Today in History for Oct. 1, 2016

T.E. Lawrence

Oct. 1, 1776 - Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris received information that the French were going to purchase arms and ammunition in Holland and send them to the West Indies for use by the American Patriots. Meanwhile, Silas Deane, the secret congressional agent in France, wrote to Congress pleading for information, “…For Heaven’s sake, if you mean to have any connection with this kingdom (France), be more assiduous in getting your letters here.”

Oct. 1, 1800 – Spain ceded the territory of Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso. Later the property would be purchased by the United States effectively doubling its size.

Oct. 1, 1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrived in New Orleans.

Oct. 1, 1854 - Alabama author Anne Newport Royall died in Washington, D.C.

Oct. 1, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln paid an unexpected visit to Sharpsburg to push his generals to pursue the Confederate army.

Oct. 1, 1864 - On her way back from a trip to England, Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow drowned off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina when a Yankee craft, the U.S.S. Niphon, ran her ship, the British blockade-runner “Condor,” aground. She was returning from a trip to England, where she’d spent two years drumming up support for the Confederacy. Greenhow’s body washed ashore the next morning, and she was given a hero’s funeral and buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina, her body wrapped in the Confederate flag.

Oct. 1, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Athens and near Huntsville, Alabama.

Oct. 1-4, 1867 - For the first time in Alabama history, African Americans voted in a statewide election. About 70,000 black men, the majority of voters in the election, called for a constitutional convention and elected an overwhelmingly Republican set of convention delegates, including 18 blacks. That convention produced Alabama's fourth constitution.

Oct. 1, 1890 – Yosemite National Park was established by the U.S. Congress.

Oct. 1, 1895 – Monroe County, Ala. Tax Assessor Nettles and Collector Robison were scheduled start on their official rounds together on this Tuesday.

Oct. 1, 1896 - Rural Free Delivery was established by the U.S. Post Office.

Oct. 1, 1901 - The citizens of Bay Minette, Ala. gathered for the dedication of the new county courthouse, which represented the town's role as the new county seat of Baldwin County. The Alabama State Legislature officially named Bay Minette the county seat in 1900, moving it there 30 miles from Daphne.

Oct. 1, 1903 - The first game of the modern World Series took place between the Boston Americans (Pilgrims) and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Oct. 1, 1908 - Alabama author Lee McGiffin was born in Delphi, Ind.

Oct. 1, 1908 - The Model T automobile was introduced by Henry Ford, and the purchase price of the car was $850.

Oct. 1, 1910 – A large bomb destroyed The Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, killing 21.

Oct. 1, 1913 – Knud Nielsen Co. opened its doors for business in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 1, 1914 – Camp Capt. Wm. Lee, No. 338, U.C.V. held its regular quarterly meeting at the Conecuh County Courthouse to elect delegates to attend the state reunion on Oct. 22-24 in Mobile, Ala. M.B. Salter was the camp’s sergeant major.

Oct. 1, 1915 – Camp. Wm. Lee, No. 338, United Confederate Veterans, was scheduled to meet at the Conecuh County (Ala.) Courthouse. T.A. Jones was the adjutant.

Oct. 1, 1915 - C.R. Crooks was to take charge of the Wiggins Hotel in Monroeville, Ala.

Oct. 1, 1917 – Concecuh County athlete and coach Wendell Hart was born at Brooklyn, Ala.

Oct. 1, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Darby Fletcher of Castleberry, Ala. “died from disease.”

Oct. 1, 1918 – During World War I, Arab forces under T. E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia", captured Damascus.

Oct. 1, 1919 - Eight players for the Chicago White Sox began their conspiracy to lose the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds.

Oct. 1, 1920 – Sir Percy Cox landed in Basra to assume his responsibilities as High Commissioner in Iraq.

Oct. 1, 1924 – Jimmy Carter, who would go on to become the 39th U.S. President, was born in Plains, Ga.

Oct. 1, 1927 – Red Level High School beat Evergreen High School, 19-0, in McKenzie, Ala.

Oct. 1, 1927 – According to the Census Bureau, there had been 16,606 bales of cotton, counting round bales as half bales, ginned from the 1927 crop up to this date as compared with 10,919 bales ginned up to that same date in 1926.

Oct. 1, 1929 – Monroeville, Alabama’s American Legion purchased 50 acres of land for an airplane landing field at a price of $4,500.

Oct. 1, 1932 – As of this date, 4,373 bales of cotton had been ginned in Conecuh County, compared to 7,407 bales ginned up to the same date in 1931.

