Today in History for Feb. 14, 2018

President Ronald Reagan

Feb. 14, 278 A.D. - Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.

Feb. 14, 1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrew and executed Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.

Feb. 14, 1778 – The United States flag was formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte rendered a nine-gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.

Feb. 14, 1779 – At the Battle of Kettle Creek in Kettle Creek, Ga., a Patriot militia force of 340 led by Colonel Andrew Pickens of South Carolina with Colonel John Dooly and Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Clarke of Georgia defeated a larger force of 700 Loyalist militia commanded by Colonel James Boyd.

Feb. 14, 1779 – English explorer and navigator James Cook, age 50, was killed by native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.

Feb. 14, 1836 – About a month after their divorce, William Barrett Travis’ ex-wife, Rosanna Cato Travis, married Samuel G. Cloud in Monroeville, Ala. They would both die of Yellow Fever during an epidemic that afflicted the state in 1848.

Feb. 14, 1836 – William B. Travis and Jim Bowie agreed to share command at San Antonio de Bexar after Col. James Neill received a temporary leave of absence. (The Alamo)

Feb. 14, 1842 – The Valentine’s Day “Boz Ball” was held in New York City’s Park Theater in honor of novelist Charles Dickens, who published his early stories under the pseudonym “Boz.”

Feb. 14, 1849 - The first photograph of a U.S. President, while in office, was taken by Matthew Brady in New York City. President James Polk was the subject of the picture.

Feb. 14, 1855 – Texas was linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.

Feb. 14, 1859 - Oregon became the 33rd member of the Union.

Feb. 14, 1862 – During the Civil War, Bowling Green, Ky. was evacuated by Confederate forces. Skirmishes were also fought at Flat Lick Ford, Ky.; at Crane Creek, Mo.; in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap, Tenn.; and at Bloomery Gap, West Va. The Federal vessels, St. Louis and Louisville, were also damaged during the naval action in front of Fort Donelson, Tenn.

Feb. 14, 1863 – During the Civil War, a 13-day Federal operation to Greenville, Miss. and Cypress Bend, Ark. began. Skirmishes also occurred at Cypress Bend, Deer Creek, and Fish Lake Bridge, all in the vicinity of Greenville, Miss. and at Union Mills, and Leesburg, Va.

Feb. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Ross Landing and at Scott’s Farm, near Washita Cove, in Arkansas; at Gainesville, Fla.; and at Brentsville, Va.

Feb. 14, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman entered Meridian, Mississippi, during a winter campaign that served as a precursor to Sherman’s March to the Sea campaign in Georgia. This often-overlooked Mississippi campaign was the first attempt by the Union at total warfare, a strike aimed not just at military objectives but also at the will of the Southern people. Sherman launched the campaign from Vicksburg, Mississippi, with the goal of destroying the rail center at Meridian and clearing central Mississippi of Confederate resistance.

Feb. 14, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Larkinsville, Ala.

Feb. 14, 1865 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal operation from Donaldsonville to Grand Bayou and Bayou Goula in Louisiana began. Skirmishes were also fought at Gunter’s Bridge on the North Edisto River, and at Wolf’s Plantation.

Feb. 14, 1871 - Native Americans served in a majority of the Indian wars that took place from 1815 to 1858. Many soldiers, their widows, or dependents applied for bounty land warrants or pensions, sometimes both, following the soldiers' service. Native Americans became eligible to apply for bounty land by an act of Congress dated March 3, 1855, that granted bounty lands to certain officers and soldiers who had been engaged in military service. Section 7 of this act extended all bounty land laws to "Indians, in the same manner, and to the same extent, as if the said Indians had been white men." Native Americans also applied for pensions under general statutes directed at all veterans of a conflict, such as "An Act granting Pensions to certain Soldiers and Sailors of the War of 1812, and the Widows of deceased Soldiers" which became law on this day.

Feb. 14, 1881 - An agreement was entered into on this day with the Creek Nation, ceding lands east of the Bardwell line to the United States, and providing that the eastern boundary of the land ceded was to be drawn so that the tract would aggregate 175,000 acres. The Creek Nation received $175,000 for this tract of land.

Feb. 14, 1884 - Future President Theodore Roosevelt's wife and mother died, only hours apart. Roosevelt was in New York when he was summoned home by his family. He returned home to find his mother, Mittie, had succumbed to typhoid fever. On the same day, his wife of four years, Alice Lee, died of Bright's disease, a severe kidney ailment.

Feb. 14, 1886 – Thomas Brame Clausell, 80, died in Monroeville, Ala. on this Sunday morning after an illness of several weeks. According to The Monroe Journal, Clausell “was the last member of an old Virginia family who came to this county near 50 years ago. He had been for many years a resident of this town, engaged in the mercantile business, which he ever endeavored to conduct on the strictest principals of honor and fair dealing.”

