Today in History for Oct. 16, 2017

 Lt. John Tillman Melvin

Oct. 16, 1691 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, villagers vowed to drive minster Samuel Parris out of Salem and to stop contributing to his salary.

Oct. 16, 1730 – French-American explorer and third French Governor of Louisiana Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac died at the age of 72 in Castelsarrasin, France.

Oct. 16, 1758 – Noah Webster, who published the first American dictionary, was born in Hartford, Conn.

Oct. 16, 1773 – The first public statement against the British Parliament’s Tea Act was a document printed in The Pennsylvania Gazette on this day. The document became known as the “Philadelphia Resolutions,” which urged all Americans to oppose the British tax and stated that anyone who transported, sold or consumed the taxed tea would be considered “an enemy to his country.”

Oct. 16, 1777 – Itinerant Methodist minister and author Lorenzo Dow was born in Coventry, Conn. As he passed down the Old Federal Road through Conecuh and Monroe Counties, he is believed to have delivered the first Methodist sermon in Alabama in 1803.

Oct. 16, 1780 – Royalton, Vermont and Tunbridge, Vermont were the last major raids of the American Revolutionary War.

Oct. 16, 1781 – George Washington captured Yorktown, Virginia after the Siege of Yorktown.

Oct. 16, 1793 – Marie Antoinette, widow of Louis XVI, was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution.

Oct. 16, 1814 – The “London Beer Flood” occurred in London, killing eight.

Oct. 16, 1834 – Much of the ancient structure of the Palace of Westminster in London burned to the ground.

Oct. 16, 1840 - Benjamin Faneuil Porter, a doctor and lawyer who lived in Claiborne, Ala. for about six years, before becoming a state legislator, judge and Mayor of Greenville, presided over the “Harrison Convention” in Tuscumbia.

Oct. 16, 1854 - An obscure lawyer and Congressional hopeful from the state of Illinois named Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech regarding the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which Congress had passed five months earlier. In his speech, the future president denounced the act and outlined his views on slavery, which he called "immoral."

Oct. 16, 1854 – Playwright Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland.

Oct. 16, 1859 - Abolitionist John Brown, 59, led a small group on a raid against a federal armory and arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery.

Oct. 16, 1861 – During the Civil War, Federal troops occupied Lexington, Mo. and skirmishes were fought near Linn Creek and Warsaw, Mo.

Oct. 16, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Bolivar Heights, near Harper’s Ferry, W.Va.

Oct. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Elkhorn Tavern, Ark.; at Mountain Gap and Wild Cat Mountain, Big Rockcastle Creek and Mount Vernon in Kentucky; and at Portland, Shell's Mill and Auxvasse Creek in Missouri.

Octo. 16, 1862 – During the Civil War, a two-day Federal reconnaissance from Sharpsburg, Md. to Smithfield, W.Va. began. Federal reconnaissance was also conducted from Harper’s Ferry to Charlestown in West Virginia. Skirmishes were fought en route.

Oct. 16, 1863 - U.S. President Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant to command all operations in the western theater.

Oct. 16, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Fort Brooks at Tamp Bay in Florida; at Grand Coteau, La.; at Treadwell’s, near Clinton and Vernon Crossroads, in Mississippi; on Deer Creek at Humansville and Johnstown in Missouri; at Pungo Landing, N.C.; and near Island No. 10, Tenn. A five-day Federal operation from Natchez, Miss. to Red River, La. also began.

Oct. 16, 1864 - Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest began a 25-day cavalry raid by moving part of his force to Johnsonville, Tenn. Most of his men were not in place until early November. On Nov. 4, Forrest attacked the Union supply base at Johnsonville.

Oct. 16, 1864 – During the Civil War, a Federal expedition from Devall’s Bluff aboard the steamer, Celeste, on the Cache River toward Clarnedon in Arkansas began.

Oct. 16, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Ship’s Gap, Fla.; near Morganza, La.; at Ridgley, Mo.; near Bull Gap, Tenn.; and at Blackwater River, Va. A three-day Federal expedition from City Point into Surry County in Virginia also began.

