Today in History for June 19, 2017

June 19, 1586 – English colonists left Roanoke Island, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in North America.

June 19, 1623 – Mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

June 19, 1776 - Benedict Arnold notified General Sullivan that his garrison had successfully moved out of Montreal and that they had seized some spirits and molasses in that town.

June 19, 1776 - In Boston Harbor, an armed Connecticut vessel along with several schooners seized two British ships and took 200 sailors and soldiers prisoner.

June 19, 1778 - The Patriots returned to Philadelphia after nine months of British occupation. The British had abandoned the city the previous day.

June 19, 1778 - U.S. General George Washington's troops finally left Valley Forge after a winter of training.

June 19, 1846 – The first officially recorded, organized baseball game was played under Alexander Cartwright's rules on Hoboken, New Jersey's Elysian Fields with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the Knickerbockers, 23-1. Cartwright umpired.

June 19, 1850 - Author Louise Clarke Pyrnelle was born on her father's plantation near Uniontown, Ala.

June 19, 1861 - All the border states had problems with sections of their territory which felt more closely aligned with the opposing side. In the case of Virginia, the mountainous parts of the state, closest to Ohio, were strongly pro-Union and resolved to do something about it. On this day, Francis H. Pierpont was named “provisional governor of Federal Virginia.” A lawyer who had made a fortune in the railroad business, he had never before held public office. The territory was later admitted to the Union as West Virginia.

June 19, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at New Creek, West Virginia.

June 19, 1862 - Union General Henry W. Benham was arrested for the Battle of Secessionville. The attack had not been approved.

June 19, 1862 – The U.S. Congress prohibited slavery in United States territories, nullifying Dred Scott v. Sandford. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln also outlined his Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in U.S. territories.

June 19, 1862 - President Abraham Lincoln outlined his Emancipation Proclamation. News of the document reached the South, and Southerners realized they couldn't stop the inevitable.

June 19, 1862 - Every war produces an arms race, and the American Civil War, coming as it did at a time of technological advancement anyway, was no exception. One such new nastiness was put to work in the James River on this day. Commander Maury of the Confederate States Navy was in charge of placing “electric mines” near Chaffin’s Bluff to deter Union ships. Explosive charges were to propel pieces of boiler plate through a watertight wooden barrel. The batteries that powered the detonators were borrowed from the University of Virginia.

June 19, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Lenoir's Station, Tenn.; on the Greenleaf Praire, Oklahoma; and near Petersburg, West Virginia. An action also occurred on the Coldwater River in Mississippi.

June 19, 1863 – During the Civil War, the siege at Vicksburg, Miss. entered Day 32.

June 19, 1864 – The most successful and feared Confederate commerce raider of the Civil War, the CSS Alabama, captained by Mobile’s Raphael Semmes, was sunk at the end of a fierce and spectacular naval battle with the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Cherbourg, France. The Alabama had docked there for maintenance and repairs after 22 months of destroying northern commerce on the high seas during the Civil War. During its career, the Alabama captured 66 ships and was hunted by more than 20 Federal warships.

June 19, 1864 – During the Civil War, the Siege of Petersburg, Va. began.

June 19, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Noyes' Creek, Ga.; at Eagle Pass, Texas; and at Iron Bridge, Oklahoma. An affair also occurred at Grossetete Bayou, Louisiana.

June 19, 1865 – Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas were finally informed of their freedom. The anniversary is still officially celebrated in Texas and 41 other contiguous states as Juneteenth.

June 19, 1903 – National Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman Lou Gehrig was born in New York City. He would play his entire career (1923-1939) for the New York Yankees. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.

June 19, 1903 - The baseball game between Brewton and Evergreen played in Evergreen on this Friday was said to have been “one of considerable local interest, though there was ragged playing on each side, neither of the teams having had very much practice. For the first six innings, it looked as if the game would result in a victory for Evergreen, but some bad playing on the infield by Evergreen lost the game to Brewton.” The game ended in a score of 9-6 in Brewton’s favor.

June 19, 1906 - During a thunderstorm on this Tuesday morning, a negro man and mule were killed and three negro women were severely shocked by lightning on the David Watts plantation in Wilcox County. The unfortunate people sought shelter from the storm under a tree in the field where they were at work. Lightning struck the tree, killing the man and mule outright and rendering the women unconscious.

June 19, 1906 – German SS officer Walter Rauff was born in Köthen, Germany.

June 19, 1910 - The real Karl Ruprecht, the basis for the fictional Col. Karl Ruprecht Kroenen in “Hellboy,” was born in Gratkorn. He grew up to become an Austrian Nazi official and folklorist. He studied German and English philology and folklore at the University of Graz, then at the University of Vienna, and then from 1934 on at the University of Königsberg.

June 19, 1916 - J. Daniels of the Tunnel Springs Turpentine Co. was a business visitor to Monroeville on this Monday.

June 19, 1917 - Miss Mittie Harris was expected to give a recital at the Camden Grammar School Auditorium on this Tuesday evening at 8:30 p.m. She planned to present the dramatic reading, “All of a Sudden, Peg.” Admission was 25 cents. Harris was a gifted elocutionist and an enjoyable evening was assured.

June 19, 1917 - During the third year of World War I, Britain’s King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with the use of German titles and surnames, changing the surname of his own family, the decidedly Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to Windsor.

June 19, 1919 – Film critic Pauline Kael was born in Petaluma, Calif.

June 19, 1924 – Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle Leo Nomellini was born in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. He went on to play for Minnesota and the San Francisco 49ers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

June 19, 1927 - John Pierce, Virgil Brooks, J.J. Pierce and his grandson, Otis Pierce of Evergreen, left on this Sunday morning for the Alabama River, where they planned to spend a few days on a fishing trip.

