Today in History for Aug. 16, 2017

The famous Stokes Alligator of Wilcox County, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1679 – English philosopher and playwright Catharine Trotter Cockburn was born in London.

Aug. 16, 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Americans led by General John Stark routed British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, N.Y.

Aug. 16, 1777 - General Nicholas Herkimer died from the wounds he had suffered 10 days earlier when his men were ambushed attempting to relieve Fort Stanwix.

Aug. 16, 1780 – During the American Revolutionary War, at the Battle of Camden, the British, under General Charles Cornwallis, defeated Americans, under the command of General Horatio Gates, near Camden, South Carolina.

Aug. 16, 1812 – During the War of 1812, American General William Hull surrendered Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army and Indian fighters led by Tecumseh.

Aug. 16, 1854 – George Clothies was commissioned for his second of two terms as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Aug. 16, 1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Aug. 16, 1861 – During the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.

Aug. 16, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Sandy Hook, Md.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, George McClellan completed the evacuation of Harrison's Landing, ending the Peninsula Campaign. His men landed at Aquia Creek, Va. and Alexandria, Va. within the week, but most were reassigned to John Pope's Army of Virginia.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, Don Carlos Buell ordered William "Bull" Nelson to assume command of federal forces in Kentucky.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, Brigadier General Charles Stone was released from prison in New York.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, Corpus Christi, Texas was bombarded by Union forces.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, an action took place at Lone Jack, Mo., and skirmishes were fought near Corinth and at Horn Lake Creek, Miss.; at Wire Bridge, W.Va.; and at Merewether’s Ferry, Tenn.

Aug. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Dakota (Sioux) uprising began when Minnesota erupted in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attacked white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Dakota were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.

Aug. 16, 1863 – During the Civil War, the Chickamauga Campaign began and continued until Sept. 22.

Aug. 16, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Harrison's Landing, Ark. and at Falls Church, Va.

Aug. 16, 1864 - Confederate General John Chambliss was killed during a cavalry charge at Deep Bottom, Va., one of the sieges of Petersburg. His body was recovered by a former West Point classmate, Union General David Gregg, who made a surprising discovery: a detailed map of the Richmond defenses. Copies of the map were distributed to all Union officers in the area within 48 hours, and it may not have helped the Union capture Richmond–that would take another seven months–but it may have reduced casualties by preventing foolhardy attacks on well-defended positions.

Aug. 16, 1864 - Union General Philip Sheridan pulled back from Winchester, Va. to wait for reinforcements.

Aug. 16, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Richland Creek, Ark. and near Columbia, Mo.

Aug. 16, 1879 – In a habeas corpus proceeding in Monroe County, Ala. on this day, Judge Henry sustained Judge Sowell’s decision in the murder case involving Charles Roberts and D.W. Rankin. Henry agreed that Sowell had the legal right to re-arrest Roberts and try him for murder.

Aug. 16, 1886 - The thermometer registered 100 degrees in the shade on this Monday in Monroeville, according to The Monroe Journal.

Aug. 16, 1886 - The Monroeville Post Office was authorized on this Monday to begin issuing Postal Notes and Money Orders.

Aug. 16, 1886 - A “Rain Bow” party was given at the residence of Emma Seymours on this Monday night, according to The Monroe Journal.

Aug. 16, 1888 – Thomas Edward Lawrence, aka “Lawrence of Arabia,” was born in Tremadoc, Wales. “T.E.,” as he liked to be called, was an archaeologist and scholar and military strategist. His book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” (1926) was an account of his exploits as a military advisor to Arabs in their revolt against the Turks, and was the basis for the film “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962).

Aug. 16, 1892 - Glorvina Johnston Rush passed away at the age of 74 and is buried in the McIntosh Cemetery. In 1860, she and her husband donated the land where Andrews Chapel was constructed in McIntosh, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discovered gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

Aug. 16, 1904 - Alabama author Prentiss Ingraham died in Biloxi, Miss.

Aug. 16, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Jones Mill, Ala. community, that W.L. Middleton was “rearing up a fine, two-story dwelling at this place which will be quite a handsome building when completed.”

Aug. 16, 1908 – Novelist and editor William Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Ill.

Aug. 16, 1911 – The Evergreen Courant reported that E.C. Lee was preparing to erect a handsome two-story residence on the site of his present home on Main and Shipp streets. J. Golightly was the contractor.

Aug. 16, 1916 – Evergreen’s baseball team beat Belleville, 19-9, on this Wednesday in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1917 – The Monroe Journal reported that A.C. Lee and Q. Salter were business visitors to New Orleans during the previous week.

Aug. 16, 1917 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Jennie Faulk had left a few days before for Atlanta to select her fall stock of millinery.