Oct. 1, 1933 - Babe Ruth made his final pitching appearance. He pitched all nine innings and hit a home run in the fifth inning.

Oct. 1, 1935 – Construction of the “new truss span steel bridge” across the Sepulga River at Bull Slough below Paul, Ala. began on this Tuesday when the first concrete was poured. The bridge was to be 150 feet in length and about 50 feet above the river bed, placing it high enough to escape all future floods. It was to be built at least one foot above the high water mark of 1929 and was to be located about one mile up-river from the former span which was carried away by the flood of that year. Gregg Gowden of Wilcox held the contract for the bridge’s construction, which was estimated to cost around $6,000 and to be complete around Jan. 1. Completion of the bridge and about one mile of road necessary to connect it with the road east of the river provided a connecting link between Evergreen and Andalusia that was about five miles shorter than the existing route and greatly cut the distance to Evergreen for persons living east of the river.

Oct. 1, 1940 – Oak Hill, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality. (Ala. League of Mun.)

Oct. 1, 1942 – According to the Census Bureau, there had been 8,470 bales of cotton ginned from the 1942 crop up to this date as compared with 5,801 bales up to that same date in 1941, a difference of 2,669 bales.

Oct. 1, 1943 - Seasons on four game animals, squirrel in North Alabama and o’possum, rabbit and raccoon all over the state, were scheduled to open on this day, Ben C. Morgan, Alabama’s Conservation Director, announced. Squirrel could be legally hunted until Jan. 1, 1944, north of U.S Highway 80. The season below that highway was not to open until 15 days later. A daily bag limit of 10 squirrels will be in effect. The seasons on o’possum, raccoon and rabbit, when hunted as game, will remain open until February 20 with no daily or season bag limits. A new regulation permits possession of game for 45 days after close of the season on the species of game held.

Oct. 1, 1945 – National Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman and second baseman Rod Carew was born in Gatun in the Panama Canal Zone. He went on to play for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Oct. 1, 1946 - The first baseball play-off game for a league championship was played. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2.

Oct. 1, 1946 - The International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg sentenced 12 Nazi officials to death. Seven others were sentenced to prison terms and 3 were acquitted.

Oct. 1, 1946 – Author and Vietnam veteran William Timothy O’Brien, better known as Tim O’Brien, was born in Austin, Minn. He is best known for his books, “If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home” (1973), “Northern Lights” (1975) and “The Things They Carried” (1990).

Oct. 1, 1948 – The widely publicized “Gorman UFO Dogfight” incident occurred in the skies over Fargo, N.D. and involved Lt. George F. Gorman, a pilot with the North Dakota National Guard.

Oct. 1, 1951 – Truman Capote’s novel, “The Grass Harp” was published for the first time by Random House.

Oct. 1, 1953 – According to the Bureau of Census, there had been 8,514 bales of cotton ginned in Conecuh County from the 1953 crop prior to this date as compared with 8,162 bales from the 1952 crop prior to Oct. 1, 1952.

Oct. 1, 1957 - The motto “In God We Trust” first appeared on U.S. paper currency, starting with the one-dollar silver certificate.

Oct. 1, 1958 – NASA was created to replace NACA.

Oct. 1, 1961 – The Third Annual South Central Alabama Air Show was held at Middleton Field in Evergreen, Ala. The show was sponsored by the Conecuh County Aero Club and the proceeds went to the Civil Air Patrol Squadron. The air show committee consisted of George D. McKenzie, chairman; Lee F. Smith, co-chairman and David E. McKenzie.

Oct. 1, 1961 - Roger Maris of the New York Yankees became the first ever Major League Baseball player to hit more than 60 home runs in a single season when he hit his 61st home run of the season in a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox, which was the last game of the regular season. The great Babe Ruth set the record in 1927; Maris and his teammate Mickey Mantle spent 1961 trying to break it. Barry Bonds now holds the record with 73.

Oct. 1, 1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was formed, becoming the country's first centralized military espionage organization.

Oct. 1, 1964 – The Monroe Journal announced that Beatrice (Ala.) High School, which dropped football the year before, had resumed the sport on a limited basis, playing an eight-game schedule of “B” teams from other schools, including Leroy, Frisco City, Camden and Lyeffion.

Oct. 1, 1965 – W.S. Neal High School beat Evergreen High School, 45-7, on this Friday night in Evergreen, Ala. Oland Robison scored Evergreen’s only touchdown on a one-yard run, and Wayne Caylor kicked the extra point. Other outstanding players in that game included Glenn Bolton, Jack White and Brent Thornley for Evergreen and Keith McClammy and Jimmy Clark for Neal.