June 19, 1934 - The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration was established.

June 19, 1934 – The Communications Act of 1934 established the United States' Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate radio and TV broadcasting.

June 19, 1937 – On this Saturday night, Edward Farish, Mattie Farish, Earl Brown and two mules were injured when a car driven by Richard Brown collided with a wagon occupied by Edward Farish, Mattie Farish and Robert Farish. The accident occurred “on the highway leading to Evergreen just a short distance east of the overhead bridge.” Edward Farish, Mattie Farish and Earl Brown, who was a passenger in the car, were taken to Carter’s Hospital in Repton for treatment.

June 19, 1943 - The National Football League approved the merger of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

June 19, 1945 – Short-story writer and memoirist Tobias Wolff, best known for his memoir, “This Boy’s Life,” was born in Birmingham, Ala.

June 19, 1945 - Author Paul Allen was born in Selma, Ala.

June 19, 1945 – Music journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus was born in San Francisco.

June 19, 1945 - At a regular communication of Alabama Lodge No. 3, held on this day, the following officers were elected: A.M. Thompson, Worshipful Master; J.T. McArthur, Senior Warden; V.M. Genwright, Junior Warden; W.N. Wiggins, Treasurer; W.S. Nash, Secretary; K. Branum, Senior Deacon; L.R. Gulsby, Junior Deacon; Alvin Luker, Tyler; B.H. Bailey, Marshal.

June 19, 1947 – Novelist Salman Rushdie was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.

June 19, 1952 – A giant, new power transformer was unloaded from a railroad car in Evergreen, Ala. and moved to the substation near the Evergreen city limits on U.S. Highway 31. To load the 103,000-pound transformer on the truck, a ramp had to be built so that the truck’s body was even with the railroad car. When this was done, the huge 14,400 KVA transformer was lifted with powerful jacks and rollers placed under it so that it could be moved onto the truck.

June 19, 1961 – Kuwait declared complete independence from the United Kingdom.

June 19, 1964 – The final episode of the TV show, “The Twilight Zone,” aired on CBS after a five-year run. The iconic series, hosted by Rod Serling (who wrote 92 of its episodes) was known for using sci-fi to relay strong social commentary. TZ had a healthy afterlife in syndication, and spawned two TV remakes, and a feature film.

June 19, 1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by the U.S. Senate.

June 19, 1965 – Air Vice-Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ became Prime Minister of South Vietnam at the head of a military junta; General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu became the figurehead chief of state.

June 19, 1968 - In a public ceremony at Hue, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu signed a general mobilization bill. Under the new measure, men between the ages of 18 and 43 were subject to induction into the regular armed forces. Men between the ages of 44 and 50 and youths between 16 and 17 years old were eligible to serve in the part-time civilian People’s Self Defense Organization.

June 19, 1969 – Beginning on this Thursday, a special one-week showing of “Gone with the Wind” was scheduled to be presented at the Pix Theatre in Evergreen, Ala. It was not to be shown in the area for another seven years.

June 19, 1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the anti-trust exemption that Major League Baseball uses was constitutional. The court called upon the U.S. Congress to repeal the sport's special status.

June 19, 1973 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds got his 2,000th career hit.

June 19, 1979 – Explorer and scholar Paul Popenoe died in Miami, Fla. at the age of 90.

June 19, 1981 - "Superman II" set the all-time, one-day record for theater box-office receipts when it took in $5.5 million.

June 19, 1997 – Alabama State Senator Pat Lindsey presented the public library in Evergreen, Ala. with a $7,000 check “for any purchases that will help the library to grow.” Accepting the check were Library Board Chairman Rebekah Poole, Vice Chairman-Secretary Joye Fordham and Library Director Vern Steenwyk.

June 19, 1999 - Stephen King was struck from behind by a mini-van while walking along a road in Maine.

June 19, 1999 – On this Saturday morning, eight members of the Bower Memorial Baptist Church in Evergreen joined 63 others in the Bethlehem Association in Monroe County for a weeklong mission trip to Monticello, Ky., where they help build a new church building for the Steubenville Baptist Church. The eight people from Evergreen who went on the trip were Warren Johnston, Lottie Johnston, Rodger Carroll, Laura Carroll, Travis Cobb, Betty Powell, Geraldine Denton and Hughie Denton.

June 19, 2003 - Presley-Fluker finished their season as the 2003 Babe Ruth League Champions on this day. Members of the team were Justin Gary, John Goodson, Nick Klaetsch, J.T. Murphy, Ryan Moore, Coach Glen Gary, Darvin Mims, Jesse Crawford, Jonas Claiborne, Chase Brown, Coach Jonas Claiborne, Daniel Ballard, Quinton Lee and Austin Murphy.

June 19, 2007 – Tuscaloosa, Ala. native Andy Phillips was called up to the New York Yankees after Josh Phelps was designated for assignment. Throughout the 2007 season, Phillips became an important part of the team as a result of injuries to first baseman Jason Giambi and Doug Mientkiewicz. Due to these injuries, Phillips found himself used in the role of primary first baseman for the Yankees.

June 19, 2007 – The al-Khilani Mosque bombing in Baghdad left 78 people dead and another 218 injured.

June 19, 2008 – The Monroe Journal reported that Excel’s White Sox had captured first place in the South Monroe Little League’s Major League division for players ages 11-12 that season with a 13-3 record. Team members were Drew Greene, Colin Welch, Dylan Goodman, Brett Gorum, Christian Gross, Peyton Thrasher, Coach Tad McMullen, Jake Tucker, Cameron Bratcher, Ty McMullen, Manager Billy Hyde, Lawrence Hyde, Dusty Greene and Coach Keith Greene.