Today in History for Nov. 30, 2017

Nov. 30, 1498 – Spanish captain and explorer Andrés de Urdaneta was born in Ordizia, Gipuzkoa, Crown of Castile.

Nov. 30, 1667 – Johnathan Swift, the author of “Gulliver’s Travels” (1726), was born in Dublin.

Nov. 30, 1707 – The second Siege of Pensacola came to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Fla.

Nov. 30, 1765 – Scottish merchant and explorer George Glas was stabbed to death during a mutiny by Spanish and Portuguese members of the crew of the barque “Earl of Sandwich.” Glass was around 40 years old.

Nov. 30, 1776 - Admiral Richard Howe and General William Howe, “the King’s Commissioners for restoring Peace,” issued a proclamation from New York City, promising pardon to those who would within 60 days subscribe to a declaration that they would desist from “Treasonable Actings and Doings.” The Howes’ offer appealed to thousands of residents from downstate New York, who were willing to trade in their weapons for pardons. At the time, Westchester, Manhattan and Long Island were securely in British hands and would remain so until after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.

Nov. 30, 1776 - General Charles Lee wrote a letter to General George Washington to report that he was about to cross into New York near Peekskill.

Nov. 30, 1781 – Scottish surgeon, merchant and explorer Alexander Berry was born at Hilltarvit Mains Farmhouse, Cupar, Fife, Scotland.

Nov. 30, 1782 – The United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War, and settling territorial claims of Great Britain and the United States of America. The Treaty of Paris established the southern boundary of the U.S. at the 31st parallel north. Great Britain would retain possession of the Floridas. These preliminary peace articles were later formalized as the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

Nov. 30, 1811 – Capt. Matthew Arbuckle of the 3rd Regiment U.S. Infantry commanded a road construction party from Fort Stoddert that met a construction party working from the east to open the Federal Road to Georgia.

Nov. 30, 1818 – Autauga County was created by the Alabama territorial legislature and was formed from part of Montgomery County on Dec. 13, 1820. The town of Washington became the first county seat. Now bordered on the north by Chilton County, on the east by Elmore County and Montgomery County, on the south by Lowndes County and on the west by Dallas County. Named for Autauga Creek. Its county seats have been Washington, 1820-30; Kingston, 1830-68; and Prattville, the present county seat, chosen in 1868.

Nov. 30, 1835 - Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was born in Florida, Mo.

Nov. 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, the “Trent Affair”, as it was beginning to be called on both sides of the Atlantic, was rapidly turning from a glorious triumph for the US Navy, particularly Captain Charles Wilkes of the USS San Jacinto, into a hideous embarrassment for the US diplomatic corps. On this day, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord John Russell, composed a letter to be sent to Lord Lyons, the minister (ambassador) to the United States. In it he directed Lyons to inform the American government that if the Confederate ministers Mason and Slidell were not released to British custody, and if an apology for their seizure from a British ship were not forthcoming, Lyon was to close the embassy and return to London with the entire legation.

Nov. 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Grand River, or Black Walnut Creek, near Sedalia, in Missouri.

Nov. 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near the mouth of Little Cacapon River in West Virginia.

Nov. 30, 1862 - Captain Raphael Semmes, Confederate States Navy, was the most feared commerce raider of the war. His mission was not to fight United States warships in combat, but to work what amounted to the flip side of the Union blockade of Southern shipping. He attacked any ship owned by an American, or headed for an American port, and seized it. He was extremely courteous by the standards of the day: he never killed the crews he captured, and in fact on many occasions would put everyone aboard the last ship captured for the day and turn it loose on bond, rather than burn it. He had wreaked as much havoc as he could in the waters of the North Atlantic, and besides it was getting cold and stormy there this time of year. He moved his base of operation to the Leeward Islands, and celebrated by taking the Porter Cook on this day. This one he burned.

Nov. 30, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Chulahoma and Waterford in Mississippi; and along the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi with the subsequent destruction of the steamer, New Moon.

Nov. 30, 1862 – During the Civil War, a seven-day Federal expedition from Rolla to the Ozark Mountains in Missouri began.

Nov. 30, 1863 - Gen. Braxton Bragg had been commander of the Army of Tennessee almost since its inception and the Army of Mississippi prior to that. His major triumph had been at the battle of Chickamauga, which had bottled up Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga for a good long time. The breakthrough had finally come, though, and a few days ago the disaster at Missionary Ridge had been the final straw. He had submitted a letter to President Jefferson Davis asking to be relieved of command. His friendship with Davis was of many years standing, though, and perhaps he thought the request would be denied, as similar requests from Robert E. Lee had been. It was, however, accepted on this day, and Bragg was directed to turn over command to Gen. William Joseph Hardee.

Nov. 30, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Salyersville, Ky.; in vicinity of Port Hudson and Vermillion Bayou in Louisiana; at Charleston, New Madrid Bend and Yankeetown in Tennessee; along Mine Run and in the vicinity of Raccoon Ford in Virginia; and at Licking Run Bridge, Va.

Nov. 30, 1863 – During the Civil War, Federal forces occupied Fort Esperanza, Matagorda Bay, Texas.

Nov. 30, 1863 – 59^TH ALABAMA: The 59^th Alabama served in Gracie’s brigade and Buckner’s division, Dept. of Eastern Tennessee. (Lewis Lavon Peacock was likely with the unit at this time.)

Nov. 30, 1864 – During the Civil War’s Battle of Franklin, the once proud Confederate Army of Tennessee, led by General John Bell Hood, suffered a devastating defeat after Hood ordered a dramatically unsuccessful frontal assault on Union positions commanded by John McAllister Schofield around Franklin, Tennessee, with Hood losing six of his finest generals and almost a third of his troops. Of 15,000 Union troops engaged, some 200 were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. The Confederates had 23,000 men at Franklin; approximately 1,750 died and 5,500 were wounded or captured.

Nov. 30, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Honey Hill, near Grahamville in South Carolina; at Thompson’s Station, Tenn.; at Snicker’s Gap, Va.; and at Kabletown, W.Va.

Nov. 30, 1865 - Alabama author A. B. Meek died in Columbus, Miss.

Nov. 30, 1873 – Scottish-Welsh surgeon, merchant and explorer Alexander Berry died at the age of 93 in Crows Nest House, New South Wales.

Nov. 30, 1874 – Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England.

Nov. 30, 1901 – English explorer and politician Edward John Eyre died at the age 86 in Yorkshire, England.

Nov. 30, 1905 – The Monroe Journal reported that Charlie Broughton, The Journal’s “faithful and efficient” composition and typesetting machine operator, was back at his post after having been laid up several days with tonsillitis.

Nov. 30, 1907 - Dr. W.A. Mason and family left Conecuh County, Ala. on this Saturday for their new home at Excel, Ala. “where the doctor (had) been enjoying a successful and lucrative practice for the past four months.”

Nov. 30, 1917 - Foreign Minister Richard Von Kuhlmann stood before the German Reichstag government to deliver a speech applauding the recent rise to power in Russia of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and his radical socialist Bolshevik Party.

Nov. 30, 1921 - Alabama author Eugene Walter was born in Mobile, Ala.

Nov. 30, 1931 – Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh was born in Los Angeles, California. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.

Nov. 30, 1938 – The hog sale held in Monroeville on this Wednesday was “by far the best sale yet held.” At the sale, 775 hogs, weighing a total of 135,545 pounds, sold for $7,919.45 and 193 head of cattle sold for $2,632.52, making a total of $10,551.97. The Wilson Packing Co. of Columbus, Ga. bought all top-grade hogs and the cattle were sold to packing houses and individuals from over the county.

Nov. 30, 1950 – Army MSG Tellis Wayland Donaldson, 36, of Covington County, Ala. was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy near Kunu-ri, North Korean. A member of Battery C, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, he was presumed dead on December 31, 1953. His remains were apparently never recovered. Donaldson was awarded the Purple Heart, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal. Born on April 6, 1914, a memorial for Donaldson can be found in the Mount Gilead Baptist Cemetery in Coffee County, Ala.

Nov. 30, 1953 – Award-winning writer Rheta Grimsley Johnson was born in Colquitt, Ga. She would later live in Monroeville, Ala. and work at The Monroe Journal newspaper.

Nov. 30, 1954 – At 2:46 p.m., a meteorite weighing 8-1/2 pounds crashed into Ann Elizabeth Hodges of Sylacauga as she rested on her living room couch. The meteorite crashed through the roof of her rented house, bounced off a console radio and struck her left hip and hand. Awakened by the pain and noise, she thought the gas space heater had exploded. When she noticed a grapefruit-sized rock lying on the floor and a ragged hole in the roof, she assumed children were the culprits. Her mother, Ida Franklin, rushed outside and saw only a black cloud in the sky. Alabamians in and around the area saw the event from a different perspective, with many reporting that they had seen a fireball in the sky and heard a tremendous explosion that produced a white or brownish cloud. Most assumed it involved an airplane accident. The event gave Hodges a severely bruised hip and instant celebrity status. She later became embroiled in a court battle with her landlord over ownership of the rock, which was eventually donated to a university, after being used as a doorstop. The meteorite, the first one known to have caused injury to a human, is housed at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa. This is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space.

