Today in History for Nov. 10, 2016

Don Meredith

Nov. 10, 1483 – Monk and theologian Martin Luther was born in Eisleben in present-day Germany.

Nov. 10, 1727 – French-American explorer Alphonse de Tonty died around the age of 68. Tonty was an officer who served under the French explorer Cadillac and helped establish the first European settlement at Detroit, Michigan, Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit on the Detroit River in 1701. Several months later, both Cadillac and Tonty brought their wives to the fort, making them the first European women to travel so deep into the new territory.

Nov. 10, 1775 – During the American Revolution, the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia by Samuel Nicholas. The Marines, who were to serve as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy, went out of existence after the end of the Revolutionary War in April of 1783. The Marine Corps were formally re-established on July 11, 1798. This day is observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps.

Nov. 10, 1813 – General Ferdinand Claiborne was given his instructions by General Flournoy, which required him to establish a depot of provisions for General Andrew Jackson at Weatherford’s Bluff and not to advance further into the Creek Nation until he was joined by the Georgia and Tennessee troops.

Nov. 10, 1849 - Alabama author Zitella Cocke was born on her father's plantation in Marion, Ala.

Nov. 10, 1861 – During the Civil War, a two-day Federal expedition from Hilton Head to Braddock’s Point, South Carolina began.

Nov. 10, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Bristol, Tennessee.

Nov. 10, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Guyandotte and at Blake's Farm, West Virginia.

Nov. 10, 1861 – During the Civil War, Jefferson Davis wrote to Gen. Joseph Eggleston Johnston, serving with his armies in Manassas, Virginia. On the one hand, Davis expressed surprise that the army had not grown at a faster pace since the stunning victory at Bull Run. The assumption had been that militia units and local volunteers would flock to the Army of Northern Virginia to be incorporated under an overall command organization. Many, however, wished to stay with commanders they knew, and progress was slow. Davis, although trying to be encouraging, admitted “we are restricted in our capacity to reinforce by want of arms.” The problem was, there weren’t enough guns to go around.

Nov. 10, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Amissville, Gaines Cross Road, Markham’s Station and Corbin's Cross Roads, Virginia and at Charlestown, West Virginia. A two-day Federal operation along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia also began.

Nov. 10, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Kingston, Arkansas and on Elk Mountain, West Virginia. A six-day Federal expedition from Benton to Mount Ida, Arkansas began, and a three-day Federal expedition from Skipwith’s Landing to Tallulah, Mississippi also began. A Federal operation from Springfield, Missouri to Huntsville, Carrollton and Berryville, Arkansas also began.

Nov. 10, 1864 – Confederate officer and future University of Alabama president Josiah Gorgas was promoted to brigadier general.

Nov. 10, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Neosho, Missouri and near Kernstown, Virginia. A Federal operation was also carried out near Memphis, Tennessee.

Nov. 10, 1865 – Major Henry Wirz, 41, the commandant of Andersonville Prison (Camp Sumter), was executed by hanging for the brutality and the mistreatment committed under his command. He was one of only three American Civil War soldiers executed for war crimes.

Nov. 10, 1871 - Explorer Henry Stanley found the missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika, in central Africa, and issued his famous greeting: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

Nov. 10, 1879 – Poet Vachel Lindsay was born in Springfield, Ill.

Nov. 10, 1895 – An unsuccessful burglary occurred at the Alliance Stock Co. store at Tinela on this Sunday night. According to The Monroe Journal, “a hole several inches in diameter was cut through the wall for the purpose of unloosing the fastenings of the door; failing in this, an attempt was made to prize open the windows. The job was a very clumsy one and was evidently done by amateurs.”

Nov. 10, 1906 – German SS officer Josef Kramer was born in Munich.

Nov. 10, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that John C. Black was the first candidate to formally announce his candidacy for office in the upcoming election. Black was running for the District 1 seat on the Conecuh County (Ala.) Board of Revenue.

Nov. 10, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Irby M. Beasley had been appointed postmaster at Owassa, Ala.

Nov. 10, 1918 – The Western Union Cable Office in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, received a top-secret coded message from Europe (that would be sent to Ottawa and Washington, D.C.) that said on November 11, 1918, all fighting would cease on land, sea and in the air.

Nov. 10, 1919 – The first national convention of the American Legion was held in Minneapolis, ending two days later.

Nov. 10, 1928 - Knute Rockne made his famous "Win one for the Gipper" pep talk during halftime of a tied game between Notre Dame and Army.

Nov. 10, 1929 - Alabama author William E. Butterworth was born in New Jersey.

Nov. 10, 1936 – French general and explorer Louis Gustave Binger died at the age of 80 in L'Isle-Adam, Île-de-France, France and was buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.

Nov. 10, 1939 – Monroe County High School’s football team beat Beatrice, 32-20, in Monroeville, Ala.

Nov. 10, 1940 - The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles played a penalty free NFL game.

Nov. 10, 1953 – The Virginia Cavalier Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a historical marker at Fort Morgan in memory of Welsh explorer Prince Madoc, who supposedly landed in Mobile Bay in 1170.

Nov. 10, 1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington National Cemetery.

Nov. 10, 1955 – Esteemed Belleville farmer John A. Pruitt passed away unexpectedly at the age of 68 around 9:30 a.m. and was buried at Ramah Cemetery. Pruitt was born and raised in Butler County, but moved to Conecuh County when he was around age 18. He’d lived in Conecuh County his entire life except when he served in World War I.

Nov. 10, 1956 – American jazz singer Billie Holiday performed a legendary concert at Carnegie Hall after a three-year absence. Holiday performed 24 songs, including "Body and Soul" and "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do," accompanied by jazzman Coleman Hawkins and the Chico Hamilton Quintet.

