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| Wilcox County native Hank Aaron |
April 23, 1348 - The first English order of knighthood, the
Order of the Garter, was founded by King Edward III, announcing it on St.
George's Day.
April 23, 1500 - Pedro Cabal claimed Brazil for Portugal.
April 23, 1564 – Poet and playwright William Shakespeare is
believed to have been born on this day in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He
wrote 38 plays and more than 150 sonnets.
April 23, 1635 – The first public school in the United
States, the Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston.
April 23, 1778 - Commander John Paul Jones launched a
surprise attack on the two harbors at Whitehaven, England and burned the
southern fort. This was the only American raid on English shores during the
American Revolution.
April 23, 1778 - Commander John Paul Jones, aboard the USS
Ranger, captured the British ship HMS Drake.
April 23, 1781 - Reinforcements arrived for Spanish General
Bernardo de Galvez's siege of Pensacola, Fla.
April 23, 1789 - U.S. President George Washington moved into
Franklin House in New York. It was the first executive mansion.
April 23, 1791 - James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President,
was born in Cove Gap, Pa.
April 23, 1839 – French admiral and explorer Jacques Félix
Emmanuel Hamelin died in Paris at the age of 70.
April 23, 1861 - Arkansas troops seized Fort Smith.
April 23, 1861 - Nominated by
Governor Letcher of Virginia and approved by the Assembly on the previous day,
Robert E. Lee assumed command of Virginia's militia.
April 23, 1861 – The Virginia
secessionist convention ratified a temporary union with the Confederacy and
accepted the Southern Constitution, subject to approval of the ordnance of
secession
April 23, 1861 - Several Federal
officers were arrested on this day in Texas, not as criminals but as prisoners
of war. Jefferson Davis was frantically encouraging Gov. Claiborne Jackson of
Missouri to first seize the Federal arsenal in St. Louis, then join the
Confederacy.
April 23, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought
at Bridgeport, Ala.
April 23, 1862 – During the Civil
War, Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal, N.C. was successfully blocked by Federal
forces. A skirmish was also fought at Grass Lick, West Virginia.
April 23, 1863 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Dickson Station, Tuscumbia, Florence and
Leighton, Ala.
April 23, 1863 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought in the vicinity of Creek Head, Ky.; near
Independence, Mo.; along the Shelbyville Pike in Tennessee; and in the vicinity
of Suffolk, Va., at Chuckatuck.
April 23, 1863 - Interest in
spiritualism was intense in mid-century America, during this era it was
considered a combination of scientific investigation and parlor entertainment.
On this night a séance was held at the White House. Among the participants were
the President and First Lady, as well as several cabinet members. There were
reports that after Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln left, the “spirits” tweaked the nose of
Secretary of War Stanton and tugged on Navy Secretary Welles’ beard.
April 23, 1864 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Camden and another at Swan Lake, Ark.; at
Nickajack Trace, Ga.; at Monett’s Ferry (or Cane River Crossing) and
Cloutierville, La.; at Independence, Mo.; and near Hunter’s Mills, in Fairfax
County, Va.
April 23, 1864 - William Tecumseh
Sherman was in charge of a considerable operation in central Tennessee. He was
in need of rail transportation. He had cancelled civilian railroad operations
and taken over the trains for the military, but could only manage 60 train cars
a day. He begged, he pleaded, he ordered twice the number but the trainmen said
their operation only allowed 60. The train personnel said more traffic would
wear out the rails. Sherman didn't care about the rails other than meeting his
needs. He put soldiers in to run the trains and was soon up to 193 cars per day
from Nashville to Chattanooga.
April 23, 1865 – During the Civil
War, a skirmish was fought near Mumford’s Station, Ala.
April 23, 1865 – During the Civil
War, a three-day Federal reconnaissance from Pulaski, Tenn. to Rogersville,
Ala. began.
April 23, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote
to his wife, Varina, of the desperate situating facing the Confederates. “Panic
has seized the country,” he wrote to his wife in Georgia. Davis was in
Charlotte, North Carolina, on his flight away from Yankee troops.
April 23, 1865 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought along the Snake Creek in the Arizona Territory;
with Indians near Fort Zarah, Kansas; and at Hendersonville, N.C.
April 23, 1878 – The Monroe Journal reported that “among the
distinguished visiting attorneys” attending circuit court that week were Col.
N. Stallworth, district solicitor, and Col. G.R. Farnham of Evergreen; Col.
J.W. Portis of Suggsville; Col.’s J.M. Whitehead and J.W. Posey of Greenville;
Col. S.J. Cumming of Camden; and J.M. Davison, esq., of Pollard.
