Today in History for Aug. 11, 2016

Professor Asaph Hall

Aug. 11, 1718 - Francois-Louis-Frederic Haldimand, who would help bring the United Empire Loyalists and Six Nations of Iroquois to safety in Canada following the American War for Independence, was born in Yverdon, Switzerland.

Aug. 11, 1806 - While hunting for elk along the Missouri River, explorer Meriwether Lewis of the Corps of Discovery was shot in the hip, probably by one of his own men. His wound was not serious, but Lewis spent the next several days lying faced down in the bottom of a canoe as the party proceeded down river. By the time they reached St. Louis on Sept. 23, Lewis’ wound had healed and the excitement of homecoming overshadowed the event.

Aug. 11, 1811 - Alabama author Octavia Walton Le Vert was born on her family's plantation near Augusta, Ga.

Aug. 11, 1852 – John S. McDuffie was born. McDuffie would go on to be one of the captors of famous train robber, Rube Burrow. Years later, he would be shot and killed during an argument with Edward English on June 28, 1904. McDuffie is buried in McDuffie Cemetery in Monroe County, Ala.

Aug. 11, 1858 – The Eiger in the Bernese Alps was ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.

Aug. 11, 1859 – John DeLoach was commissioned for his second term as Monroe County, Alabama’s Circuit Court Clerk.

Aug. 11, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Hamburg, Mo.

Aug. 11, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Helena, Arkansas; at Clarendon, Arkansas; at Velasco, Texas; at Independence, Taberville and Little Compton, Missouri; at Brown's Plantation, Mississippi; and at Saulsbury and near Williamsport, Tenn.

Aug. 11, 1862 – During the Civil War, an affair took place at Kinderhook, Tenn.

Aug. 11, 1863 – During the Civil War, Confederate forces pounded Federal entrenchments on Morris Island, South Carolina.

Aug. 11, 1864 – Samuel C.H. Dailey was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Aug. 11, 1864 – During the Civil War, Confederate General Jubal Early pulled out of Winchester, Va. as Union General Philip Sheridan approached the city. Wary of his new foe, Early moved away to avoid an immediate conflict. Sheridan followed with his force, settling his troops along Cedar Creek—just north of Strasburg, Virginia. As ordered by Grant, Sheridan stopped to await reinforcements. His army, consisting of both infantry and cavalry, would eventually total about 37,000 troops. Sheridan waited for a few days, but Confederate raider John Mosby and his Rangers burned a large store of Sheridan’s supplies. Alarmed and nearly out of food, Sheridan pulled back on August 16.

Aug. 11, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred near Moore's Hill, Ala.

Aug. 11, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at White Oak Creek, Arkansas; near Sand Creek, Colorado; at Hartsville, Missouri; at Toll Gate and near Newtown and near Winchester, Virginia.

Aug. 11, 1877 - The two moons of Mars were discovered by Asaph Hall, an American astronomer. He named them Phobos and Deimos.

Aug. 11, 1879 – The Monroe County commissioners court appointed Jno. McCreary, William Mac Stallworth and J.M. Herrington to a committee to “let out the contract for building a bridge across Flat Creek on the state road leading from Pine Orchard to Smiths bridge on or near the Lindsey plantation.” Commissioners also appointed Charles. L. Scott, J.W. Shomo and D.R. King to a committee “to let out contract for building a new bridge across the bayou on the road leading from Mt. Pleasant to Gainstown.”

Aug. 11, 1870 – Neil McCorvey passed away at his Monroe County, Ala. home at the age of 76. A native of Robeson County, N.C., he’d lived in Monroe County for 60 years.

Aug. 11, 1897 – Poet Louise Bogan was born in Livermore Falls, Maine.

Aug. 11, 1921 – Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York.

Aug. 11, 1925 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “He,” which was originally published in the September 1926 issue of Weird Tales.

Aug. 11, 1929 – Babe Ruth became the first Major League Baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.

Aug. 11, 1932 – Playwright Fernando Arrabal was born in Melilla, Spanish Morocco.

Aug. 11, 1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrived at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Though closed in 1963, the prison is said to be haunted to this day by ghostly presences.

Aug. 11, 1936 – Short-story writer Andre Dubus was born in Lake Charles, La.

Aug. 11, 1951 - The first Major League Baseball game to be televised in color was broadcast. The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 8-1.