Aug. 16, 1917 – The Monroe Journal reported that the work of demolishing the old grammar school building was well advanced and the material for the new brick structure was arriving. Dirt was to be broken for the erection of the new edifice within a few days and the building was to be rushed to completion as rapidly as possible. It was hoped to have it ready for occupancy by the usual date for the opening of the school term.

Aug. 16, 1917 – The Monroe Journal reported that, after canvassing a portion of the county, Prof. W.L. Porter reported the prospects favorable for a prosperous opening of the seventh annual session of the Monroe County High School on Sept. 10. Practically all undergraduates in school during the previous session signified their intention of returning, while a number of public school pupils who were awarded seventh grade certificates at the recent examinations would probably enter the High School during its next session.

Aug. 16, 1917 – The Monroe Journal reported that the Rev. A.J. Kempton had accepted calls to the pastorate of the Baptist churches at Excel and Ollie for the remainder of the year. The Ollie church was served on the afternoon of the first Sabbath in each month; Excel, morning and evening of the second Sunday. The appointment at Roy on the third Sunday, morning and evening, was to be continued unchanged.

Aug. 16, 1917 - In a renewed thrust of the Allied offensive launched at the end of July in the Flanders region of Belgium—known as the Third Battle of Ypres, or simply as Passchendaele, for the village that saw the heaviest fighting—British troops captured the village of Langemarck from the Germans.

Aug. 16, 1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit on the temple by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and died early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.

Aug. 16, 1920 – Poet Charles Bukowski was born in Andernach, Germany.

Aug. 16, 1930 – Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback and flanker Frank Gifford was born in Santa Monica, Calif. He went on to play for Southern Cal and the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.

Aug. 16, 1942 – During World War II, the two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappeared without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifted without her crew and crash-landed in Daly City, Calif.

Aug. 16, 1943 – NFL guard Woody Peoples was born in Birmingham, Ala. He went on to play for Grambling, the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Aug. 16, 1945 – The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the National Assembly of Vietnam, convened in Sơn Dương.

Aug. 16, 1948 – National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder and pitcher George Herman "Babe" Ruth died from throat cancer in New York City at the age of 53 and was buried in Hawthorne, N.Y. During his career, he played for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Boston Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Aug. 16, 1950 - Monroe County High School Coach LeVaughn Hanks announced on this Wednesday that football practice for the 1950 MCHS team would get underway on Mon., Aug. 20, at 9 a.m. at the high school in Monroeville. Equipment was to be issued at that time and Coach Hanks urged all candidates to be on hand.

Aug. 16, 1951 - Alabama author Judy Troy was born in Chicago, Ill.

Aug. 16, 1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.

Aug. 16, 1956 – The Evergreen Courant reported that one of the smallest squads in recent years was to greet head coach Wendell Hart on Fri., Aug. 24, when initial football drills were to begin at Evergreen High School. Hart expected about 30 boys out, but there would several more by the time school opened in September. The squad was expected to be one of the shortest on manpower, depth and experience to represent the local school in the previous five years. Only six lettermen were returning from 1955’s fine team, five linemen and only one back. Returning lettermen were Captain Wayne Frazier, tackle, alternate captain Russell Deason, tackle, James Nelson, guard, Bert Cook, end, Mickey Joyner, end, and Bert Tuggle, halfback. Opening drills would be limited to conditioning workouts with the boys really getting down to the hard work about the middle of the following week. As soon as the boys got into shape, the work would be long and hard as there would be only a little over two weeks after the first practice until the tough season’s opener with Atmore. As of this date, there still was no replacement to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of assistant coach John Robinson, who resigned the previous week. There was an extreme shortage of both teachers and coaches across the state at that time.

Aug. 16, 1956 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Miss Willie Anna Hanks, daughter of Mrs. Opal Hanks of Annex, was chosen Conecuh County Maid of Cotton at the annual Farm Bureau meeting in Evergreen during the previous week. Miss Nell Freeman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Freeman of Old Town, was chosen alternate.

Aug. 16, 1956 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the battle for dominance in the Evergreen Senior Baseball League continued close all the way as only one game separated the leading Barons and the cellar-dwelling Chicks. The Crackers and the Bears were tied for second place with even .500 averages, only a half game off the pace. Howard Claybrook led the batters in the League with a .650 average closely followed by Bill Ivey with a .642 and Robert Ellington with an even .600. Other leading batters included Byron Warren Jr., .467; George Bolton, .467; Gordon Sims, .454; Dale Wiggins, .442; Gerald Howington, .388; Billie Grace, .367; and Leland Burgess, .317.

Aug. 16, 1956 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Castleberry’s municipal election was to be held on Sept. 17, according to an announcement by Mayor Jack Holland. Officers to be elected in the general election were to include the mayor and five councilmen. Qualifying began on Aug. 8, and was to remain open until Aug. 28. No primary was to be held that year. Incumbents were: mayor, Jack Holland; councilmen, Joe H. Carr, B.H. Mahoney, Henry Kirksey, R.T. Baggett and C.J. Jackson. Up to Aug. 16, only one man had qualified for office. Hassett Green had qualified for mayor. He owned a grocery store in Castleberry, and was a retired electrician. He was a well known and respected citizen of Castleberry.