Oct. 16, 1864 – During the Civil War, an engagement was fought at Fort Brooke, Fla. Two Union ships bombarded Fort Brooke on October 16 as a diversion, while a landing party under Acting Master T.R. Harris disembarked at Ballast Point and marched 14 miles to the Hillsborough River to capture several steamers. Harris and his men surprised and captured the blockade running steamer Scottish Chief and sloop Kate Dale. The Rebels destroyed the steamer A.B. Noyes to preclude her capture. On its way back to the ship, Harris's force was surprised by a detachment of the garrison, causing casualties.

Oct. 16, 1869 - The Cardiff Giant, which turned out to be one of America's most famous hoaxes, was "discovered.”

Oct. 16, 1875 – Brigham Young University was founded in Provo, Utah.

Oct. 16, 1879 - Rev. William C. Morrow died at the age of 64 in Evergreen, Ala. He was a Presbyterian minister and his first assignment as a minister was at the Old Flat Creek Church at Turnbull in Monroe County, Ala. He is buried in the Old Beulah Cemetery in Conecuh County.

Oct. 16, 1887 – John Tillman Melvin was born in Selma, Ala. While serving as a 30-year-old Naval lieutenant aboard the patrol boat, USS Alcedo, he would become the first U.S. Naval officer killed in World War I when the ship was torpedoed by a German sub on Nov. 5, 1917. Melvin’s body was never recovered, lost at sea, but a memorial in his honor can be found at Live Oak Cemetery in Selma. The son of B.S. Melvin, he permanent address was 610 Church St. in Selma.

Oct. 16, 1888 – Playwright Eugene O’Neill was born in New York City. He went on to write 50 plays, including “The Hairy Ape” (1921), “Desire Under the Elms” (1924), “The Iceman Cometh” (1939), and “Long Day's Journey Into Night” (1941).

Oct. 16, 1893 - Alabama author Carl Carmer was born in Cortland, N.Y.

Oct. 16, 1900 – National Baseball Hall of Fame left fielder Goose Goslin was born in Salem, N.J. During his career, he played for the Washington Senators, the St. Louis Browns and the Detroit Tigers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968.

Oct. 16, 1912 - New York Giants outfielder Fred Snodgrass dropped an easy pop-up in the tenth inning of the tiebreaking eighth game of the World Series against the Red Sox. His error led to a two-run Boston rally and cost the Giants the championship.

Oct. 16, 1912 – The Evergreen Courant reported that at a recent meeting of the Conecuh County Medical Society, Dr. E.L. Stallworth was elected health officer of the county, Dr. G. Newton was elected county physician; Dr. W.F. Betts city physician.

Oct. 16, 1916 - At dawn, Private Henry Farr of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was executed for cowardice after he refused to go forward into the front-line trenches on the Western Front during World War I.

Oct. 16, 1917 - Serving aboard the USS Cassin, Alabamian Kelly Ingram became the first American serviceman killed in action during World War I. In 1918, the Navy named a destroyer after Ingram, marking the first time an enlisted man had a ship named in his honor. Congress later awarded Ingram the Medal of Honor and the City of Birmingham named Ingram Park after the Pratt City hero.

Oct. 16, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Charlie Johnson of Repton, Ala. “died from disease.”

Oct. 16, 1926 – Journalist, author, poet, radioman and teacher Riley Kelly was born in Excel, Ala. A graduate of Emory University and World War II Navy veteran, he worked for The Frisco City Sun, The Monroe Journal and WMFC. His books include “In Search of Light” (1969), “Patterns,” (1970), “The Human Way” (1974) and “Prize Cache” (1974).

Oct. 16, 1931 – Football player and coach P.W. Underwood was born in Cordova, Ala. He went on to play for Southern Miss and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He later served as head coach at Southern Miss and as an assistant coach at Auburn.

Oct. 16, 1938 - Vista Spencer Lowe was born in Pensacola, Fla. to Charles G. Lowe and Rubie Spencer Lowe. He would be killed in the line of duty as a Pensacola, Fla. firefighter in 1962.

Oct. 16, 1946 - Ten Nazi war criminals were executed by hanging after being condemned and convicted during the Nuremberg trials.

Oct. 16, 1946 - Austrian SS officer Ernst Kaltenbrunner, 43, was hanged in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Allied-occupied Germany.

Oct. 16, 1953 – Lyeffion High School, under coach William Andrews, picked up its fourth straight win by beating Coffeeville High School, 12-7, in Coffeeville, Ala. Sam Smith scored Lyeffion’s first touchdown on a two-yard run, and Wayne Thames scored the winning touchdown on a five-yard run. Other outstanding Lyeffion players in that game included Frank Chavers, Bobby Coker, Clay Kelly, Jackie Parrish, Bill Raines and Cecil Raines.