Aug. 11, 1952 - Hank Williams was fired from the Grand Ole Opry and was told not to return until he was sober.

Aug. 11, 1957 – Playwright David Henry Hwang was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

Aug, 11, 1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the proclamation that made Horseshoe Bend National Military Park a unit of the National Park Service. The 2,040-acre park in Tallapoosa County preserves the site of the final conflict in the Creek War of 1813-14 and marked the defeat of the Red Stick Creeks, led by Menawa, by Gen. Andrew Jackson and his forces. Visitors to the park will find a museum containing artifacts from the battlefield, and exhibits detailing the Creek War, the War of 1812, and Creek Indian history, and may view important sites on the battlefield by driving the auto tour road or walking a 2.8-mile nature trail.

Aug. 11, 1964 – The Town of Repton, Ala. was scheduled to hold a municipal election. Candidates for the office of mayor included H.L. Dees and M.A. Hanks. Candiates for town council included E.M. Brantley, C.F. Carter Jr., Eddie Rogers, George Armstrong, John E. Davison, G.H. Dees Sr., J.L. Dees, Joe Kelly, W.O. Lowery, Bobby Regan and Carl W. Ryals.

Aug. 11, 1965 – Monroe County Probate Judge David M. Nettles announced that Governor Wallace had given assurances that a bypass of Monroeville on the south would be one of the projects that would be accomplished from the $25 million highway bond issue approved by the legislature. He said another $100,000 was expected to be allocated for blacktopping of the river road from Perdue Hill to Eliska.

Aug. 11, 1967 - For the first time, U.S. pilots were authorized to bomb road and rail links in the Hanoi-Haiphong area, formerly on the prohibited target list. This permitted U.S. aircraft to bomb targets within 25 miles of the Chinese border and to engage other targets with rockets and cannon within 10 miles of the border. The original restrictions had been imposed because of Johnson’s fear of a confrontation with China and a possible expansion of the war.

Aug. 11, 1970 - Montreal Expos first basman Fred Whitfield, a native of Vandiver, Ala., made his last Major League appearance. His career batting average was .253 with a total of 108 home runs and 356 runs batted in.

Aug. 11, 1970 - As part of the Vietnamization effort, South Vietnamese troops relieved U.S. units of their responsibility for guarding the Cambodian and Laotian borders along almost the entire South Vietnamese frontier. Nixon’s strategy in Vietnam was to improve the fighting capability of the South Vietnamese forces so that they could assume the responsibility for the war and, allowing for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. The assumption of the responsibility for the border areas was significant because those areas had previously required the presence of large U.S. combat formations.

Aug. 11, 1971 - Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins got his 500th and 501st home runs of his major league baseball career.

Aug. 11, 1972 - The last U.S. ground combat unit in South Vietnam, the Third Battalion, Twenty-First Infantry, departed for the United States. The unit had been guarding the U.S. air base at Da Nang. This left only 43,500 advisors, airmen, and support troops left in-country. This number did not include the sailors of the Seventh Fleet on station in the South China Sea or the air force personnel in Thailand and Guam.

Aug. 11, 1976 – Major League Baseball outfielder Bubba Crosby was born in Bellaire, Texas. During his career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.

Aug. 11, 1984 - The Cincinnati Reds honored major league All-Star and Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench by retiring his uniform (No. 5).

Aug. 11, 1989 -  The South Alabama Officials Association was scheduled to hold its Fall 1989 Football Clinic at Hillcrest High School in Evergreen, Ala. at 7 p.m. The clinic, sponsored by the Alabama State Athletic Association, was designed to teach the rules of football to anyone who was interested in learning more about football rules and rule changes.

Aug. 11, 1990 - Egyptian and Moroccan troops joined U.S. forces in Saudia Arabia to help protect from a possible Iraqi attack.

Aug. 11, 1993 – The first edition of “Crazy in Alabama” by Mark Childress released by Putnam Adult.

Aug. 11, 1994 - The longest work stoppage in Major League Baseball history began. Because of the strike, the 1994 World Series was cancelled; it was the first time baseball did not crown a champion in 89 years.

Aug. 11, 1995 - A federal investigation was opened concerning the deadly siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1992. The investigation was to find out whether FBI officials approved a "shoot on sight" order.

Aug. 11, 2015 – For the first time in Major League Baseball history, all 15 home teams won their games. Prior to this happening, the record was 12 which was reached over a century ago in 1914.