April 23, 1878 – The Monroe Journal reported that an infant
child of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Lowry died near Burnt Corn a few days before.
April 23, 1878 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from
the Perdue Hill community, that “the new saloon on the Hill is handsomely fixed
up and looks neat, cozy and enticing. The liquors and cigars are the best
brands, the wines are the best the market affords, and the best of beer is
always kept on tap.”
April 23, 1878 – The Monroe Journal reported that “one of
the most noteworthy establishments in Mobile is that of W.T. Ayers, No. 14 South
Francis St., perhaps the oldest saddlery house in the South. The familiarity of
the proprietor with every branch of the business, the long experience he has
had, the extensive acquaintance he has made, the large trade he has built up,
have secured for him an advantage in low prices and superior goods which his
customers share.”
April 23, 1878 – The Monroe Journal reported, under the
headline “A Good Man,” that “the name of our esteemed townsman, Dr. J.T.
Russell is being brought prominently forward for the legislature, and although
he is no office-seeker, and has persistently refused to take any steps either
to promote his own or anybody else’s interest, believing it to be the
prerogative of the people to select a candidate for a representative office
free and untrammeled, his nomination is not only possible, but probable.”
April 23, 1886 – The Monroe Journal reported that the work
of repairing the Methodist parsonage was progressing.
April 23, 1886 – The Monroe Journal reported that the hotels
seemed to be doing a good business that week. “The ‘twe twe’ of the violin, the
‘trump trump’ of the guitar and gingle of the triangle reverberates upon the
midnight air,” the newspaper reported.
April 23, 1886 – The Monroe Journal reported that, among the
prominent visiting attorneys in attendance upon Monroe County Circuit Court
that week were Col. S.J. Cumming of Camden, Col. C.J. Torrey of Mobile and
Joseph Cloud, Esq., of Mobile.
April 23, 1886 – The Monroe Journal reported that the
Methodist pulpit would be filled on the next Sabbath by Rev. E.E. Cowan.
April 23, 1886 – The Monroe Journal reported that the
contract was closed on April 16 between the Confederate monument executive
committee and Alexander Doyle of New York for the building of the Confederate
monument for about $45,000. It was to be erected on capitol hill in Montgomery.
The height was to be 85 feet, with a base 30 feet square.
April 23, 1886 - The case of the State v. Charlie Tatum,
charged with murder, was tried on this Friday in Monroe County, and “to the
great surprise and mortification of nearly all who heard the evidence, the jury
returned a verdict of guilty and sentenced him to penitentiary for life,”
according to The Monroe Journal.
April 23, 1896 – The Monroe Journal, in news from the Buena
Vista community, reported that Miss Mamie Boroughs was preparing for the
closing exercises of her school there.
April 23, 1896 – The Monroe Journal, in news from the Mexia
community, reported that J.M. Gardner, the “well known mill man,” had rented
the large steam mill owned by the Hixon brothers, which was located in the
“suburbs” of Mexia and would “soon be running on full time.”
April 23, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that George W.
Salter Sr. of Evergreen was visiting relatives and friends in Monroeville that
week.
April 23, 1899 – Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote the
controversial novel “Lolita” in 1953, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.
April 23, 1900 – National Baseball Hall of Fame first
baseman Jim Bottomley was born in Oglesby, Ill. He went on to play for the St.
Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Browns. He was inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 1974.
April 23, 1908 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an
act creating the U.S. Army Reserve.
April 23, 1910 - The first movie version of Alabama author
Augusta Jane Evans Wilson's book “St. Elmo”
was released.
April 23, 1910 – American President Theodore Roosevelt made
his "The Man in the Arena" speech.
April 23, 1911 – On this night, a large meteor, emitting
sparks, illuminated the sky in Evergreen, Ala. “as bright as day and was a
beautiful sight.” It fell “somewhere in the state,” the local newspaper
reported.
April 23, 1914 – The first Major League Baseball game at
Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park in Chicago, was played. The Federals
defeated Kansas City, 9-1.
April 23, 1915 – On this Friday night, in the grove in front
of the Evergreen City School, the “Whites” entertained the “Golds.” All
“leaguers” were invited to attend.
April 23, 1915 - Rupert Brooke, a young scholar and poet serving as an officer in the British Royal Navy, died of blood poisoning from an insect bite on a hospital ship anchored off the Greek island of Skyros, while awaiting deployment in the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula.
April 23, 1916 - The Rev. T.O. Reese, “one of the most
successful” evangelists of the Baptist Home Mission Board of Atlanta, Ga., with
his singer, Mr. Scofield, was scheduled to begin a revival meeting at the
Baptist Church of Evergreen on this Sunday morning.
