Today in History for Oct. 4, 2016

Edward L. Stratemeyer

Oct. 4, 1535 – The first complete English-language Bible (the Coverdale Bible) was printed in Zurich, Switzerland, with translations by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale.

Oct. 4, 1648 - The first volunteer fire department was established in New York by Peter Stuyvesant.

Oct. 4, 1775 - Dr. Benjamin Church, the first surgeon general of the Continental Army, was court martialed for spying for the British. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Oct. 4, 1777 – At the Battle of Germantown, 11,000 Patriot troops under George Washington were repelled by 9,000 British troops under Sir William Howe at Germantown, Pa., five miles north of the British-occupied capital city of Philadelphia. Both sides suffered heavy losses in battle and while the battle was seen as British victory, it actually served as a moral booster to the Americans.

Oct. 4, 1804 – Ephraim Kirby, the first Judge of the Superior Court of the Mississippi Territory, died from a fever at the age of 47 and was buried at Fort Stoddert near Mount Vernon, Ala. A Revolutionary War soldier and the first General High Priest of the Royal Arch Masons of the United States, he was born in Woodbury, Conn. on Feb. 23, 1757. A marker in his memory was placed at the intersection of Old US Highway 43 and Military Road in Mount Vernon.

Oct. 4, 1813 – The “Bashi Skirmish” occurred at Failetown, between Campbell and Woods Bluff in Clarke County, Ala.

Oct. 4, 1822 - Rutherford B. Hayes, who would go on to serve as the 19th President of the United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio.

Oct. 4, 1850 – Jacob F. Betts became postmaster at Burnt Corn, Ala.

Oct. 4, 1858 - Dr. Joseph Henry Johnson founded the Alabama School for the Deaf in Talladega, enrolling his younger brother as the first student. The school evolved into the state-supported Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, which annually serves thousands with a variety of programs.

Oct. 4, 1861 – During the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln observed a balloon demonstration near Washington, DC. Both Confederate and Union armies experimented with using balloons to gather military intelligence in the early stages of the war, but the balloons proved to be dangerous and impractical for most situations.

Oct. 4, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Buffalo Hill, Kentucky.

Oct. 4, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Edwards' Ferry, Maryland.

Oct. 4, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Alamoosa, near Fort Craig, the New Mexico Territory.

Oct. 4, 1861 – During the Civil War, an affair occurred at Chicamacomico, North Carolina.

Oct. 4, 1862 – Edward L. Stratemeyer was born in Elizabeth, N.J. He is best known as the creator of the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys and Nancy Drew.

Oct. 4, 1883 – The first run of the Orient Express train took place. The Orient Express ceased operation in 2009.

Oct. 4, 1884 – Journalist and fiction writer Damon Runyon was born Alfred Damon Runyon in Manhattan, Kansas. He became one of the early baseball journalists, when the sport was just taking off, but he is best remembered for his musical “Guys and Dolls,” which was based on several of his short stories and characters he created.

Oct. 4, 1887 – Marion Military Institute in Perry County, Ala. opened the doors of the former Howard College campus to new students.

Oct. 4, 1893 - The first professional football contract was signed by Grant Dibert for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.

Oct. 4, 1895 – Comedian Buster Keaton was born Joseph Frank Keaton in Piqua, Kansas.

Oct. 4, 1895 – In Monroe County, Leslie Stabler, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mal Stabler, died at the age of six years and five months. Born on May 15, 1889, he “was almost instantly killed by the press belting,” the exact way was not definitely known.

Oct. 4, 1897 – Dr. J.W. Shomo of Mt. Pleasant, Ala. passed away.

Oct. 4, 1915 – The public school in Conecuh County, Alabama’s Effie community opened with Gertrude Powell of Geneva County as principal. Other faculty members included assistants Corinne Melton of Pine Apple and Irene McCrory of Repton. School opened with 50 pupils, but the enrollment increased to 65 by Oct. 27.

Oct. 4, 1915 - The Dinosaur National Monument was established. The area covered part of Utah and Colorado.

Oct. 4, 1915 – Prof. W.C. Blasingame resigned the presidency of the Agricultural School in Evergreen to accept an appointment as professor of secondary education at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn.

