Today in History for Aug. 16, 2016

Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford

Aug. 16, 1679 – English philosopher and playwright Catharine Trotter Cockburn was born in London.

Aug. 16, 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Americans led by General John Stark routed British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.

Aug. 16, 1777 - General Nicholas Herkimer died from the wounds he had suffered 10 days earlier when his men were ambushed attempting to relieve Fort Stanwix.

Aug. 16, 1780 – During the American Revolutionary War, at the Battle of Camden, the British, under General Charles Cornwallis, defeated Americans, under the command of General Horatio Gates, near Camden, South Carolina. The Patriots had 900 men killed and 1,000 captured. The British only lost 68 killed and 245 wounded.

Aug. 16, 1812 – During the War of 1812, American General William Hull surrendered Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army and Indian fighters led by Tecumseh.

Aug. 16, 1854 – George Clothies was commissioned for his second of two terms as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Aug. 16, 1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forced a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.

Aug. 16, 1861 – During the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.

Aug. 16, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Sandy Hook, Maryland.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, George McClellan completed the evacuation of Harrison's Landing, ending the Peninsula Campaign. His men landed at Aquia Creek, Va. and Alexandria, Va. within the week, but most were reassigned to John Pope's Army of Virginia.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, Don Carlos Buell ordered William "Bull" Nelson to assume command of federal forces in Kentucky.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, Brigadier General Charles Stone was released from prison in New York.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, Corpus Christi, Texas was bombarded by Union forces.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, an action took place at Lone Jack, Missouri, skirmishes were fought near Corinth and at Horn Lake Creek, Mississippi; at Wire Bridge, West Virginia; and at Merewether’s Ferry, Tennessee.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Dakota (Sioux) uprising began when Minnesota erupted in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attacked white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Dakota were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.

Aug. 16, 1863 – During the Civil War, the Chickamauga Campaign began and continued until Sept. 22.

Aug. 16, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Harrison's Landing, Arkansas and at Falls Church, Virginia.

Aug. 16, 1864 - Confederate General John Chambliss was killed during a cavalry charge at Deep Bottom, Virginia, one of the sieges of Petersburg. His body was recovered by a former West Point classmate, Union General David Gregg, who made a surprising discovery: a detailed map of the Richmond defenses. Copies of the map were distributed to all Union officers in the area within 48 hours, and it may not have helped the Union capture Richmond–that would take another seven months–but it may have reduced casualties by preventing foolhardy attacks on well-defended positions

Aug. 16, 1864 - Union General Philip Sheridan pulled back from Winchester, Virginia to wait for reinforcements.

Aug. 16, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Richland Creek, Arkansas and near Columbia, Missouri.

Aug. 16, 1879 – In a habeas corpus proceeding in Monroe County, Ala. on this day, Judge Henry sustained Judge Sowell’s decision in the murder case involving Charles Roberts and D.W. Rankin. Henry agreed that Sowell had the legal right to re-arrest Roberts and try him for murder.

Aug. 16, 1888 – Thomas Edward Lawrence, aka “Lawrence of Arabia,” was born in Tremadoc, Wales. “T.E.,” as he liked to be called, was an archaeologist and scholar and military strategist. His book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” (1926) was an account of his exploits as a military advisor to Arabs in their revolt against the Turks, and was the basis for the film “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962).

Aug. 16, 1892 - Glorvina Johnston Rush passed away at the age of 74 and is buried in the McIntosh Cemetery. In 1860, she and her husband donated the land where Andrews Chapel was constructed in McIntosh, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discovered gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

Aug. 16, 1904 - Alabama author Prentiss Ingraham died in Biloxi, Miss.

Aug. 16, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Jones Mill, Ala. community, that W.L. Middleton was “rearing up a fine, two-story dwelling at this place which will be quite a handsome building when completed.”

Aug. 16, 1908 – Novelist and editor William Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Ill.

Aug. 16, 1916 – Evergreen’s baseball team beat Belleville, 19-9, on this Wednesday in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit on the temple by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and died early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.

Aug. 16, 1920 – Poet Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany.

Aug. 16, 1930 – Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback and flanker Frank Gifford was born in Santa Monica, Calif. He went on to play for Southern Cal and the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.

Aug. 16, 1942 – During World War II, the two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappeared without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifted without her crew and crash-landed in Daly City, California.

Aug. 16, 1943 – NFL guard Woody Peoples was born in Birmingham, Ala. He went on to play for Grambling, the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Aug. 16, 1945 – The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the National Assembly of Vietnam, convened in Sơn Dương.

