Today in History for Sept. 5, 2016

Nap Lajoie

Sept. 5 1666 – The Great Fire of London ended. Ten thousand buildings including St Paul's Cathedral were destroyed, but only six people are known to have died.

Sept. 5, 1774 - In response to the British Parliament’s enactment of the Coercive Acts in the American colonies, the first session of the Continental Congress convened at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. Fifty-six delegates from all of the colonies except Georgia drafted a declaration of rights and grievances and elected Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress. Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Adams and John Jay were among the delegates.

Sept. 5, 1781 – During the Battle of the Chesapeake in the American Revolutionary War, the British Navy was repelled by the French Navy, contributing to the British surrender at Yorktown.

Sept. 5, 1812 – During the War of 1812, the Siege of Fort Wayne began when Chief Winamac's forces attacked two soldiers returning from the fort's outhouses.

Sept. 5, 1818 – Australian explorer and surveyor Edmund Kennedy was born in Guernsey, Channel Islands. Kennedy explored the interior of Queensland and northern New South Wales, including the Thomson River, the Barcoo River, Cooper Creek and Cape York Peninsula.

Sept. 5, 1824 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in New York, N.Y.

Sept. 5, 1836 – Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

Sept. 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Papinsville, Mo.

Sept. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Potomac River was crossed at White's Ford in the Maryland Campaign.

Sept. 5, 1862 – Pvt. Jesse N. (possibly James or Jesse K.) Baggett of Co. G, 23rd Alabama Infantry died and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Atlanta. His widow, Caroline Baggett of Conecuh County, Ala., filed a Deceased Soldier’s Claim in his name on Jan. 5, 1863.

Sept. 5, 1862 – British meteorologist James Glaisher and accomplished balloonist Henry Tracey Coxwell broke the world record for altitude. It was later estimated that they reached 37,000 feet in a balloon built for Coxwell.

Sept. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Madison, Kentucky; at Point of Rocks, Maryland; outside Olive Branch, Miss.; at Neosho, Missouri; and at Burnt Bridge, Tenn.

Sept. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, a two-day operation began between Holly Springs and Olive Branch, Mississippi; and a five-day Federal operation began between Fort Donelson and Clarkville, Tennessee.

Sept. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, U.S. Gen John Pope, late commander of the Army of Virginia, had retreated from the Shenandoah Valley all the way to Washington, and then asked General in Chief Halleck as to the status of his command. Halleck answered on this day: Pope’s army, being in the vicinity anyway, was being merged into the Army of the Potomac. Pope was out of a job. He was not amused by this development and spent many years complaining about the matter. He did get a new assignment, though: he was sent to the Department of the Northwest, which included Minnesota, which had been undergoing an uprising of the Sioux. Neither Pope nor the people he was supposed to protect were thrilled with this development.

Sept. 5, 1863 - United States Foreign Minister to Great Britain, Charles Francis Adams, sent an angry letter to British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell warning that war between the two nations may erupt if it allowed two powerful ironclad ships to set sail. The two ships were designed to help the Confederates break the Union naval blockade. The letter ended with the words: "It would be superfluous in me to point out to your Lordship that this is war."

Sept. 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Lebanon in DeKalb County, Ala.

Sept. 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, the Confederate salt works at Rawlingsville in DeKalb County, Ala. were destroyed.

Sept. 5, 1863 - Federals conducted a reconnaissance mission from Winston’s Valley into Broomtown Valley in Cherokee County, Ala.

Sept. 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Maysville, Arkansas; near White Stone Hill, Dakota Territory; at Alpine, Georgia; and at Tazewell, Tennessee.

Sept. 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was foght near Stephenson’s Depot, Virginia.

Sept. 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, in Petersburg, Va., Confederate General Robert E. Lee was becoming increasingly anxious for the return of the forces of General Early from northern Virginia, where he had been sent in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Richmond by threatening Washington. Since the mission, although causing panic in the North, had failed in its objective, Lee had ordered Early to rejoin him as soon as practicable. Early, reluctant to admit that the venture had been pointless, had sent only one corps to Lee, that of R.H. Anderson. He had promptly run into the cavalry of Phil Sheridan. A battle developed in the vicinity of Opequon Creek. Both sides wanted nothing more than to get past the other, but neither could find a hole in the enemy’s lines to accomplish this.

Sept. 5, 1874 – National Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman and manager Nap Lajoie was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Cleveland Naps and he also managed the Naps from 1905 to 1909. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937.

Sept. 5, 1882 – New York City hosted the country’s first official observation of Labor Day, which became a national holiday in 1894.

Sept. 5, 1888 – John S. Harrington was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Sept. 5, 1895 – The Monroe Journal reported that Dr. S.W. Yarbrough was “making extensive improvements on the City Hotel that will add greatly to the comfort and convenience of guests.”

Sept. 5, 1901 - John D. Platt, a blind Confederate veteran, died at his home near Gravella in Conecuh County, Ala. at the age of 64. Born on Jan. 4, 1837, he was buried in the Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Butler County.

Sept. 5, 1901 – The first organized baseball league, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, was formed in Chicago, Ill.

Sept. 5, 1905 – In New Hampshire, the Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, was signed by Russia and Japan and ended the Russo-Japanese War.

Sept. 5, 1906 – A violent hurricane struck the Alabama coast and wiped out the community of Navy Cove, three miles east of Fort Morgan in Baldwin County, killing six.

Sept. 5, 1906 - Bradbury Robinson executed the first legal forward pass in football when he threw the ball to Jack Schneider of St. Louis University in a game against Carroll College. St. Louis University won, 22-0.

