Today in History for Sept. 27, 2016

Thomas Nast

Sept. 27, 1777 – Lancaster, Pennsylvania was the capital of the United States, for one day.

Sept. 27, 1779 - The Continental Congress appointed John Adams to travel to France as minister plenipotentiary in charge of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Sept. 27, 1779 - The former president of the Continental Congress, John Jay, was appointed minister to Spain and tasked with winning Spanish support for the American Revolution and Spain’s recognition of America’s independence. For more than two years, Jay negotiated for Spanish support of the American cause but was only successful in getting occasional loans and a supply of war materials. His inability to gain recognition of American independence was the result of Spain’s fear that the revolution might spread to Spanish-controlled colonies in the Americas.

Sept. 27, 1822 – Jean-François Champollion announced that he has deciphered the Rosetta stone.

Sept. 27, 1830 - The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a signed between the Choctaw Indian tribe and the United States Government. This was the first removal treaty carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act. Under the treaty, the Choctaw Nation ceded to the United States all their land east of the Mississippi River, about 11 million acres, including parts of west Alabama in exchange for about 15 million acres in the Indian territory, present-day Oklahoma. Not all Choctaws moved west, however, and descendants living in Alabama are recognized by the state as the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, who have their tribal office at McIntosh.

Sept. 27, 1840 – Thomas Nast, often called the “Father of the American Cartoon,” was born in Landau, Germany. Nast moved to New York when he was six, and he later spoke out firmly on behalf of the Union at the dawn of the Civil War, drawing cartoons for Harper's that showed the horrors of slavery. Lincoln called him his "best recruitment sergeant," and Grant credited his re-election victory in 1868 to "the sword of Sherman and the pencil of Nast."

Sept. 27, 1854 – James A. Hightower was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Sept. 27, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Norfolk, Mo.

Sept. 27, 1864 - A guerilla band led by William “Bloody Bill” Anderson sacked the town of Centralia, Missouri, killing 22 unarmed Union soldiers before slaughtering more than 100 pursuing Yankee troops led by Major A.V.E. Johnston. A month later, Anderson was killed attempting a similar attack near Albany, Missouri.

Sept. 27, 1888 – The Central News Agency of London received the famous “Dear Boss” letter, which was a message allegedly written by the notorious serial killer, “Jack the Ripper.” It was the first time the "Jack the Ripper" name had been used to refer to the killer.

Sept. 27, 1905 – Monroe County Sheriff Fountain left Monroeville, Ala. on this Wednesday for St. Louis where he went “to purchase choice horses for the local market.”

Sept. 27, 1905 – German physics journal “Annals of Physics” published Albert Einstein’s “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?,” which produced arguably the most famous equation in all of physics, E=mc2. The paper was one of four Einstein published that year — papers that subsequently have been nicknamed the Annus Mirabilis papers — four remarkable papers that added up to a miraculous year for both Einstein and physics and changed our views on space, time, and the fundamental nature of matter.

Sept. 27, 1906 - Following several days of heavy rains, a powerful hurricane wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast, killing dozens in the Mobile, Ala. area and causing millions of dollars in property damage. The editor of The Mobile Register called the hurricane "the greatest storm in the history of the city and by far the most damaging."

Sept. 27, 1911 - Author Harriet Hassell was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Sept. 27, 1915 – Blake Webb, age seven, died at the Orphans Home in Evergreen, Ala. His remains were shipped to Flomaton for burial.

Sept. 27, 1915 – George Moore was killed instantly and his brother, William Moore, was severely injured in an automobile accident on the Manistee & Repton Railroad early on this Monday morning. They were traveling along the tracks for an inspection, and the accident occurred “on the grade about two miles from town (Monroeville, Ala.).”

Sept. 27, 1919 – The first ever high school football game in the history of Monroe County, Ala. was played when Monroe County High School’s team faced the “Town Boys” in Monroeville.

Sept. 27, 1923 - Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees hit his first of 493 career home runs.

Sept. 27, 1926 – American Legion Post No. 61 was formed in Monroeville, Ala.

Sept. 27, 1930 - Hack Wilson of the Chicago Cubs hit two home runs to give him 56 for the year.

Sept. 27, 1931 – “The Big Gamble,” a movie version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book “The Iron Chalice,” was released.

