon Anderson of Montgomery, Ala. was called up to play for the Mets. Ironically, he started his first game back with the Mets against the Dodgers, the team that had just released him. He had a 2-RBI single in that game.

July 19, 2007 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Cassie Gomes, nine, of Bossier City, La. had won that year’s Bayou State 3-D Archery State Championship. Gomes, a fourth-grader at Benton (La.) Elementary School, captured top honors in the Pee Wee Division at the event, which was held on June 9 at the Fort Buhlow Recreation Area in Pineville, La. Gomes was the daughter of Heath Gomes and Summer Coleman. She was also the granddaughter of Ivon and Mary Gomes of Andalusia and the great-granddaughter of Bob and Lillie Gaskin of Evergreen.