Today in History for Nov. 14, 2017

William Richard Ellis of Brewton, Ala.

Nov. 14, 1540 – The DeSoto Expedition departed the village of Mabila, marching northeastward toward Mississippi, almost a month after fighting the largest Indian battle in North America against Chief Tuscaloosa’s warriors.

Nov. 14, 1746 – German botanist, zoologist, physician, and explorer George Wilhelm Steller died of fever at the age of 37 in Tyumen, Siberia.

Nov. 14, 1770 – James Bruce discovered what he believed to be the source of the Nile.

Nov. 14, 1775 - Colonel Benedict Arnold arrived with his forces on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City.

Nov. 14, 1776 - The St. James Chronicle of London carried an item announcing “The very identical Dr. Franklyn [Benjamin Franklin], whom Lord Chatham [former leading parliamentarian and colonial supporter William Pitt] so much caressed, and used to say he was proud in calling his friend, is now at the head of the rebellion in North America.”

Nov. 14, 1781 - Major James Henry Craig evacuated his troops from Wilmington, NC.

Nov. 14, 1797 – Sir Charles Lyell, who would go on to become the “Father of Modern Geology,” was born in Kinnordy, Angus, Scotland. A close friend of Charles Darwin, Lyell visited Claiborne, Ala. in 1846 to study the Eocene fossil beds there.

Nov. 14, 1805 - A treaty signed with the Creek Nation in Washington on this date allowed for a Post Road to be built which later became the Old Federal Road.

Nov. 14, 1832 – The world’s first streetcar, named the John Mason, began operation in New York City, running between Prince and 14th Streets in Lower Manhattan.

Nov. 14, 1840 – Famous Impressionist painter Claude Monet was born in Paris.

Nov. 14, 1851 - Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick" was first published in the U.S.

Nov. 14, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at the mouth of Mattawoman Creek, Md.

Nov. 14, 1861 – During the Civil War, an eight-day expedition through Accomac and Northampton Counties in Virginia began.

Nov. 14, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought on the road from Fayetteville to Raleigh and near McCoy’s Mill in West Virginia.

Nov. 14, 1862 – During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln approved General Ambrose Burnside's plan to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Va. This was an ill-fated move, as it led to the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia in December 1862, in which the Army of the Potomac was dealt one of its worst defeats at the hands of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Nov. 14, 1862 – Confederate General Braxton Bragg arrived with his forces at Tullahoma, southeast of Nashville, Tenn.

Nov. 14, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Jefferson and Waterloo in Virginia. A second day of skirmishing also occurred in and about Sulphur Springs, Va.

Nov. 14, 1863 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal expedition from Mayesville to Whitesburg and Decatur, Ala. began.

Nov. 14, 1863 – During the Civil War, a Federal expedition from Helena, Ark., aboard the steamer, Hamilton Belle, began.

Nov. 14, 1863 – During the Civil War, multiple skirmishes were fought near Danville, Miss. Skirmishes were also fought at Huff’s Ferry, Little River, Maryville and Rockford in Tennessee; and near Tyson’s Cross Roads, Va.

Nov. 14, 1863 – Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest was assigned to the Confederate command of West Tennessee.

Nov. 14, 1863 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal expedition from the vicinity of Martinsburg, through Pughtown, to the head of Cedar Creek (near Van Buren Furnace) in West Virginia began.

Nov. 14, 1863 - Still on duty in the Charleston, S. C area, Gen. P. T. G. Beauregard had a different assignment on this day than last year, but not a more pleasant one. His job was to inspect the gunboats protecting the harbor and river, and report on them. His report was not happy. “Our gunboats are defective in six respects”, he wrote. “First, they have no speed...second, they are of too great a draft to navigate our inland waters. Third, they are unseaworthy...even in the harbor they are at times...unsafe in a storm. Fourth, they are incapable of resisting the enemy’s...shots. Fifth, they can not fight at long range. Sixth, they are very costly, warm, uncomfortable and badly ventilated; consequently sickly.” Beauregard’s bluntness gained him no friends. Everybody knew the ships were awful, but they were the only ships the South had.

Nov. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, a Federal campaign in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee that lasted until Jan. 23 began.

Nov. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, an eight-day Federal expedition from Baton Rouge, La. to Brookhaven, Miss. began.

Nov. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought on Cow Creek, Kansas and near Russellville, Tenn.

Nov. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln accepted Major General George Brinton McClelland’s resignation.

Nov. 14, 1881 - Charles J. Guiteau's trial began for the assassination of U.S. President Garfield. Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year.

Nov. 14, 1889 – Pioneering female journalist and New York World reporter Nellie Bly (aka Elizabeth Cochrane) began a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days. She completed the trip in 72 days. Her quest was to surpass the fictional journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg, by traveling around the world in less than 80 days.

Nov. 14, 1893 – The Conecuh Record newspaper was established in Evergreen, Ala.

Nov. 14, 1895 – The Monroe Journal reported that the “convict agent” visited Monroeville during the previous week for the prisoners convicted and sentenced to prison during the latest term of Circuit Court. The prisoners and their sentences included Albert Jackson, 25 months; Lazarus James, three years; and Mose Hall, four years.

Nov. 14, 1907 – Swedish author Astrid Lindgren was born Astrid Ericsson on a farm near Vimmerby, Sweden. She is best known for being the author of the Pippi Longstocking adventure stories.