Sept. 27, 1935 – The first ever night football game in Monroe County, Ala. history was played on this day at J.U. Blacksher High School at Uriah, the first school in the county to have a lighted field. Blacksher played Repton, but the final score is unknown. The game likely ended in a 0-0 tie.

Sept. 27, 1935 – In their first game of the season, Evergreen High School beat Frisco City, 13-2, in Frisco City, Ala.

Sept. 27, 1940 - William Henry Hasty, believed to have been Monroe County, Alabama’s last surviving Confederate veteran, passed away. Born on Sept. 9, 1846, he served as 5th Sgt. with Co. F of the 36th Alabama Regiment and would go on to become a Methodist minister. He is buried in Excel Cemetery.

Sept. 27, 1941 – Alabama baseball great Virgil Trucks made his Major League Baseball debut with the Detroit Tigers.

Sept. 27, 1949 – National Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt was born in Dayton, Ohio. He played his entire career, 1972-1989, for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Sept. 27, 1950 - Alabama native Joe Louis, a former heavyweight boxing champion who had announced his retirement in March 1949, returned to fight for the heavyweight title, but lost to then-champion Ezzard Charles in a 15-round decision.

Sept. 27, 1951 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Army Cpl. Johnny R. Stowers of Evergreen, Ala. had joined the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division on the front lines in Korea.

Sept. 27, 1953 - The St. Louis Browns baseball team played their final game before moving to Baltimore to become the Orioles.

Sept. 27, 1963 – Frisco City (Ala.) High School quarterback Joe Kelly was named the Birmingham Post-Herald’s “Back of the Week” for his performance in a 21-12 win over Jackson High School.

Sept. 27, 1964 – The Houston Colt .45s played their final game at Colts Stadium. They lost 1-0 to Los Angeles in 12 innings.

Sept. 27, 1964 - The Warren Commission issued a report on the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. The report concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone.

Sept. 27, 1973 - Nolan Ryan of the California Angels struck out 16 batters for the Minnesota Twins. The feat established a modern day single season mark of 383 strikeouts in a season.

Sept. 27, 1989 - Two men went over the 176-foot-high Niagara Falls in a barrel. Jeffrey Petkovich and Peter Debernardi were the first to ever survive the Horshoe Falls.

Sept. 27, 1990 - The deposed emir of Kuwait addressed the U.N. General Assembly and denounced the "rape, destruction and terror" that Iraq had inflicted upon his country.

Sept. 27, 1994 - Alabama author Paul Ramsey died in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Sept. 27-28, 1995 – The Conecuh County Sheriff’s Department conducted a two-day marijuana hunt and eradication operation in Conecuh County, Ala. During the operation, the department used two fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter to search for marijuana plants. In all, the operation netted and destroyed 93 plants with a street value of $196,000.

Sept. 27, 1996 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants became the second Major League Baseball player to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same year.

Sept. 27, 1998 - Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals set a Major League Baseball record when he hit his 70th home run of the season. Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs ended the season with 66 home runs. Both players surpassed Roger Maris' record of 61.

Sept. 27, 1998 - Greg Vaughn of the San Diego Padres hit his 50th home run of the season. It marked the first time that four players finished the regular season with 50 or more home runs.

Sept. 27, 1999 – In the last game was played at Tiger Stadium, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals, 8-2.

Sept. 27, 2000 - Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles signed a 12-year contract that involved a $20.5 million signing bonus. The deal made McNabb the highest paid NFL player in history.

Sept. 27, 2002 – Sparta Academy beat Escambia Academy, 35-25, at Stuart-McGehee Field in Evergreen, Ala. Brandon Burleson led Sparta with 103 yards and a touchdown.

Sept. 27, 2003 - Javier Lopez of the Atlanta Braves became the first catcher to hit 42 home runs in a season.

Sept. 27, 2004 – The Conecuh County (Ala.) Commission met on this Monday morning and discussed the damage to the county caused by Hurrican Ivan. The commission voted unanimously to approve a request from County Engineer Winston Foshee, who asked for permission to accept emergency bids for debris removal from county roads to avoid having to advertise for the bids and to speed up the clean-up process.

Sept. 27, 2009 - The Detroit Lions defeated the Washington Redskins to end a 19-game losing streak dating back to December, 2007.