Aug. 16, 1948 – National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder and pitcher George Herman "Babe" Ruth died from throat cancer in New York City at the age of 53 and was buried in Hawthorne, New York. During his career, he played for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Boston Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Aug. 16, 1951 - Alabama author Judy Troy was born in Chicago, Ill.

Aug. 16, 1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.

Aug. 16, 1960 – The Evergreen (Ala.) Quarterback Club was scheduled to meet at the Recreation Center at 7:30 p.m. in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1962 – The famous lineup of The Beatles was formed when drummer Pete Best was discharged from the band, and Ringo Starr was brought on.

Aug. 16, 1964 – During the Vietnam War, a coup d'état replaced Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution was established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.

Aug. 16, 1964 – Groundbreaking services were held for a new education building at the Monroeville (Ala.) Presbyterian Church. W.P. Dennis, the oldest member of the church, turned the first shovel of dirt at the ceremonies. Rev. V.O. Titterud, pastor, then gave prayer and blessed the undertaking. Construction began the following day.

Aug. 16, 1966 – During the Vietnam War, the House Un-American Activities Committee began investigations of Americans who had aided the Viet Cong. The committee intended to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupted the meeting and 50 people were arrested.

Aug. 16, 1967 - President Johnson’s broad interpretation of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was attacked in the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee by the Chairman, Senator William Fulbright of Arkansas, who felt that Johnson had no mandate to conduct the war on the present scale.

Aug. 16, 1972 - U.S. fighter-bombers flew 370 air strikes against North Vietnam, the highest daily total of the year; additionally, there were eight B-52 strikes in the North. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes flew 321 missions (including 27 B-52 strikes) in South Vietnam, mostly in Quang Tri province. Despite this heavy air activity, hopes for an agreement to end the war rose as Henry Kissinger left Paris to confer with President Thieu and his advisers.

Aug. 16, 1977 - Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in Memphis, Tenn. of coronary arrhythmia.

Aug. 16, 1981 - Cal Ripken Jr. got his first Major League hit.

Aug. 16, 1981 – Law enforcement officers seized over 500 marijuana stalks, three to eight feet tall, from a location about five miles from Evergreen, Ala. on this Sunday morning. The marijuana had a street value of about $116,000 and a wholesale value of about $60,000. Law enforcement officers taking part in the seizure included ABC Agent George Grantt, Conecuh County Sheriff Edwin Booker, ABC Agent Bobby Davis, Evergreen police officers Johnny Blackmon and James Powell and Chief Deputy Sheriff Leroy Ferrell.

Aug. 16, 1983 – National Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Earl Averill passed away in Everett, Wash. at the age of 81. During his career, he played for the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

Aug. 16, 1988 – Jeff Kimbro was named the Most Valuable Player of the Evergreen (Ala.) Junior Baseball League’s American League Division.

Aug. 16, 1988 – The Evergreen City Council accepted a low bid from Taylor Construction of Atmore for the construction of a new hangar at Middleton Field Municipal Airport in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1989 – A geomagnetic storm shut down Toronto’s stock market.

Aug. 16, 1990 – The Monroe County (Ala.) Board of Education approved the resignation of George Coker, the assistant principal at J.F. Shields High School.

Aug. 16, 1996 - In Monterrey, Mexico, the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres, and the Padres won, 15-10. It was the first-ever regular season Major League Baseball game to be played outside the United States and Canada.

Aug. 16, 2002 - The Major League Baseball players union announced that they would begin a strike on August 30.

Aug. 16, 2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush commented on the strike date set by Major League Baseball players. He said, "The baseball owners and baseball players must understand if there is a work stoppage, a lot of fans are going to be furious, and I'm one of them." The players had set a strike date of August 30 earlier in the day.

Aug. 16, 2002 - Curt Shilling of the Arizona Diamondbacks won his 20th game of the year.

Aug. 16, 2003 - Jimmy Smith of the Jacksonville Jaguars was suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Aug. 16, 2003 - Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons suffered a fractured right fibula in a 13-10 preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Aug. 16, 2014 – Mandy Stokes, John Stokes, Kevin Jenkins, Savannah Jenkins and Parker Jenkins, all of Thomaston, Ala., killed a 15-foot-long, 1,011.5-pound alligator that set the state record for largest alligator legally killed in Alabama. They initially hooked the gator around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 in a creek several miles above Millers Ferry Dam in Wilcox County and battled it for five hours before finally killing it.