Nov. 30, 1958 – Australian pilot, ornithologist, geographer and explorer Hubert Wilkins died at the age of 70 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Nov. 30, 1960 – “All the Way Home,” a dramatic version of Alabama author James Agee's book “A Death in the Family,” opened on Broadway.

Nov. 30, 1961 – Four Conecuh County, Ala. high school basketball teams were scheduled to square off against each other in a “big doubleheader” at Evergreen High School’s Memorial Gym, beginning at 7 p.m. Evergreen High School, under Coach John Law Robinson, was scheduled to play Conecuh County High School, and that game was to be followed by a game between Lyeffion High School and Repton High School.

Nov. 30, 1962 - Football and baseball star, Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson was born in Bessemer, Ala. Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 1985 and was the first professional athlete to be named an all-star in two major sports.

Nov. 30, 1962 - W.C. Nichols of Excel, Ala. was re-elected president of the Monroe County Board of Education for a ninth year at a meeting in Monroeville, Ala. on this Friday. Tom W. Weatherford of Uriah was re-elected vice-president. Other board members were Dr. John L. Abbott of Monroeville, James C. Brooks of Megargel and S. Miller Fore of Beatrice.

Nov. 30, 1965 - Following a visit to South Vietnam, Defense Secretary McNamara reported in a memorandum to President Lyndon B. Johnson that the South Vietnamese government of Nguyen Cao Ky “is surviving, but not acquiring wide support or generating actions.”

Nov. 30, 1966 – A woman who wished to remain anonymous was changing a tire on a lonely stretch of Route 491 near Brooksville, Fla. when she became aware of an awful stench. She then heard a heavy crashing of brush, and she turned to see a large, hairy creature walking toward her. Moments later, the sound of an approaching vehicle caused the thing to turn and walk back into the woods.

Nov. 30, 1966 - “Dutch Christmas” entered by the Helen Keller Club won first place in the best float contest of the Evergreen Christmas parade on this Wednesday. “Christmas in Austria” by the Evergreen Study Club won second place. “Christmas Around the World” by Evergreen High School won third place.

Nov. 30, 1966 - In Saigon, the South Vietnamese Constituent Assembly began drawing up draft articles for a new constitution.

Nov. 30, 1967 - Liberal Democratic Senator Eugene J. McCarthy from Minnesota, an advocate of a negotiated end to the war in Vietnam, declared that he intended to enter several Democratic Presidential primaries in 1968.

Nov. 30, 1968 – Manager Harmon Gunter announced that an open house would be held at the new Steven Robert Corp. plant on Kendall Avenue in Evergreen, Ala. from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Nov. 30, 1971 - ABC-TV aired "Brian's Song." The movie was about Chicago Bears' Brian Picolo and his friendship with Gale Sayers.

Nov. 30, 1972 – During the Vietnam War, White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler told the press that there would be no more public announcements concerning American troop withdrawals from Vietnam because troop levels were now down to 27,000.

Nov. 30, 1982 – Michael Jackson's sixth solo studio album, “Thriller” was released worldwide. It will become the best-selling record album in history.

Nov. 30, 1983 – The National League of Cities Congress of Cities meeting began at the New Orleans Hilton Hotel, and Evergreen, Ala. Mayor Lee F. Smith attended as one of 20 voting delegates representing the Alabama League of Municipalities.

Nov. 30, 1983 – Evergreen, Alabama’s annual Christmas Parade was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

Nov. 30, 1992 - The video "NFL Country," by various artists, was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Nov. 30, 1993 - The National Football League awarded the league's 30th franchise to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

  

Nov. 30, 1995 – Operation Desert Storm officially ended.

Nov. 30, 1998 - Author and poet Margaret Walker passed away in Chicago, Ill. at the age of 83. Her mother’s relatives lived in Greenville, Ala. and she set a portion of her 1966 novel, “Jubilee,” in Greenville.

Nov. 30, 2005 - The White House released a document titled "Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." The document accompanied an address by U.S. President George Bush.

Nov. 30, 2011 - Evergreen weather observer Betty Ellis reported a low temperature of 29 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Nov. 30, 2011 - A host of local court officials, friends and family were on hand to wish Pat Wright well as she closed out her career as an employee at the Conecuh County Courthouse. Wright, a resident of Evergreen, began working in the Conecuh County Circuit Clerk’s Office on Sept. 13, 1972 and she closed out her 39-year career with a retirement reception on this Wednesday. At the time of her retirement, Wright was in charge of administering civil cases in circuit and district court as well as small claims court cases.