Today in History for Dec. 5, 2017

Football coach Charlie Bradshaw

Dec. 5, 1484 - Pope Innocent VIII issued the Summis Desiderantes, a decree which officially recognized witches and gave permission for the Inquisition to begin rooting out practitioners of witchcraft.

Dec. 5, 1492 – Christopher Columbus became the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

Dec. 5, 1749 – Canadian commander and explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye died at the age of 64 in Montreal, Quebec.

Dec. 5, 1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox began his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Mass.

Dec. 5, 1776 - In Williamsburg, Va., a group of five students at the College of William and Mary gathered at Raleigh’s Tavern to found a new fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa.

Dec. 5, 1777 - Pennsylvania militiamen were sent to meet British General William Howe's troops on the way to Whitemarsh, Pa. The men quickly fled back into the hills and watched Howe's every move.

Dec. 5, 1782 - The first native U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y.

Dec. 5, 1791 - Composer and prominent Freemason Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria at the age of 35.

Dec. 5, 1813 – General Ferdinand Claiborne wrote to General Andrew Jackson, congratulating him on his victories, giving him an account of the operations in the Southern Seat of War and acquainting him with the fact that an abundance of corn and other provisions were to be obtained in the neighborhood of Fort Claiborne.

Dec. 5, 1821 – The Alabama legislature passed an act expressing gratitude for the services of Col. Sam Dale and granting him the rank of brevet brigadier general of the militia.

Dec. 5, 1830 – Pre-Raphaelite poet Christina Rossetti was born in London. She is best remembered for her most famous collection, “Goblin Market and Other Poems,” which was published in 1862.

Dec. 5, 1839 - Union General George Armstrong Custer was born in Harrison County, Ohio. Although he is best known for his demise at the hands of the Lakota and Cheyenne Indians at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Montana, on June 25, 1876, Custer built a reputation as a dashing and effective cavalry leader during the Civil War.

Dec. 5, 1847 – Jefferson Davis was elected to the U.S. senate.

Dec. 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought in the vicinity of Russellville, Ky.

Dec. 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, a five-day Federal expedition through Current Hills, Mo. began.

Dec. 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Coffeeville, Miss.

Dec. 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, a nine-day Federal reconnaissance was carried out from Little Rock to Princeton in Arkansas, and a Federal reconnaissance was conducted from Rossville to Ringgold in Georgia. A five-day Federal operation began in Clinton County, Ky., and a Federal reconnaissance was conduced from New Berne to Kinston in North Carolina.

Dec. 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Murrell’s (or Murray’s) Inlet, near Myrtle Beach, S.C.; at Crab Gap and at Walker’s Ford, Clinch River, in Tennessee; and at Raccoon Ford, Va.

Dec. 5, 1864 – After getting captured by the Union at Campbell’s Station on Dec. 8, 1863, Noah Dallas Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock’s older brother) was paroled at Camp Chase, just outside of Columbus, Ohio.

Dec. 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought in the vicinity of Lewisburg, Ark. and near Dalton and at the Little Ogeechee River in Georgia. Confederate demonstrations were also carried out against Murfreesborough, Tenn. by Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Dec. 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, Confederates captured the tug boat, Lizzie Freeman.

Dec. 5, 1866 – Bullock County was created by act of the Alabama state general assembly. Bound on the north by Macon County, on the east by Russell County, on the east and southeast by Barbour County, on the south and southwest by Pike County, and on the west by Montgomery County. Named for Edward C. Bullock of Barbour County, a Confederate officer who died in 1861. Union Springs was chosen to be the couty seat in 1867.

Dec. 5, 1869 – First Presbyterian Church of Demopolis’ wooden church building was dedicated on the site of the modern-day church building. The land was donated by Dr. Cincinnatus Ashe.

Dec. 5, 1886 – Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, was born in De Smet in what is now South Dakota. Together, Rose and her mother created the beloved “Little House” books.

Dec. 5, 1896 – Robert Gaston Bozeman was born. He would go on to own The Evergreen Courant newspaper in Conecuh County and was inducted into the Alabama Newspaper Hall of Honor in 1980.

Dec. 5, 1908 - At the University of Pittsburgh, numerals were first used on football uniforms worn by college football players.

Dec. 5, 1908 – Building contractor W.C. Ward of Pine Apple, was in Monroeville on thhis Saturday. Ward was “engaged in the construction of a handsome and commodious new brick store for Dr. D.R. Nettles at Peterman, and has also been awarded the contract for the erection of the new brick building for the Monroe County Bank.”

Dec. 5, 1908 - Misses Minnie Ward and Etta Murphy, who were in charge of the school at Mexia, visited The Monroe Journal office on this Saturday.

Dec. 5, 1910 – Melt Booker allegedly killed Will Raines of near Finklea around 11 a.m. on this Sunday morning by shooting him with a small rifle. The shooting occurred on a public road, there were no eye witnesses and the cause of the shooting was unknown.

Dec. 5, 1912 – Travel writer Kate Simon was born Kaila Grobsmit in Warsaw.

Dec. 5, 1915 - Turkish and German forces launched an attack on the British-occupied town of Kut al-Amara on the Tigris River in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq.

Dec. 5, 1919 - Loraine Bedsole Bush became the first woman to head a state agency in Alabama when she is named director of the newly created Child Welfare Department. Long involved in state and national efforts to reform child labor laws, Bush was largely responsible for the establishment of the department.

Dec. 5, 1933 - Prohibition came to an end when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, thus establishing the required 75 percent of states needed to enact the amendment. (This overturned the 18th Amendment which had made the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol illegal in the United States.)