Feb. 14, 1886 - Destined to become one of the state’s major exports, the first trainload of oranges grown by southern California farmers left Los Angeles via the transcontinental railroad.

Feb. 14, 1888 – The first train ran through Thomasville, Ala. It was carrying a group to Mardi Gras in Mobile, on a line from Mobile to Birmingham, via Selma.

Feb. 14, 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, who is credited with the phrase "War is hell," died at the age of 71 in New York City.

Feb. 14, 1894 - Venus appeared as both a morning star and evening star.

Feb. 14, 1895 - Oscar Wilde's final play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," opened at the St. James' Theatre in London.

Feb. 14, 1898 – English mountaineer and explorer Bill Tilman was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, England.

Feb. 14, 1912 - Arizona was admitted as the 48th U.S. state.

Feb. 14, 1912 – Hungarian explorer and author Tibor Sekelj was born in Spišská Sobota (part of Poprad), Austria-Hungary.

Feb. 14, 1913 – American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975, was born in Brazil, Indiana.

Feb. 14, 1913 – College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes was born in Clifton, Ohio. He would go on to coach Ohio State from 1951 to 1978.

Feb. 14, 1913 - An Act on this day amended section 2 of the Act of June 25, 1910. It “extends the right of Indian allottees to make wills to Indian individuals having moneys or other property held in trust by the United States.” It also stated that “the approval of the will does not terminate the trust period and the secretary of the interior may sell the lands for the use and benefit of the heirs or cause patents to be issued to the heirs.”

Feb. 14, 1917 - Citizens of Monroeville, Ala. were startled at an early hour on this Wednesday morning by the alarm of fire at the home of Dr. G.C. Watson. A dark volume of smoke was found to be rising from the roof of the kitchen and a large number of volunteers were soon at the scene and the fire was extinguished with small damage. But for the timely discovery and prompt measures the dwelling must soon have been reduced to ashes, according to The Monroe Journal.

Feb. 14, 1917 - Capt. J.H. McCreary of Turnbull transacted business in Monroeville, Ala. on this day.

Feb. 14, 1918 - The Wilcox County Board of Education was scheduled to meet on this Thursday to “consider such matters as may come before it.” J.C. Adams was president of the school board.

Feb. 14, 1919 - In a plenary session of the Versailles peace conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presented the draft of the covenant for the League of Nations prepared by a League commission that had been established two weeks earlier.

Feb. 14, 1923: An Act on this day “extends the provisions of the General Allotment Act, as amended, to lands purchased or those that will be purchased by Congress for the use and benefit of any individual Indian or tribe.”

Feb. 14, 1930 – Conecuh County High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat T.R. Miller, 36-14, in Castleberry, Ala. Skinner led CCHS with 21 points, and Matthews scored 10. Other top CCHS players included Weaver, Day and Howington. Earlier in the season, Miller beat CCHS, 33-18, in Brewton.

Feb. 14, 1930 - Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team was scheduled to play Mobile High School, “one of the best cage teams in Alabama,” at the Armory in Evergreen at 8 p.m. on this Friday night, according to The Evergreen Courant. “This team took the high laurels from Sidney Lanier in Mobile last Saturday night by a score of 25-23. The Aggies lost to this team in Mobile a few weeks ago by the score of 41-25 and needless to say they are out to get revenge for this licking.” Mobile had lost three games that season, one to Foley and two to Biloxi High School in Mississippi. A big crowd was expected to see the Evergreen-Mobile game. It was expected to be the best game of the season, the newspaper reported.

Feb. 14, 1933 - The first episode of the radio play “The Townsend Murder Mystery” by Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen was broadcast.

Feb. 14, 1944 – Carl Bernstein, one-half of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism team that broke the Watergate story, one of the defining moments of 20th-century politics, was born in Washington, D.C.

Feb. 14, 1948 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown died at the age of 71 in Terre Haute, Ind. During his career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Terriers (which he also managed one season), the Brooklyn Tip-Tops and the Chicago Whales. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949.

Feb. 14, 1949 – Iraqi politician Yusuf Salman Yusuf, age 48 or 49, was hanged in al-Karkh, in a square that was later named the Square of the New Museum in Baghdad. He had been sentenced to death for organizing communist activities from prison.

Feb. 14, 1954 - A capacity crowd of persons, including outstanding citizens from throughout Alabama, attended the dedication of Monroeville, Alabama’s new National Guard armory on this Sunday afternoon. With little standing room remaining, in the recently completed $95,000 structure, they heard ceremonies dedicating it as Fort Short Millsap, in honor of Monroe County’s Probate Judge E.T. Millsap. Making the official dedication was Major General Walter J. Hanna, Adjutant General of the State of Alabama.

Feb. 14, 1960 – Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly was born in East Brady, Pa. He would go on to play for the University of Miami, the Houston Gamblers and the Buffalo Bills. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

Feb. 14, 1962 - President John F. Kennedy authorized U.S. military advisors in Vietnam to return fire if fired upon.