Nov. 10, 1957 - 102,368 people attended the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams game. The crowd was the largest regular-season crowd in NFL history.

Nov. 10, 1958 – The Hope Diamond was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston.

Nov. 10, 1960 – Writer Neil Gaiman was born in Portchester, England.

Nov. 10, 1963 - Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys passed for 460 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Nov. 10, 1964 - The Atlanta Braves signed a 25-year lease to play in the new Atlanta stadium.

Nov. 10, 1964 – The Evergreen City Council approved a budget that included $145,000 in expenditures from the city’s general fund.

Nov. 10, 1964 - The Evergreen City Council authorized City Clerk Miller Sellers to order four traffic lights, having received permits from the State Highway Department for the installation of lights at the intersection of Rural and West Front Streets and Cooper and West Front. A third light was to be installed at the intersection of Rural and Liberty Hill Drive (Highway 83) and another at “Four Points,” the intersection of Main Street and Highway 31 North. The council also decided to leave the traffic light at the corner of Rural Street and Court Street.

Nov. 10, 1964 - At a news conference, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said that the United States had no plans to send combat troops into Vietnam. When asked whether the United States intended to increase its activities in Vietnam, he replied, “Wait and see.” By 1969, more than 500,000 American troops were in South Vietnam.

Nov. 10, 1966 – Luther Upton graduated from Marine Corps basic training at Paris Island.

Nov. 10, 1969 – The children’s television program “Sesame Street” first aired on PBS.

Nov. 10, 1970 - The Great Wall of China opened for tourism.

Nov. 10, 1970 – During the Vietnam War, for the first time in five years, an entire week ended with no reports of American combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.

Nov. 10, 1971 – Major League Baseball pitcher Terry Pearson was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A star athlete at Pickens Academy in Carrollton and Livingston University, Pearson went on to play for the Detroit Tigers.

Nov. 10, 1971 - Communist forces bombarded the airport at the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, killing 25 persons and wounding 30. This attack was another chapter in the Communist Khmer Rouge war against the government troops of Prime Minister Lon Nol. Nine airplanes were damaged in the attack. At the same time, another Khmer Rouge unit attacked a government radio transmission facility nine miles to the northwest of the city, leaving 19 Cambodians dead. This assault left Phnom Penh without access to international communications networks for several hours.

Nov. 10, 1972 - Southern Airways Flight 49 was hijacked on a flight from Birmingham to Montgomery, Ala. Three armed men wanted by Detroit police demanded a $10 million ransom while diverting the plane from one airport to another in the United States, Canada, and Cuba, where the ordeal ended thirty hours after it began. At one point, the hijakers threatened to crash the plane into the nuclear installation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After two days, the plane landed in Havana, Cuba, where the hijakers were jailed by Fidel Castro. The hijacking resulted in heightened security measures at American airports, including required use of metal detectors.

Nov. 10, 1975 - The 729-foot freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore-hauling ship, and its crew of 29 sank and vanished during a storm in Lake Superior.

Nov. 10, 1975 - The Kansas City Royals released Harmon Killebrew. He ended his 22-year career with 573 home runs.

Nov. 10, 1982 - In Washington, D.C., the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to visitors.

Nov. 10, 1983 – Seay Field at Fort Bragg, N.C. was dedicated in honor of U.S. Army Sgt. William W. Seay of Brewton, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Aug. 25, 1968 near Ap Nhi, Republic of Vietnam.

Nov. 10, 1983 - Fred Cohen demonstrated the first computer virus.

Nov. 10, 1984 - The University of Maryland’s backup quarterback Frank Reich threw six touchdown passes against the University of Miami in the second half of the Orange Bowl. The Terrapins, who had been losing 31-0 at the half, ended up winning the game 42-40.

Nov. 10, 1986 – Three days after the death of Conecuh County (Ala.) Commission Chairman David L. Burt, the commission voted unanimously to appoint his widow, Katie Sue Burt, to fill the rest of his unexpired term in office.

Nov. 10, 1991 - Bernie Kosar ended his NFL record streak of 308 passes without an interception.

Nov. 10-12, 1992 – Evergreen, Ala. weather reporter Harry Ellis reported a total of 2.88 inches of rain over this three-day period. He reported .25 inches on Nov. 10, .88 inches on Nov. 11 and 1.75 inches on Nov. 12.

Nov. 10, 1994 – The Evergreen Courant reported that renovations to the Evergreen (Ala.) Post Office had begun to make the building handicap accessible, which included the installation of a ramp. West Tumbleson of Kentucky was the contractor for the job, which he predicted would take several weeks to complete.

Nov. 10, 1994 - Iraq recognized Kuwait's borders in the hope that the action would end trade sanctions.

Nov. 10, 1995 – In the opening round of the Class 1A state playoffs, Frisco City High School, under head coach John Harper, beat Houston Academy, 20-0, in Dothan. Frisco’s victory over the Area 7 champion stunned some, because the Whippets had suffered an 18-6 loss to the Raiders just three weeks before in a regular season game in Frisco City. Standout Frisco players in the playoff game included Jimbo Cave, Randy Coleman, Walter Lambert, Eddie Logan, Bryne Malone, Ronald Parker, Quamie Richardson, Johnny Sirmon and Ken Sirmon.

Nov. 10, 1996 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 50,000 yards.

Nov. 10, 1998 – In “V for Vendetta,” Evey gave V a Viking funeral. The Head was destroyed. V welcomed Dominic to the Shadow Gallery. Finch walked along a deserted highway, heading North.

Nov. 10, 2006 – The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia was opened and dedicated by U.S. President George W. Bush, who announced that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor.