Jan. 30, 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the
Commonwealth of England, was ritually executed more than two years after his
death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself
deposed.
Jan. 30, 1703 – The Forty-seven Ronin, under the command of
Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenged the death of their master.
Jan. 30, 1776 - The Continental Congress directed that no
apprentices be enlisted for military service without the written consent of
their master or mistress.
Jan. 30, 1780 - Alabama's third governor, Israel Pickens,
was born in North Carolina. The former U.S. Congressman moved to St. Stephens,
in the Mississippi Territory, in the spring of 1817 to take a job as a register
of the land office for Washington County. Wasting no time in establishing
himself in his new home, Pickens purchased almost 3,500 acres in southwest
Alabama in less than a year and became the first president of the Tombigbee
Bank of St. Stephens. He served as Alabama's governor from 1821 to 1825.
Jan. 30, 1781 - Maryland became the
13th and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, almost three
years after the official deadline given by Congress of March 10, 1778, and the
Articles took effect on March 1, 1781, remaining the law of the land for only
eight years before the Constitutional Convention rejected them in favor of a
new, more centralized form of federal government. They crafted the current U.S.
Constitution, which took effect in 1789, giving the federal government
greater authority over the states and creating a bicameral legislature
Jan. 30, 1816 - Union General Nathaniel Banks was born in
Waltham, Mass. Banks was a political general – he had few military skills, but
as an anti-slave Republican from Massachusetts, he helped President Abraham
Lincoln’s administration maintain support in that region.
Jan. 30, 1820 – Edward Bransfield sighted the Trinity
Peninsula and claimed the discovery of Antarctica.
Jan. 30, 1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a
President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot president
Andrew Jackson, but failed and was subdued by a crowd, including several
congressmen.
Jan. 30, 1847 – Edgar Allan Poe’s wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm
Poe, passed away from tuberculosis at the age of 24 in Fordham, Bronx, N.Y.
Jan. 30, 1847 - Larvae and snow fell together in the Eifel
Mountains in Germany.
Jan. 30, 1860 – Reuben F. Kolb of Kolb’s Battery married
Callie Cargile (also referred to as Mary Caledonia Cargile), the daughter of
Thomas and Louisa Ann Cargile also of Eufaula. The couple would have three
children: Reuben F. Kolb Jr., William H. Kolb, and Emily F. Kolb.
Jan. 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, the Federal revenue
schooner, Lewis Cass, was captured by Alabama State Troops in Mobile Bay, Ala.
Jan. 30, 1862 - The U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship, the
"Monitor," designed by John Ericsson, was launched at Greenpoint,
Long Island, N.Y., into New York's East River. The vessel was commissioned on
Feb. 25.
Jan. 30, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought
at Dyersburg, Tenn.; and at Deserted House, Kelly's Store, near Suffolk and at
Turner's Mills, Va. Confederates also captured the US Steamer, Issac Smith, in
the Stono River, in the vicinity of Charleston, S.C.
Jan. 30, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought
in the vicinity of Chickamauga Creek, Ga.; at Windsor, N.C.; and at Medley,
West Virginia. A five-day Federal operation also began between Batesville and
Searcy Landing, Ark., and a Federal reconnaissance began between Culpeper and
Madison Courthouse, Va.
Jan. 30, 1865 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought
near Chaplintown, Ky.; near Lake Verret and at Bayou Plantation, La.; in La
Fayette County, Mo.; and near Lawtonville, S.C. Federal reconnaissance was also
conducted from Long Bridge to Bottom’s Bridge, Va.
Jan. 30, 1878 – The Pickens County Sheriff, discovering that
citizens of the town were furious and wanted to lynch former slave Henry Wells
for burning Carrollton’s courthouse in 1876, took Wells to the new Pickens
County Courthouse and secured him in the garret room at the top of the building
in an effort to protect him. In the midst of a thunderstorm on this night,
Wells stood at the garret window, looking down at the mob that meant to kill
him. Legend says that a flash of lightning etched Wells’ face onto the window
pane.
Jan. 30, 1882 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde
Park, N.Y. He served as the thirty-second president of the United States from
1933-1945. He was the first president to serve more than two terms.
Jan. 30, 1885 – W.B. Green Sr. died at Burnt Corn, Ala. at
the age of 89. A veteran of the Seminole War of 1836, he moved to Monroe County
in 1838.
Jan. 30, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that Willie
Louiselle had returned to his home in Michigan after a visit with his son, the
Hon. W.H. Louiselle of Manistee, Ala. “The old gentleman has fallen very much
in love with south Alabama,” The Monroe Journal reported.
Jan. 30, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that A.E.
Peterman, who for several years had been “the clever and accommodating” L&N
Agent at Repton, Ala., had been transferred to Scranton, Miss., and was to be
succeeded by W.S. Teas.
Jan. 30, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that Postmaster Ricou
and his family were occupying the dwelling vacated by J.T. Salter.
Jan. 30, 1908 – The Conecuh Record reported that the Baptist
Church of Evergreen, Ala. planned to hold opening services in its “new
building.” Construction of the building began 2-1/2 years before this event and
had just reached completion.
Jan. 30, 1912 – Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
Barbara Tuchman was born in New York City. She won her first Pulitzer Prizes
for 1963’s “The Guns of August,” and she received her second for 1972’s
“Stilwell and the American Experience in China.”
Jan. 30, 1915 – William H. Wright, 28, died of consumption
on this Saturday night. His funeral was conducted the following afternoon and
was conducted by the Rev. W.T. Ellisor. Wright was buried in the Evergreen,
Ala. cemetery.
Jan. 30, 1915 – German SS officer Joachim Peiper was born
Berlin, Prussia, Imperial Germany.
Jan. 30, 1928 - A movie version of Alabama author Octavus
Roy Cohen's book, “Horns and Orange Blossoms,” was released.
Jan. 30, 1931 – National Book Award-winning novelist Shirley
Hazzard was born in Sydney, Australia.
Jan. 30, 1933 – President Paul von Hindenburg named Adolf
Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party),
as chancellor of Germany.
Jan. 30, 1933 - Capt. Dave Lewis, Lt. Homer Kindig and Lt.
Jessie Jackson attended a meeting of the officers of the National Guard in
Montgomery, Ala. on this Saturday night, according to The Evergreen Courant.
Jan. 30, 1935 – Richard Brautigan was born in Tacoma,
Washington. He is best known for his best-selling 1967 book, “Trout Fishing in
America.”
Jan. 30, 1941 - Alabama author Gregory Benford was born in
Mobile, Ala.
Jan. 30, 1942 - The P.N. Owen home, located one mile north
of Frisco City, burned early on this Friday afternoon “with only a few of the
household furnishings being saved.” The exact cause of the fire was unknown,
but the fire started in the kitchen. Owen received a few severe and minor burns
in an attempt to save a trunk.
Jan. 30, 1942 – Monroe County High School’s boys and girls
basketball teams played J.U. Blacksher in Monroeville. MCHS’s boys beat
Blacksher, 20-13, but Blacksher’s girls beat MCHS, 14-13.
Jan. 30, 1948 - Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team
stopped a last quarter rally by J.U. Blacksher High School in Evergreen, Ala.
on this Friday night to win, 44-40. Gulsby led Blacksher with 20 points. Benton
Carpenter led Evergreen with 13 points, Mickey Logue scored nine, Gillis “Crip”
Jones and Jack Cunningham had eight points.
Jan. 30, 1949 – Escaped Russian minister, the Rev. Robert
Tarzier, Field Secretary of the Russian Bible Society in Washington, D.C. spoke
at the Evergreen Baptist Church in Evergreen, Ala. “Tarzier escaped from the
Soviet secret police a little over four years ago. At that time, he was pastor
of one of the largest Baptist churches – the well known church in Riga,
Latavia.”
Jan. 30, 1950 – Ollie Finklea retired at the age of 70 from
his duties as Buena Vista, Alabama’s postmaster, a position he assumed after
his father’s retirement on June 3, 1910.
Jan. 30, 1950 – Lola B. Harwell, a fifth and sixth-grade
teacher at Georgiana (Ala.) Elementary School, died unexpectedly on this
morning in her classroom, where she had just returned from a movie that was
shown to her students. Harwell had been a teacher since September 1906 and had
never once been absent or tardy since taking her first job at Ebeneza in Butler
County. She also taught in Conecuh County and was principal at Avant in Butler
County before going to Georgiana.
Jan. 30, 1950 – For the second straight year, the strawberry
season in Castleberry, Ala. began several weeks ahead of schedule as several
growers on this day brought in crates of strawberries. Lonnie Beasley of Hamden
Ridge arrived in Castleberry with the first crate of the 1950 crop, and those
berries were sold to local buyer, R.T. Holland. Normally, the strawberry season
ran from March 15 to April 1.
Jan. 30, 1951 – Army Cpl. Oland H. Kirkland of Escambia
County, Ala. was killed in action in Korea at the age of 25. According to the
Korean War Veterans Honor Roll, Kirkland was a member of the 5th Cavalry
Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was killed in action while fighting the
enemy in South Korea. Kirkland was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat
Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service
Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean War Service Medal.
Jan. 30, 1956 - With the Montgomery Bus Boycott about to
enter its third month, segregationists bombed the home of boycott spokesman
Martin Luther King Jr. The home sustained moderate damage, but no one was
injured. The young minister addressed the large crowd that gathered after the
blast, declaring, "I want it to be known the length and breadth of this
land that if I am stopped this movement will not stop."
Jan. 30, 1964 – In a bloodless coup, General Nguyễn Khánh
overthrew General Dương Văn Minh's military junta in South Vietnam.
Jan. 30, 1965 – Isaiah Mims, 31, of Owassa was killed
instantly when his car was hit by an L&N train on this afternoon at the
main railroad crossing at Owassa, Ala. State Trooper Pitchford investigated the
accident and said that Mims “evidently heard the train approaching too late to
bring his 1957 Ford to a stop and skidded to rest on the tracks in the path of
the oncoming train.”
Jan. 30, 1965 – Some one million people attended former
Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill's funeral, the biggest in the United
Kingdom up to that point.
Jan. 30, 1966 - Alabama experienced its coldest ever
recorded temperature of -27°F at New Market in Madison County. The average low
temperature during January for nearby Huntsville was around 29°.
Jan. 30, 1968 – During the Vietnam War, what is now known as
“The Tet Offensive,” began at dawn on the first day of the Tet holiday truce,
as Viet Cong forces – supported by large numbers of North Vietnamese troops –
launched the largest and best coordinated offensive of the war, driving into
the center of South Vietnam’s seven largest cities and attacking 30 provincial
capitals from the Delta to the DMZ.
Jan. 30, 1971 – A “Rattlesnake Rodeo,” sponsored by the
Escambia-Conecuh Wildlife Association, was scheduled to get underway on this
Saturday morning. There was to be a grand prize of $100 for the largest
rattlesnake turned in during the rodeo which was scheduled to end on Feb. 6.
Contestants were required to register in advance for a $1 fee at Flo Drilling
& Pump Co. in Brewton, Ala. Area of the rodeo was limited to Escambia and
Conecuh counties. Snakes had to be turned in by 3 p.m. on Feb. 6 at Flo
Drilling & Pump Co.
Jan. 30, 1971 - Operation Dewey
Canyon II began as the initial phase of Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese
invasion of Laos that would commence on Feb. 8.
Jan. 30, 1972 – British army parachutists shot 27 unarmed
civil rights demonstrators in Derry, Northern Ireland – an event known as
“Bloody Sunday.” The protestors had been marching to oppose the new British
policy of imprisoning people without a hearing.
Jan. 30, 1974 - Christian Bale was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He would go on to portray
Bruce Wayne and the Batman in the movies “Batman Begins” (2005), “The Dark
Knight” (2008) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012).
Jan. 30, 1977 – Local weather reporter Earl Windham reported
1.01 inches of snow in Evergreen, Ala.
Jan. 30, 1978 - The defending state champion Wilcox Academy
Wildcats had to go into overtime to defeat the Sparta Warriors, 47-40, in a
game on this Monday night in Camden, Ala. Terry Peacock had 10 points; Gray Stevens,
Steve Dubose and Tony Raines, eight each; John Hall, four; and Johnny Ralls,
two. The loss dropped Sparta to 11-7 on the season, according to Sports
Information Director Byron Warren Jr.
Jan. 30, 1978 - Dr. John Dan Hagood, 71, a native of
Evergreen, Ala., died on this Monday in Santa Fe, Fla. Graveside services were
to be held in Evergreen on Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. in Magnolia Cemetery with the Rev.
Braxton McCurley officiating. Dr. Hagood was the son of the late Dr. and Mrs.
J.W. Hagood of Evergreen and a member of a prominent, pioneer South Alabama
family. He was one of Florida’s most eminent and respected surgeons and served
with distinction in the U.S. Navy in World War II.
Jan. 30, 1986 - The Evergreen (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce
was scheduled to hold its annual Promotion-Membership Banquet on this Thursday
night at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. Sheldon Morgan, well-known Mobile bank
executive, was to be the guest speaker, according to President Willene Whatley.
Whatley was to preside and report on 1985 activities and give the response and
conclusion after the program. The invocation was to be brought by Dr. Lamar
Jackson. The report of the Nominating Committee was to be given by Chairman
Gerald Salter. Judge of Probate Frank T. Salter was to introduce the speaker,
Sheldon Morgan, who was head of the marketing division of First Alabama Bank of
Mobile.
Jan. 30, 1992 – Winton M. Blount III of Montgomery, Ala. was
the keynote speaker at the Evergreen-Conecuh County Chamber of Commerce’s
annual membership banquet at the Quality Inn in Evergreen, Ala.
Jan. 30-31, 1993 – Weather observer Harry Ellis reported
lows of 29 degrees on both of these days in Evergreen, Ala.
Jan. 30, 1994 - Natalie Cole sang the U.S. national anthem
at Super Bowl XXVIII. The Dallas Cowboys won, 30-13, over the Buffalo Bills.
Jan. 30, 1994 - Alabama author Lucile Vernon Stevens died in
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Jan. 30, 1996 - Comet Hyakutake was discovered and was
dubbed “The Great Comet of 1996” due to its close passage.
Jan. 30, 2000 - The New York Mets announced that Garth
Brooks would begin training with the team on Feb. 20.
Jan. 30, 2000 - John Rocker of the Atlanta Braves was
suspended from Major League Baseball for disparaging foreigners, homosexuals
and minorities in an interview published by Sports Illustrated.
Jan. 30, 2009 – Former Alabama governor Guy Hunt passed away
from lung cancer at the age of 75 in Birmingham, Ala.
