Today in History for Nov. 22, 2016

Walter Reed

Nov. 22, 1307 – Pope Clement V issued the papal bull “Pastoralis Praeeminentiae” which instructed all Christian monarchs in Europe to arrest all Templars and seize their assets.

Nov. 22, 1574 – Spanish navigator Juan Fernández discovered islands now known as the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile.

Nov. 22, 1643 – French-Amerian explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was born in Rouen, Normandy, France.

Nov. 22, 1718 – During a battle off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") was killed in battle with a boarding party led by Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard.

Nov. 22, 1763 – British Lt. Thomas Ford took possession of Fort Tombecbee, located on Jones’ Bluff, on the west side of the Tombigbee River in Sumter County, Ala., and he renamed it Fort York.

Nov. 22, 1783 - John Hanson, the first president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation, died in his home state of Maryland.

Nov. 22, 1812 – During the War of 1812, seventeen Indiana Rangers were killed at the Battle of Wild Cat Creek.

Nov. 22, 1819 – Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the name “George Eliot,” was born in Warwickshire, England. She is best known for her novels “Adam Bede” (1859) and “Middlemarch” (1871).

Nov. 22, 1819 – Coffeeville, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Nov. 22, 1823 - Alabama author John Gorman Barr was born in Milton, N.C.

Nov. 22, 1825 - Benjamin Faneuil Porter was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in Charleston, S.C. at the age of 18. He joined the law office of the Honorable George B. Eckhart and remained there until the fall of 1828. He would go on to become a doctor and lawyer, live in Claiborne, Ala. for about six years, before becoming a state legislator, judge and Mayor of Greenville, Ala.

Nov. 22, 1833 - Whipple Van Buren Phillips, the grandfather of H.P. Lovecraft, was born in Moosup Valley, Foster, Rhode Island.

Nov. 22, 1861 – During the Civil War, the Confederate Department of the Indian Territory was established.

Nov. 22, 1861 – During the Civil War, a two-day Federal bombardment of Confederate lines about Pensacola, FL, including Forts Barrancas and McRee, began.

Nov. 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, a seven-day Federal expedition from Fort Ruby, in the Nevada Territory, to the Sierra Nevada Mountains began.

Nov. 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Confederate salt works facilities in Matthews County, Va. were destroyed.

Nov. 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, a Federal reconnaissance mission from Williamsburg, Va. toward the Chickahominy River began.

Nov. 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Winchester, Va. and near Halltown, West Virginia.

Nov. 22, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Lake Borgne, La.; near Houston, Mo.; at Fayette, Miss.; and near Winchester, Tenn. A skirmish also began at Camp Davies and moved on toward Rienzi, Miss.

Nov. 22, 1863 – During the Civil War, a nine-day Federal expedition began against Fort Esperanza on Matagorda Island in Texas.

Nov. 22, 1864 – During the Civil War, a three-day Federal expedition from Devall’s Bluff to Augusta, Ark. began.

Nov. 22, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Griswoldville, Ga.; at Lawrenceburg, Tenn.; and at Front Royal, Rude’s Hill and Mount Jackson, Va.

Nov. 22, 1864 – During the Civil War, Confederate General John Bell Hood began the Franklin-Nashville Campaign by invading Tennessee in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to draw Union General William T. Sherman from Georgia.

Nov. 22, 1877 - Alabama sportswriter Bozeman Bulger was born in Dadeville, Ala.

Nov. 22, 1888 – The lumber mill at Fulton, Ala. officially began as a partnership between Marcus B. Behrman and Joseph Zimmerman who had acquired eight acres of land and a total of $3,850 each in either cash or real property to form the Virgin Pine Lumber Company.

Nov. 22, 1889 – The Monroe Journal reported that the “loud noise which we heard (at River Ridge) some time ago was a large meteor. It fell about three o’clock in the evening.”

Nov. 22, 1895 – Three warehouses, containing furniture, undertakers’ goods, grain, groceries and other items, between the Savage & Roberts store and the Locklin House at Perdue Hill were destroyed by fire on this night. The fire was believed to have been caused by arson.

Nov. 22, 1899 - The Marconi Wireless Company of America was incorporated in New Jersey.

Nov. 22, 1899 - Alabama author Howell Vines was born in Short Creek, Ala.