Aug. 16, 1959 - Dial telephone service was expected to go into operation on this Sunday in Monroeville. Plans were proceeding for the conversion of local phones from the common battery system to a dial exchange on Saturday night (Aug. 15), Miss Myrtle Fore, secretary, Monroeville Telephone Co., said on Wed., Aug. 12. Conversion to the dial exchange in Monroeville was expected to cut in half the number of 22 operators employed at that time. Fore stated directories would be mailed on Wed., Aug. 12, listing numbers on all dial exchanges in the county.

Aug. 16, 1960 – The Evergreen (Ala.) Quarterback Club was scheduled to meet at the Recreation Center at 7:30 p.m. in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1962 – The famous lineup of The Beatles was formed when drummer Pete Best was discharged from the band, and Ringo Starr was brought on.

Aug. 16, 1964 – During the Vietnam War, a coup d'état replaced Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam, and a new constitution was established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.

Aug. 16, 1964 – Groundbreaking services were held for a new education building at the Monroeville (Ala.) Presbyterian Church. W.P. Dennis, the oldest member of the church, turned the first shovel of dirt at the ceremonies. Rev. V.O. Titterud, pastor, then gave prayer and blessed the undertaking. Construction began the following day.

Aug. 16, 1966 – During the Vietnam War, the House Un-American Activities Committee began investigations of Americans who had aided the Viet Cong.

Aug. 16, 1967 - President Johnson’s broad interpretation of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was attacked in the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee by the Chairman, Senator William Fulbright of Arkansas, who felt that Johnson had no mandate to conduct the war on the present scale.

Aug. 16, 1972 - U.S. fighter-bombers flew 370 air strikes against North Vietnam, the highest daily total of the year; additionally, there were eight B-52 strikes in the North. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes flew 321 missions (including 27 B-52 strikes) in South Vietnam, mostly in Quang Tri province. Despite this heavy air activity, hopes for an agreement to end the war rose as Henry Kissinger left Paris to confer with President Thieu and his advisers.

Aug. 16, 1977 - Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in Memphis, Tenn. of coronary arrhythmia.

Aug. 16, 1981 - Cal Ripken Jr. got his first Major League hit.

Aug. 16, 1981 – Law enforcement officers seized over 500 marijuana stalks, three to eight feet tall, from a location about five miles from Evergreen, Ala. on this Sunday morning. The marijuana had a street value of about $116,000 and a wholesale value of about $60,000. Law enforcement officers taking part in the seizure included ABC Agent George Grantt, Conecuh County Sheriff Edwin Booker, ABC Agent Bobby Davis, Evergreen police officers Johnny Blackmon and James Powell and Chief Deputy Sheriff Leroy Ferrell.

Aug. 16, 1983 – National Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Earl Averill passed away in Everett, Wash. at the age of 81. During his career, he played for the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

Aug. 16, 1988 – Jeff Kimbro was named the Most Valuable Player of the Evergreen (Ala.) Junior Baseball League’s American League Division.

Aug. 16, 1988 – The Evergreen City Council accepted a low bid from Taylor Construction of Atmore for the construction of a new hangar at Middleton Field Municipal Airport in Evergreen, Ala.

Aug. 16, 1989 – A geomagnetic storm shut down Toronto’s stock market.

Aug. 16, 1990 – The Monroe County (Ala.) Board of Education approved the resignation of George Coker, the assistant principal at J.F. Shields High School in Beatrice.

Aug. 16, 1996 - In Monterrey, Mexico, the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres, and the Padres won, 15-10. It was the first-ever regular season Major League Baseball game to be played outside the United States and Canada.

Aug. 16, 2002 - The Major League Baseball players union announced that they would begin a strike on August 30.

Aug. 16, 2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush commented on the strike date set by Major League Baseball players. He said, "The baseball owners and baseball players must understand if there is a work stoppage, a lot of fans are going to be furious, and I'm one of them." The players had set a strike date of August 30 earlier in the day.

Aug. 16, 2002 - Curt Shilling of the Arizona Diamondbacks won his 20th game of the year.

Aug. 16, 2003 - Jimmy Smith of the Jacksonville Jaguars was suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Aug. 16, 2003 - Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons suffered a fractured right fibula in a 13-10 preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Aug. 16, 2014 – Mandy Stokes, John Stokes, Kevin Jenkins, Savannah Jenkins and Parker Jenkins, all of Thomaston, Ala., killed a 15-foot-long, 1,011.5-pound alligator that set the state record for largest alligator legally killed in Alabama. They initially hooked the gator around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 in a creek several miles above Millers Ferry Dam in Wilcox County and battled it for five hours before finally killing it.