Oct. 1, 1968 - "Night of the Living Dead" premiered in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Oct. 1, 1969 - A prototype of the French-built Concorde broke the sound barrier for the first time.

Oct. 1, 1970 – The Conecuh County (Ala.) Board of Directors officially changed its name to The Conecuh County Commission to comply with state legislation that required all county governing bodies in the state to adopt a uniform name.

Oct. 1, 1970 – Alabama native Oscar Gamble logged the last hit and RBI at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium. His 10th-inning single scored Tim McCarver with the run that gave the Phillies the 2-1 win in the stadium's final game. Gamble’s feat was overshadowed as unruly fans stormed the field during and after the game to claim bases, infield dirt, seats, and other various stadium items.

Oct. 1, 1970 - Jimi Hendrix was buried in Seattle, Wash.

Oct. 1, 1971 - Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Fla.

Oct. 1, 1971 – The first brain-scan using x-ray computed tomography (CT or CAT scan) was performed at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London.

Oct. 1, 1972 – Wayne Pope began serving as Conecuh County, Alabama’s Superintendent of Education after being appointed to the position by the Conecuh County Board of Education. Pope was to fill the unexpired term of Harvey G. Pate, who resigned on Sept. 26, 1972.

Oct. 1, 1974 – Repton Masonic Lodge, No. 575, was scheduled to work in the Fellowcraft degree on this Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the lodge in Repton, Ala.

Oct. 1, 1976 – The Alex Hart House in Opp, Ala. was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Oct. 1, 1978 – Clay Carroll, a pitcher from Clanton, Ala., made his last Major League appearance, taking the field one last time for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Oct. 1, 1979 – The United States returned sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama.

Oct. 1, 1982 – Epcot opened at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.

Oct. 1, 1984 – Evergreen, Alabama’s mayor and city council officially began new terms in office. Pat Poole was mayor and the members of the city council included District 1, Aubrey D. Padgett; District 2, Jones B. Sasser; District 3, T.L. Sims; District 4, Larry Fluker; and District 5, John “Fat” Claiborne.

Oct. 1, 1984 – The Town of Castleberry, Alabama’s mayor and council officially began new terms in office. Lawrence Ryals was the town’s mayor and the members of the town council included Place 1, Billy Seales; Place 2, Phelan Findley Sr.; Place 3, Mitt Sullivan; Place 4, Larry Bethune; and Place 5, Bill Moncrease.

Oct. 1, 1984 – Major League Baseball pitcher Matt Cain was born in Dothan, Ala. He made his Major League debut with the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 29, 2005.

Oct. 1, 1984 – National Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman and manager Walter Alston passed away at the age of 72 in Oxford, Ohio. During his career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals and managed the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

Oct. 1, 1987 – Carolyn Pate Castleberry began serving as Conecuh County (Ala.) Tax Collector after taking the oath of office on Sept. 25, 1987. She was appointed to the office by Alabama Gov. Guy Hunt to fill the unexpired term of Marvin Johnston, who retired.

Oct. 1, 1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush addressed the United Nations General Assembly and once again condemned Iraq's takeover of Kuwait.

Oct. 1, 1991 – Charlie Deer, 56, began his fourth term as Monroe County, Alabama’s tax collector. He was sworn in on Sept. 30, 1991.

Oct. 1, 1992 – The Gainestown Schoolhouse on Clarke County Road 29 in Gainestown, Ala. (built in 1919) was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Oct. 1, 1993 – The fourth episode of “The X-Files” – entitled “Conduit” – aired for the first time.

Oct. 1, 1996 - The Nirvana live album "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah" was released.

Oct. 1, 1996 - A federal grand jury indicted Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski in the 1994 mail bomb murder of an ad executive.

Oct. 1, 2000 – Will Clark made his last Major League Baseball appearance, taking the field for one final time for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Oct. 1, 2006 - Albert Haynesworth of the Tennessee Titans kicked off the helmet of Andre Gurode of the Dallas Cowboys and then scraped his cleat across his head. Gurode required 30 stitches and suffered blurry vision from the attack. The NFL suspended Haynesworth for five games without pay. This was the worst suspension for onfield behaviour to date.

Oct. 1, 2013 - Espionage and military thriller author Tom Clancy, whose books included “The Hunt for Red October” and “Patriot Games,” died in Baltimore at age 66 following a brief illness.