Oct. 4, 1915 – The school at Grimes Schoolhouse opened with Miss Florence Dixon of Andalusia as teacher.

Oct. 4, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. William H. Stinson of Georgiana, Ala.; Army Pvt. Albert E. Stanton of Canoe, Ala.; and Army Pvt. Arthur L. Perrett of Andalusia, Ala. “died from disease.”

Oct. 4, 1919 - A movie version of Alabama author Mary McNeil Fenollosa's book “The Dragon Painter” was released.

Oct. 4, 1923 - Journalist Harold Eugene Martin was born in Cullman, Ala.

Oct. 4, 1927 – Gutzon Borglum began sculpting Mount Rushmore.

Oct. 4, 1929 - A movie version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book “Why Bring That Up?” was released.

Oct. 4, 1931 - The comic strip "Dick Tracy" made its debut in the Detroit Daily Mirror. The strip was created by Chester Gould.

Oct. 4, 1936 – Caroline Wilkerson died at her home near Pine Apple on this Sunday morning. She was 97 years of age and the oldest member of the family who boasted six living generations before her passing. Funeral services were conducted on Oct. 5 by the Rev. J.W. Jones of Frisco City and interment was made in the New Home cemetery near Excel.

Oct. 4, 1937 - Hugo Black, a native of Clay County, Ala., took his seat as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Black studied law at the University of Alabama, served in World War I, and represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate from 1927 until 1937, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Franklin Roosevelt. Black served on the court until his death in1971.

Oct. 4, 1941 – Horror writer Anne Rice was born in New Orleans.

Oct. 4-7, 1941 – A military convoy consisting of a total of 17,137 men, part of New England’s 43rd Infantry Division, passed through Evergreen on their way from Louisiana to Camp Blanding, Fla. The “men drove through Evergreen during the week and exchanged greetings with the residents as the Northern soldiers saw a section of the South most of them have never seen before.”

Oct. 4, 1944 – National Baseball Hall of Fame infielder and manager Tony La Russa was born in Tampa, Fla. During his career, he played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs and he managed the Chicago White Sox, the Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Oct. 4, 1955 - The Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series at last, beating the New York Yankees, 2-0. They’d lost the championship seven times already, and they’d lost five times just to the Yanks--in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953. But in 1955, thanks to nine brilliant innings in the seventh game from 23-year-old lefty pitcher Johnny Podres, they finally managed to beat the Bombers for the first (and last) time.

Oct. 4, 1956 – Repton High School, under head coach Mack Primm, beat Lyeffion High School, 7-0, at Lyeffion, Ala. on this Thursday night. Franklin Baggett’s 25-yard touchdown run, and Terry Nall’s extra-point run were the only points of the game. “The game was played on a very wet, soggy field. After a few minutes of play, the numbers were almost completely indistinct, and at the half, the only way the fans could tell Repton players from Lyeffion players was the Repton was wearing white helmets while Lyeffion wore gold helmets.”

Oct. 4, 1956 – A Conecuh County Criminal Court jury found Ruby Lee Ball not guilty of the shotgun slaying of Eddie Fair on May 19, 1956 in Evergreen.

Oct. 4, 1959 - The first World Series to be played west of St. Louis began in Los Angeles, Calif. between the Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox.

Oct. 4-6, 1959 – “The Horse Soldiers – The Story of a Civil War Cavalry Raid,” starring John Wayne and William Holden and directed by John Ford, was scheduled to be shown at the Pix Theatre in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 4, 1960 – The Nelson News told of the frightening run-in that John Bringsli, for more than 35 years an experienced woodsman, hunter and fisherman in the Kootenay district of Canada, had with an unknown monster while he was picking huckleberries near Lemon Creek. He described the creature as seven to nine feet tall with long legs and powerful arms covered with hair. It had wide shoulders and a flat face with ears flat against the side of its head.

Oct. 4, 1963 – In a game in which players from both teams were sideline by a virus, W.S. Neal beat Evergreen, 13-6, at Brooks Memorial Stadium in Evergreen. Allen Goolsby scored Neal’s first touchdown, and Wayne Baldwin scored the PAT. Larry Ellis scored Evergreen’s only touchdown.