Dec. 5, 1934 – Essayist, novelist and memoirist Joan Didion was born in Sacramento, Calif.

Dec. 5, 1935 - The Alabama Highway Patrol, Alabama’s first statewide law enforcement agency, was created by Gov. Bibb Graves.

Dec. 5, 1935 – Journalist and humorist Calvin Trillin was born in Kansas City, Mo.

Dec. 5, 1939 – Nonfiction writer John Berendt was born in Syracuse, N.Y.

Dec. 5, 1941 – John Steinbeck’s nonfiction book “Sea of Cortez” is published.

Dec. 5, 1945 – Five Navy TBM Navy Avenger bombers, the famous “Flight 19,” also known as the “Lost Squadron,” disappeared in the “Bermuda Triangle” with a total crew of 14 during a training flight from Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station. They were never heard from again.

Dec. 5, 1945 - A PBM Martin Mariner bomber dispatched with a crew of 13 to assist the Flight 19 patrol disappeared without a trace.

Dec. 5, 1951 – Major League Baseball outfielder Joseph Jefferson “Shoeless Joe” Jackson passed away in Greenville, S.C. at the age of 64. He is remembered for his performance on the field and for his alleged association with the Black Sox Scandal, in which members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox participated in a conspiracy to fix the World Series. As a result of Jackson's association with the scandal, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Major League Baseball's first commissioner, banned Jackson from playing after the 1920 season.

Dec. 5, 1952 – Evergreen High School’s basketball team was scheduled to open the 1952-53 season against Beatrice High School in Beatrice, Ala.

Dec. 5, 1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Ala.

Dec. 5, 1957 – Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Art Monk was born in White Plains, N.Y. He went on to play for Syracuse, the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets and the Philadelphia Eagles. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

Dec. 5, 1959 - Alabama author Lonnie Coleman's “Jolly's Progress,” a dramatic version of his book “Adam's Way,” opened on Broadway.

Dec. 5, 1964 – During the Vietnam War, for his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon was awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.

Dec. 5, 1966 – Orlando Sentinel staff writer Elvis Lane commented that the many sightings of the creature that had been dubbed the “Florida Sandman,” in contrast to the “Abominable Snowman,” had created a “Lock Ness-like atmosphere” in Osceola County, Fla.

Dec. 5, 1966 - Bill Snowden of Evergreen received a letter for playing football during chapel ceremonies at Marion Institute on this Monday. Snowden played on the prep school team that fall. He was starting halfback for Evergreen High School in 1965.

Dec. 5, 1968 - Forrest Watkins was named Monroeville’s Man of the Year by the Kiwanis Club during its annual Ladies Night Banquet on this Thursday. A.B. Blass Jr. made the presentation. The award recognizes a man each year for outstanding service to the community beyond the duties of his vocation.

Dec. 5, 1970 - A North Vietnamese newspaper declared that the country will not be intimidated by U.S. bombing threats.

Dec. 5, 1973 - Ron Santo became the first Major League Baseball player to veto his trade.

Dec. 5, 1976 – American actress Amy Acker was born in Dallas, Texas.

Dec. 5, 1977 – Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. The move was in retaliation for the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt and due to Egypt’s peaceful relations with Israel.

Dec. 5, 1978 - Pete Rose signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. The contract was for four years and $3.2 million making Rose the highest paid athlete in team sports.

Dec. 5, 1981 – Evergreen, Ala. weather observer Earl Windham reported a low temperature of 31 degrees in Evergreen.

Dec. 5, 1981 - Evergreen High School held their 1981 football banquet on this Saturday night with the guest speaker being Charlie Bradshaw, head football coach at Troy State University. Bradshaw shared a few fine points in his career, those starting when he played under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant at Kentucky. In 1950-51, he coached at Lanier High School in Montgomery, where he won two consecutive state championships. His team was led those two years by Bart Starr, who is now the coach of the Green Bay Packers. After the speech, Evergreen head football coach Danny Covin then wrapped up the ceremonies with the presentation of trophies. Top awards went to the following players: Outstanding Offensive Lineman, Shannon Hall; Outstanding Offensive Back, Frank Likely; Outstanding Defensive Lineman, Deatrich Wise; Outstanding Defensive Back, James Lee; and the Most Valuable was Autero Scott.

Dec. 5, 1982 - Mel Gray ended an NFL streak of 121 consecutive games with receptions.

Dec. 5, 1983 - Steve Howe of the Los Angeles Dodgers was suspended for one year for cocaine use.

Dec. 5, 1983 - The video arcade game "NFL Football" was unveiled in Chicago. It was the first video arcade game to be licensed by the National Football League.

Dec. 5, 1984 - Iran's official news agency quoted the hijackers of a Kuwaiti jetliner parked at Tehran airport as saying they would blow up the plane unless Kuwait released 14 imprisoned extremists.

Dec. 5, 1995 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins passed for 300 yards in a game for the 52nd time to set an NFL record.

Dec. 5, 1996 - Sparta Academy’s varsity girls basketball team defeated Marion Academy, 80-43, at Marion. Aundria Griffin was the leading scorer for Sparta with 27 points. Also scoring in double figures were Nikki Jones with 18 points and Andrea Ward with 14 points. Also scoring for the Lady Warriors were Jill Pate with seven points; Cass Ralls, six points; Jenny Harper, three points; Kristin Smith and Jennifer Coker, two points each; and Sunshine Floyd, one point.

Dec. 5, 1998 - James P. Hoffa became the head of the Teamsters union, 23 years after his father was the head. His father disappeared and was presumed dead.