Nov. 14, 1907 – Cartoonist and author William Steig was born in New York City.

Nov. 14, 1914 – As of this date, 19,882 bales of cotton had been ginned in Monroe County, Ala. from the 1914 crop, compared with 18,829 bales ginned prior to Nov. 14, 1913.

Nov. 14, 1914 – The Ottoman Empire declared war against Britain, France, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro during the early months of World War I.

Nov. 14, 1914 - In Constantinople, capital of the Ottoman Empire, the religious leader Sheikh-ul-Islam declared an Islamic holy war on behalf of the Ottoman government, urging his Muslim followers to take up arms against Britain, France, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro in World War I.

Nov. 14, 1915 - Alabama author Booker T. Washington died in Tuskegee, Ala.

Nov. 14, 1915 – Prior to this date, there had been 8,756 bales of cotton ginned in Monroe County from the crop of 1915 as compared with 19,882 bales ginned prior to Nov. 14, 1914.

Nov. 14, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. George Gibbs of Andalusia, Ala. “died from disease.”

Nov. 14, 1932 – Al Shorta SC, one of Iraq's biggest football clubs, was founded as Montakhab Al Shorta.

Nov. 14, 1939 – Monroeville, Ala. held its inaugural Hog Festival, which drew an estimated crowd of 12,000 to 15,000 to downtown Monroeville, including a photographer from Life magazine. The event also included “Jolly Jumbo,” a four-year-old big, boned Poland China hog from Nebraska, said to be the largest hog in the world. The hog was four feet high, eight feet long and weighed 1,600 pounds.

Nov. 14, 1939 – As of this date, 10,076 bales of cotton had been ginned in Monroe County, Ala. from the 1939 crop, compared with 18,647 bales up to that date in 1938.

Nov. 14, 1943 - Sid Luckman of the Chicago Bears became the first to throw for more than 400 yards when he threw for 433 yards and seven touchdowns against the New York Giants.

Nov. 14, 1946 – Monroeville Elementary School on South Mount Pleasant Avenue in Monroeville, Ala. burned down in 15 minutes.

Nov. 14, 1947 – On a “slightly muddy field,” Evergreen High School improved to 6-1-1 with a 34-0 win over Wilcox County High School in Evergreen, Ala.

Nov. 14, 1947 – Journalist P.J. O’Rourke was born in Toledo, Ohio.

Nov. 14, 1954 - Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was born in Birmingham, Ala.

Nov. 14, 1957 - Walter Williams, the oldest living Civil War veteran, celebrated his 115th birthday on this day in Houston, Texas. The only other Civil War veteran still living at that time was 111-year-old John Salling of Slant, Va.

Nov. 14, 1963 - A new volcanic island appeared near Iceland. 

Nov. 14, 1965 – During the Vietnam War, the Battle of Ia Drang began – the first major engagement between regular American and North Vietnamese forces.

Nov. 14, 1967 - Maj. Gen. Bruno Hochmuth, commander of the 3rd Marine Division, is killed when the helicopter in which he is travelling is shot down. He was the most senior U.S. officer to be killed in action in the war to date.

Nov. 14, 1970 – Army Staff Sgt. William Richard Ellis, 21, of Brewton, Ala. was killed in action in Thua Thien-Hue, Vietnam while serving 3^rd Brigade, 101^st Airborne Division. Born on Jan. 14, 1949 in Brewton, he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was buried in the Catawba Springs Cemetery at Keego in Escambia County.

Nov. 14, 1970 – Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed in the mountains near Huntington, West Virginia, killing 75, including members of the Marshall University football team.

Nov. 14, 1972 - The Dow Jones closed above 1,000 for the first time.

Nov. 14, 1972 - One week after his re-election, President Richard Nixon extended to South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu his “absolute assurance” that the United States would “take swift and severe retaliatory action” if Hanoi violated the pending cease-fire once it is in place.

Nov. 14, 1973 - Alabama author Brad Vice was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Nov. 14, 1974 – Dothan, Ala. native Johnny Mack Brown, nicknamed “The Dothan Antelope,” passed away at the age of 70 from heart failure in Woodland Hills, Calif. He starred as a halfback at Alabama and help lead the Crimson Tide to the 1926 national title. He later had a long, successful career as an actor in Hollywood.

Nov. 14, 1980 – In the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs, Southern Choctaw beat J.F. Shields, 36-35, in Silas. Shields scored with just seven seconds left in the game on a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Larry Nettles to end John Davison. Panther back Lloyd Tucker seemingly scored on the ensuing extra point try, but officials and said the Indians’ defense had stopped Tucker in time. Other standout Shields players in that game included Calvin Stallworth, Darrell Stallworth and Jerry Stallworth. John Wiley was Shields’ head coach.

Nov. 14, 1990 - Simon and Schuster announced it had dropped plans to publish Bret Easton Ellis novel "American Psycho."

Nov. 14, 1993 - Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins set a new NFL record with his 325th victory.

Nov. 14, 1994 – Angela Michelle Pate was named Conecuh County’s 1993 Young Woman of the Year at Wiley Salter Auditorium at Ed Reid State Technical College in Evergreen, Ala. She succeeded Kimberli Griffin, the 1992 Young Woman of the Year.

Nov. 14, 2008 – Birmingham’s Sloss Furnaces were featured on an episode of “Ghost Adventures” titled “Sloss Furnaces.”