Oct. 4, 1968 (1969?) – In Lovecraftian fiction, many believe British occultist and psychic Titus Crow died when Blowne Manor was destroyed by occult forces on this date. In truth, he lives on in Elysia, and some sources say a freak windstorm destroyed the manor house.

Oct. 4, 1972 – Huntsville, Ala. native Don Minch made his last Major League appearance with the Oakland Athletics.

Oct. 4, 1976 – American actress, producer, and author Alicia Silverstone was born in San Francisco, Calif.

Oct. 4, 1976 – Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck was born in Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. He is famous for his speed records on the North Face trilogy in the Alps.

Oct. 4, 1978 – Estelle Johnson, “one of Conecuh County’s more senior citizens,” passed away at the age of 100 at her residence in Burnt Corn, Ala.

Oct. 4, 1981 – National Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman and outfielder Freddie Lindstrom passed away at the age of 75 in Chicago, Ill. During his career, he played for the New York Giants, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago Cubs and the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976.

Oct. 4, 1984 – The Monroe Journal reported that Monroe County native Joe McKissick, 46, had bought the Frisco City IGA from Alvin and Judy Smith. The store had been in Judy Smith’s family since 1959 when the store was started by her father, Henry Rowell, and Pete Kelly.

Oct. 4, 1986 - Two men mugged Dan Rather as he was walking along Park Avenue in Manhattan to his New York City apartment. He was attacked and punched from behind by a man who demanded to know, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" while a second assailant also chased and beat him. As the assailant pummeled and kicked Rather, he kept repeating the question over and over again. The incident inspired the 1994 R.E.M. song, “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”

Oct. 4, 1987 – National Football League owners used replacement personnel to play games despite the player's strike.

Oct. 4, 1993 – The Evergreen Baptist Church, Old Beulah Cemetery, Dr. Watkins House at Burnt Corn and the Asa Johnston Farmhouse at Johnsonville were added to Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Oct. 4, 1993 - Dozens of Somalis dragged an American soldier through the streets of Mogadishu. A videotape showed Michael Durant being taken prisoner by Somali militants.

Oct. 4, 1996 – Frisco City High School beat John Essex, 44-14, in Demopolis. Johnny Sirmon led Frisco with 154 yards and two touchdowns on 10 rushes, Cedric Brown followed with 132 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries and freshman Marcus Lee had 126 yards on 15 totes. Other standout Frisco players in that game included Randy Coleman, and Rodney Dollar was Frisco’s head coach.

Oct. 6, 1996 - Mandy Yelverton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frankie Yelverton of Monroeville, was crowned the 27th homecoming queen of Monroe Academy on this Friday night. Headmaster Dick Cleveland crowned Miss Yelverton, who was escorted by her father, during pre-game festivities.

Oct. 4, 1997 – Former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who is known for his controversial views on UFOs, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Oct. 4, 1998 – On this night, seven hunters sitting around a campfire near Mud Springs in Trinity County, Calif., about 200 miles from San Francisco, heard a rustling in the bushes. When one of the men got his flashlight and went to investigate the noise, he saw an enormous manbeast that he estimated to be about nine feet tall, standing about 50 yards away on the other side of a creek. The next morning, the hunters were able to find humanlike tracks in the area that measured six inches wide and 20 inches long.

Oct. 4, 1999 – Vredenburgh, Ala. native Mike Stewart’s first novel, “Sins of the Brother,” was first released.

Oct. 4, 2001 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 70th home run of the season to tie Mark McGwire's Major League record. Bonds also moved past Reggie Jackson on the all-time list with his 564th career home run.

Oct. 4, 2001 - Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres scored his 2,246th career run to break Ty Cobb's Major League record.

Oct. 4, 2004 – Evergreen mayor-elect Larry Fluker and newly-elected members of the Evergreen City Council were scheduled to be sworn in during an inaugural ceremony at Reid State Technical College at 5 p.m. Conecuh County native, Judge Sue Bell Cobb, who was a member of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, was to administer the oaths of office to Fluker and the council members.

Oct. 4, 2013 – “Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell” premiered on the Discovery Channel in the UK.