Feb. 14, 1966 - Rick Mount of Lebanon, Indiana became the first high school, male athlete to be pictured on the cover of "Sports Illustrated."

Feb. 14, 1966 - CBS bought the rights to the NFL's 1966 and 1967 Championship Games for $2 million per game.

Feb. 14, 1970 - Despite an increasingly active antiwar movement, a Gallup Poll showed that a majority of those polled (55 percent) opposed an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.

Feb. 14, 1972 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the Mike Douglas Show for an entire week.

Feb. 14, 1972 – NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe was born in Ellensburg, Wash. He would go on to play for Washington State, the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys.

Feb. 14, 1973 – NFL quarterback Steve McNair was born in Mount Olive, Miss. He would go on to play for Alcorn State, the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens.

Feb. 14, 1975 – Weather observer Earl Windham reported a low of 30 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Feb. 14, 1976 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported a low temperature of 30 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Feb. 14, 1976 – Actress Erica Leerhsen was born in New York City.

Feb. 14, 1977 - The B-52's performed their first concert together in Athens, Ga.

Feb. 14, 1977 - Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" was first released.

Feb. 14, 1980 – The Evergreen Courant reported that John Law Robinson of Evergreen had been named to lead the Reagan for President Committee in Conecuh County. Robinson’s appointment was announced on Feb. 11 by Martin Darity in Montgomery, state co-chairman of the Ronald Reagan campaign. Robinson was responsible for organizing Reagan supporters for the March 11 primary and the November general election.

Feb. 14, 1980 - The Monroe Journal announced the promotions of Patrice Stewart to managing editor, Sandra Dunn to assistant advertising manager and Mickey Bayles to sports editor. Stewart, who had been an associate editor since 1974, was to have an expanded role in directing news coverage and a large part of the newspaper’s production process. Stewart, 29, was a journalism graduate of the University of Georgia and has edited a north Georgia weekly newspaper. Dunn had helped sell Journal advertising since shortly after joining the newspaper staff in 1978. Bayles assumed the part-time job of sports editor after serving for a year as The Journal’s sports reporter. Bayles was employed full-time by WMFC radio of Monroeville as an announcer and sportscaster.

Feb. 14-15, 1985 – Lyeffion High School hosted the regional basketball tournament, which featured teams from McKenzie, Castleberry, Lyeffion, Southern Normal and W.J. Jones.

Feb. 14, 1985 – The Evergreen Courant announced the release of the local history book, “Sparta, Alabama: 1821-1866” by Pat Poole. The book was printed by Harold Adams at the Conecuh Printing Co.

Feb. 14, 1989 - The first satellite of the Global Positioning System was placed into orbit around Earth.

Feb. 14, 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of “The Satanic Verses.”

Feb. 14, 1991 – Stacey White was named Miss Alpha 1991 at the annual Miss Alpha Pageant at Sparta Academy in Evergreen, Ala. Valerie Griffin was named Jr. Miss Alpha.

Feb. 14, 1991 - A dramatic version of Alabama author Zora Neale Hurston's book “Mule Bone” opened on Broadway.

Feb. 14, 1998 - U.S. authorities officially announced that Eric Rudolph was a suspect in a bombing of an abortion clinic in Alabama.

Feb. 14, 2001 - The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft became the first vehicle to land on an asteroid.

Feb. 14, 2003 - A Florida judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Jose Canseco. Canseco had violated his probation that stemmed from a nightclub brawl in 2001. On March 17, he was sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation.

Feb. 14, 2003 – Sparta Academy’s boys and girls basketball teams advanced to the Final Four of the Alabama Independent School Association’s Class A State Basketball Tournament with victories on this Friday at Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Sparta’s boys beat Central Christian, 54-48. Chris Garner and Jeremy Anderson led the scoring for the Warriors with 12 points each. Also scoring in double digits were Wiley Cobb and Perry Castleberry with 11 points each. Also putting points on the board were Drew Davis with five points and Paul Castleberry with three points. Sparta’s girls beat Marion, 64-21. Katie Etheridge led the scoring for the Lady Warriors with 16 points. Also scoring in double digits was Callie Ezell with 11 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Warriors were Samantha Seaman with seven points; Lacy Vargas with six points; Ashton Garner, Ava Pate, Meagan Johnson and Cody Godwin with four points each; Jessica Armuelles, Erin Brock, Whitley Roberts and Deanna Covin with two points each.

Feb. 14, 2003 - The Conecuh County Cattlemen’s Association held their annual banquet on this Friday. New officers for 2003 installed at the meeting were Lee Dolihite, Vice President; Glenn Nall, President; and George Pritchett, Secretary-Treasurer.

Feb. 14, 2005 – YouTube was launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.