Sept. 5, 1909 – Marion Ivey of Evergreen, Ala., an “aged and highly respected negro,” died on this Sunday “after a long illness.”

Sept. 5, 1912 – Avant-garde composer John Cage was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

Sept. 5, 1914 - Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional player in the International League.

Sept. 5, 1918 - Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox threw a six-hitter in the opening game of the World Series.

Sept. 5, 1919 – German SS officer Elisabeth Volkenrath was born in Swierzawa, Silesia.

Sept. 5, 1925 - Centreville in Bibb County, Ala. reached the highest ever recorded temperature in Alabama when thermometers hit 112°. The Labor Day weekend was a scorcher with cities and towns across the state, recording several days of 100°+ temperatures.

Sept. 5, 1925 – Editor and biographer Justin Kaplan was born in Manhattan, New York City.

Sept. 5, 1931 – The Second Annual International Terrapin Race, sponsored by the Evergreen Lions Club, was held in Evergreen, Ala., and “Tarheel,” a “big, homegrown gopher” owned and entered by Newton E. Johnson, came in first and received a $59.50 prize. In all, there were 119 entrants, including six from different states and one from a foreign country.

Sept. 5, 1932 - The Evergreen City School was scheduled to open for the 1932-33 session on this Monday with the same faculty that served in 1931.

Sept. 5,1935 - The movie “The Dark Angel,” screenplay by Alabama author Lillian Hellman, was released.

Sept. 5, 1935 – Writer Ward Just was born in Michigan City, Indiana.

Sept. 5, 1936 – National Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He played his entire career, 1956 to 1972, for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Sept. 5, 1940 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Alice Lee of Birmingham had spent the weekend with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Lee.

Sept. 5, 1940 – The Monroe Journal reported that A.L. Shell was locating a “new industry” in Monroeville, Ala. with the erection of a Pecan Shelling Plant near the Telephone Exchange. According to Mr. Shell, the plant was to have a capacity of 2,000 to 2,500 pounds of pecans daily.

Sept. 5, 1941 – The whole territory of Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Sept. 5, 1945 – Birmingham, Ala. native Spud Davis appeared in his final Major League Baseball game, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In a 16-year career, Davis played in 1,458 games, accumulating 1,312 hits in 4,255 at bats for a .308 career batting average along with 77 home runs, 647 runs batted in and a .369 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .984 fielding percentage.

Sept. 5, 1945 - Alabama author Eleanor De La Vergne Doss Risley died in Little Rock, Ark.

Sept. 5, 1950 - Alabama author Nancy Kincaid is born in Tallahassee, Fla.

Sept. 5, 1955 - Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit his seventh home run of the season, setting a National League record for home runs by a pitcher.

Sept. 5, 1957 - Jack Kerouac's classic “On the Road” was first published by Viking Press.

Sept. 5, 1958 - Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" was published for the first time in the U.S.

Sept. 5, 1963 – Major League Baseball pitcher Jeff Brantley was born in Florence, Ala. He went on to play for the San Francisco Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers.

Sept. 5, 1969 – In connection with the “My Lai Massacre,” U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley was charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai.

Sept. 5, 1970 – During the Vietnam War, Operation Jefferson Glenn begans as the United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiated a new operation in Thừa Thiên–Huế Province. This operation lasted until October 1971, and was one of the last major large-scale military operations in which U.S. ground forces would take part.

Sept. 5, 1971 - J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros tied Karl Spooner’s record when he struck out 15 batters in his Major League Baseball debut.

Sept. 5, 1975 - Dressed in a red robe, Squeaky Fromme, a Charles Manson follower, was arrested for pointing a Colt semi-automatic pistol at President Ford. She was released from prison in 2009.

Sept. 5, 1976 – Former Monroe Academy football standout and Alabama offensive tackle K.J. Lazenby received the Charlie Compton Award during a ceremony at Cavalry Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The award was presented annually to a “senior athlete who has demonstrated outstanding Christian character and leadership.”

Sept. 5, 1978 – Conecuh County, Ala. Sheriff Edwin Booker was re-elected to his second term in office, defeating C.W. “Bill” Kent, John W. “Dick” Raines and Ralph Jackson “Jack” Gorum. That same day, State Rep. J.E. “Jimmy” Warren was re-elected to his third term in the State House, defeating challenger Stanley Mitchell. Frank Chavers was re-elected to the Conecuh County Board of Education over Robert “Bob” Floyd, and W.J. “Dub” Reed was re-elected to the District 2 seat on the Conecuh County Commission over Woodrow R. Robinson and John Elvin Burch.

Sept. 5, 1983 - "Sports Illustrated" became the first national weekly magazine to use four-color process illustrations on every page.

Sept. 5, 1990 – Mark Childress’ third novel, “Tender,” was released by Harmony.

Sept. 5, 1990 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein urged for a Holy War against the West and former allies.

Sept. 5, 1996 – Hurricane Fran made landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina as a Category 3 storm with 115 mph sustained winds. Fran caused over $3 billion in damage and killed 27 people.

Sept. 5, 1997 - The FOX group announced a deal to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sept. 5, 1998 - Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 60th home run of the season, tying himself with Babe Ruth.

Sept. 5, 1998 - Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs hit his 58th home run of the season.

Sept. 5, 1999 - The Cincinnati Reds set a Major League team record for home runs in two consecutive games. The team hit 14 home runs over the two games at Veterans Stadium.

Sept. 5, 2005 – Right-handed pitcher Christopher Scottie Booker of Monroeville made his Major League Baseball debut for the Cincinnati Reds.