Oct. 16, 1953 – On homecoming night in Greenville, Ala., Greenville High School, under Coach Luke Whetstone, beat Evergreen High School, 33-19. Evergreen quarterback Jimmy Frazier threw for 155 yards to receivers Buck Lewis, Ronnie Edson and Ward Alexander. Other outstanding Evergreen players in that game included Wayne Bell, Walter Carrier, Sam Cope, Wayne (Dog) Douglas, Ronnie Edson, Eugene (Pee Wee) Hyde, Alvin Reeves, Lamar Sheffield, Richard Taylor, Bud Ward and Randy White. Wendell Hart was Evergreen’s head coach.

Oct. 16, 1960 - The National League voted to admit Houston and New York to the league. It was the first organizational change to the league since 1900.

Oct. 16, 1968 - Roger Waller’s February farrowed Hampshire gilt won over four other breeds at the Greater Gulf State Fair in Mobile. The judge declared that his champion was the best individual in the field of 60 animals being exhibited. Roger also had the Reserve Champion boar of the show in a Yorkshire boar pig.

Oct. 16, 1968 - In a series of meetings with U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu insisted that North Vietnam assent to three conditions prior to a bombing halt.

Oct. 16, 1969 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Seaman Don C. Hansen of Evergreen, Ala. was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in the Mediterranean when the JFK hosted a two-day tour by Sergeant Shriver, U.S. Ambassador to France; Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of the late John F. Kennedy; their family and high-ranking French and military guests.

Oct. 16, 1969 – The Evergreen Courant reported that former Evergreen High School football standout Homer Faulkner of Evergreen, Ala. was the starting punter at Livingston University, where the 185-pound junior averaged 41.2 yards per kick in 1968.

Oct. 16, 1972 – Former Alabama quarterback Joe Namath appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.

Oct. 16, 1973 – Evergreen police officers, Henry Vickrey and Johnny Blackmon, and police dispatcher Swan Turner witnessed a UFO in downtown Evergreen, Ala. just after midnight. They reported watching an “unusual light” in the sky for 15 to 20 minutes, and news of the incident was reported nationwide in newspapers and on television and radio broadcasts.

Oct. 16, 1973 - Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese diplomat Le Duc Tho were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Paris peace accords. Kissinger accepted, but Tho declined the award until such time as “peace is truly established.”

Oct. 16, 1974 – Former Evergreen Courant publisher and editor Robert Gaston Bozeman Sr. passed away at the age of 77 and was buried in Evergreen, Alabama’s Magnolia Cemetery. He was inducted into the Alabama Press Association Hall of Honor in 1980.

Oct. 16, 1975 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported 2.3 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 16, 1978 – Wanda Rutkiewicz became the first Pole and the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Oct. 16, 1984 - Evergreen weather reporter Earl Windham reported 1.81 inches in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 16, 1985 - The Historic Chattahoochee Commission purchased the Hart House in Eufaula, Ala. The house, which was built in 1850, is a notable example of pure Greek Revival architecture and was one of only five Eufaula buildings recorded by the original 1935 Historic American Building Survey. It was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1973, as part of the Seth Lore and Irwinton Historic District. Today, the house serves as a regional visitor center providing information on heritage tourism attractions throughout the 18-county Chattahoochee Trace region of southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia.

  

Oct. 16, 1986 – Reinhold Messner became the first person to summit all 14 Eight-thousanders.

Oct. 16, 1993 – As part of the 13^th Annual Conecuh Heritage Festival, comedian Jerry Clower performed at Brooks Memorial Stadium in Evergreen, Ala. starting at 7 p.m. The River Road Band opened for Clower. The Heritage Festival is sponsored by the Evergreen-Conecuh County Chamber of Commerce with cooperation of citizens from all over Conecuh County.

Oct. 16, 1994 - The television program “Cries from the Heart,” teleplay by Alabama author Robert Inman, was broadcast.

Oct. 16, 2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution that authorized war against Iraq.

Oct. 16, 2002 – Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, was officially inaugurated.

Oct. 16, 2013 – The Marlow Methodist Church Cemetery in Baldwin County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.