Nov. 22, 1902 – Dr. Walter Reed, who served as post surgeon at the Mount Vernon Arsenal and Barracks in the 1880s, passed away in Washington, D.C. at the age of 51. He died from peritonitis due to a ruptured appendix and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Nov. 22, 1907 – The flag of the Conecuh Guards was presented to the Alabama Department of Archives and History by Col. Pickney D. Bowles and Capt. James W. Darby, both formerly of the 4th Alabama Infantry, a.k.a. the “Conecuh Guards.”

Nov. 22, 1914 – Paranormal author Charles Berlitz was born in New York, N.Y.

Nov. 22, 1914 – Escambia County, Ala. Tax Collector W.J. Holland, one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Escambia County, Ala. died at his home in Brewton after a short illness. Holland, a 67-year-old Mason, moved to Escambia County from Conecuh County in 1872 and served 17 years as Escambia County Tax Collector. Prior to his death, he’d served four consecutive terms as tax collector and was a little over a year into his present term when he died.

Nov. 22, 1915 – R.G. Scott of Eliska and his son, U.S. Army Lt. Charles Scott, visited The Monroe Journal. The War Department had assigned Lt. Scott to an “important post” in the Philippines, and he was set to depart for that assignment in early December. In the meantime, Lt. Scott was spending a few weeks with his parents at Eliska.

Nov. 22, 1916 - Jack London, one of the best novelists to chronicle the last wild western frontier of Alaska, died at the age of 40 from kidney failure in Glen Ellen, California.

Nov. 22, 1917 – Italian-German archaeologist and explorer Teoberto Maler died at the age of 75 in Mérida, Yucatán. Most of his career was devoted to documenting the ruins of the Maya civilization.

Nov. 22, 1919 – Argentinian explorer and academic Francisco Moreno died at the age of 67 in Buenos Aires. Moreno has been credited as one of the most influential figures in the Argentine incorporation of large parts of Patagonia.

Nov. 22, 1923 – The home of Judge F.J. Dean in Evergreen, Ala. was completely destroyed by fire during the afternoon. The orgin of the fire was unknown, but it was believed to have been caused by “rats in the attic igniting a match.”

Nov. 22, 1926 – Major League Baseball pitcher Lew Burdette was born in Nitro, West Va. He would go on to play for the New York Yankees, the Boston Braves, the Milwaukee Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies and the California Angles.

Nov. 22, 1927 – The musical “Funny Face” premiered on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre in Midtown Manhattan). Starring Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele, the musical was penned by brothers George and Ira Gershwin, and the musical ran for 244 performances, largely due to the dancing of Fred and Adele. “Funny Face” also marked the first time Fred Astaire danced in a top hat and tails, which would become his trademark.

Nov. 22, 1931 – The football (soccer) club Al-Mina'a Sports Club was founded in Iraq. Based in Al Maqal, Basra, the club plays in Iraqi Premier League and is one of the most popular clubs in Iraq football, particularly in the south.

Nov. 22, 1931 – Wilcox County Probate Judge Patrick McArthur Dannelly, 60, died in a Montgomery hospital of injuries suffered in an automobile accident about 10 miles from Montgomery on the Mobile Road on Nov. 19. He was buried on Nov. 23.

Nov. 22, 1941 - Wade Johnson of Excel killed a 10-point buck on the T.R. Miller property in Cedar Creek swamp on this Saturday morning. The buck weighed 160 pounds when dressed and carried a perfect set of antlers. Johnson was hunting with Jess Beasley of Brewton when the deer was killed.

Nov. 22, 1943 – Major League Baseball pitcher Wade Blasingame was born in Deming, New Mexico. He would go on to pitch for the Milwaukee Braves, the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees.

Nov. 22, 1946 - Ceylon P. Strong was elected chairman of the board of directors of the recently organized Hospital Association of Conecuh County at a meeting of the directors representing the several beats of the county, which was held at the Sunday School building of the M.E. Church on this Friday night.

Nov. 22, 1950 – Major League Baseball left fielder and designated hitter Greg “The Bull” Luzinski was born in Chicago, Ill. He would go on to play for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox.

Nov. 22, 1950 – Major League Baseball outfielder Lyman Bostock was born in Birmingham, Ala. He went on to play for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels.

Nov. 22, 1952 – President Harry S. Truman, a prominent Freemason, donated to the Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, S.J., a stone removed from the White House during its restoration and rebuilding. The stone shows an interlaced square and compasses with a vertical bar descending to a small cross bar on its left side.

Nov. 22, 1957 – Alabama assistant football coach Jerry Claiborne attended the Excel-W.S. Neal football game in East Brewton to scout a Neal fullback. Instead, he discovered a 6-foot, 190-pound Excel junior named Lee Roy Jordan.

Nov. 22, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that “Bobbie,” – Conecuh County’s “Panhandling Dog” – had collected $40 at Claud Murphy’s Store for the United Fund. The year before, the trained dog collected $60 for the United Fund, tuberculosis and cancer charity drives.

Nov. 22, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Barbara Stinston had been named Miss Homecoming and Brenda Ellis Miss Football during Evergreen High School’s recent homecoming activities. Gayle Ryland was crowning homecoming queen during Repton High School’s homecoming game.

Nov. 22, 1963 – About 12:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Texas Governor John Connally was seriously wounded while riding in a motorcade. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was later inaugurated as the 36th U.S. President. Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald was later captured and charged with the murder of both the President and police officer J. D. Tippit. Oswald was shot dead two days later by Jack Ruby while in police custody.

Nov. 22, 1967 - General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam, briefed officials at the Pentagon and said that the battle around Dak To was “the beginning of a great defeat for the enemy.”

Nov. 22, 1968 – The Beatles released “The Beatles” (known popularly as “The White Album”).

Nov. 22, 1969 - Graphic novelist, illustrator, and film director Marjane Satrapi was born in Rasht, Iran. She is best-known for her memoirs told in graphic novel form, “Persepolis” (2002) and “Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return” (2005), which detail her childhood and early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution. The titles are a reference to the capitol of the Persian empire, Persepolis.

Nov. 22, 1972 - The United States lost its first B-52 of the war. The eight-engine bomber was brought down by a North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile near Vinh on the day when B-52s flew their heaviest raids of the war over North Vietnam. The Communistss claimed 19 B-52s shot down to date.

Nov. 22, 1975 - "Dr. Zhivago" appeared on TV for the first time. NBC paid $4 million for the broadcast rights.

Nov. 22, 1980 - Twenty-five high school seniors were scheduled to compete for the 1981 Monroe County Junior Miss title on this Saturday night, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the Patrick Henry Junior College auditorium in Monroeville, Ala. Contestants included Diane Brake, Pamela Ann Brown, Lyn Byrd, Sheryll Arlene Chandler, DeLois A. Clausell, Pamela L. Corbett, Angie Crawford, Linda Godwin, Debra Lynn Horton, Cathy Kelly, Lisa Lloyd, Genevelyn Yvonne Logan, Lori Lynne Moore, Jennifer Anne Nettles, Lisa Faye Nettles, Gwendolyn Elaine Odom, Collins Denise Parker, Kelli Elena Reynolds, Marcia Stallworth, Emily Swift, Fairy Watson, Margaret Kay Watson, Mary Beth Whiddon, Sharon Denise Wiggins and Tammy Lynn Wiggins.

Nov. 22, 1986 - Alabama author William Bradford Huie died in Guntersville, Ala.

Nov. 22, 1986 - An Iranian surface-to-surface missile hit a residential area in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, wounding 20 civilians.

Nov. 22, 1987 - The Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident took place. An intruder wearing a Max Headroom mask was successful in interrupting the signal of two Chicago TV stations with their own video broadcast featuring various antics.

Nov. 22, 1989 - Kathryn Thornton, a native of Montgomery and graduate of Auburn University, became the first woman to fly on a military space mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Thornton became the second woman to walk in space in 1992. Dr. Thornton retired from NASA in 1996 to join the faculty of the University of Virginia.

Nov. 22, 1992 – The Rhonda Morrison murder and Walter “Johnny D” McMillian case was profiled on 60 Minutes.

Nov. 22, 2003 – During what is now referred to at the “Baghdad DHL Attempted Shootdown Incident,” shortly after takeoff from Baghdad International Airport, a DHL Express cargo plane was struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile and forced to land.