April 23, 1916 - While working as a drawbridge tender at
Three Mile Creek on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, just north of
Mobile, Ala., James Samuel Shell, “one of Conecuh County’s best citizens, met a
horrible death” on this Sunday morning about 2 a.m., “being killed by Train No.
3. His body was mangled beyond recognition. It will never be known how the
accident occurred as Mr. Shell was alone on the bridge at the time.” His
remains were brought to Owassa on Train No. 6 later that same day, and he was
buried in the cemetery at Antioch church on Mon., April 24.
April 23-24, 1917 – Conecuh County’s commissioners court
was in session on this Monday and Tuesday, transacting unfinished business left
over from the last meeting. All members of the board were present.
April 23, 1918
– During World War I, the British Royal Navy made a raid in an attempt to
neutralize the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
April 23, 1921 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher
Warren Spahn was born in Buffalo, N.Y. He went on to play for the
Boston/Milwaukee Braves, the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. He was
inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.
April 23, 1925 – The Monroe Journal reported that “while in
Birmingham recently, one of the light-fingered gentry relieved Mr. A.C. Lee of
his watch as he was about to pass through the gate at the Union Station. The
timepiece was of the Dollar variety and of ancient vintage. Mr. Lee is in doubt
as to who was the real victim of the hold-up, he or the pickpocket. Mr. Lee
would have felt amply compensated for the loss if he could have seen the
expression depicted on the countenance of the thief when he came to examine his
loot.”
April 23, 1925 – The Monroe Journal reported that Judge M.M.
Fountain was having material assembled for his new home in the Fountain
Addition.
April 23, 1925 – The Monroe Journal reported that the framework
of Mr. J.O. Simmons’ new dwelling in the southern part of Monroeville had been
erected. Judging from the plans, this was expected to “be one of the handsomest
homes in the city.”
April 23, 1926 – Novelist James Patrick (J.P.) Donleavy was
born in Brooklyn, N.Y.
April 23, 1927 – Virgil Murphy was executed in Alabama’s
electric chair at 12:30 a.m. at Kilby Prison in Montgomery, Ala. Murphy had
been convicted of killing his wife, but he contended “to the last that he had
no recollection of the crime and that he was insane with drink when he killed
his wife.” He was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. by Dr. R.A. Burns, physician
inspector for the convict department, and Dr. J.F. Sewell of Wetumpka.
April 23, 1936 – Singer and songwriter Roy Orbison was born
in Vernon, Texas.
April 23, 1937 – Poet and translator Coleman Barks was born
in Chattanooga, Tenn.
April 23, 1940 - Walter Ramer, 34, of Repton died on this
Tuesday night at St. Margaret’s in Montgomery from burns received while working
as patrol driver for the state, 15 miles from town on the Evergreen-Midway
highway. According to The Evergreen Courant, it seemed that a vehicle,
presumably a truck, had given out of gasoline and Ramer had poured some into
the supply tank, but as the motor was slow in picking up the fuel, Ramer
attempted to hasten the action by standing on the running board of the truck
and pouring gasoline into the carburetor. The truck on which Ramer was standing
was being pushed from front by another vehicle, trying to start the stalled
motor. While he was thus occupied on the running board, the truck ahead
backfired, sending out a spark that ignited the flowing gasoline. Attempting to
get out of the way, Ramer jumped backward from the running board, tilting the
fuel container, drenching himself with the flaming liquid. In his first moments
of fright and pain, as is common with most people whose clothes catch fire,
Ramer’s first impulse was to run, which of course increased the fury of the
flames. When the other members of the crew finally stopped the flaming figure
of Ramer, the whole of his chest and arms were badly burned. Ramer was
immediately put under a doctor’s attention, but as his condition called for more
extensive medical care, he was removed Fri., April 19, to St. Margaret’s
hospital in Montgomery, where he died.
April 23, 1942 – Novelist and short-story writer Barry
Hannah was born in Meridian, Miss.
April 23, 1942 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the
Evergreen Rotary Club had elected its new slate of officers, including W.O.
Henderson, president; D.T. Stuart Jr., vice-president; and P.L. Pace,
secretary-treasurer. Old officers included E.C. Page Jr., president; W.N.
McGehee, vice-president; H.J. Kinzer, secretary-treasurer.”
April 23, 1943 – Grady Gaston of Frisco City, a 23-year-old ball
turret gunner on the “Little Eva,” was rescued when found walking on the beach
by an aborigine. Gaston became famous for having lived through an epic struggle
for survival in the Australian wilderness after a plane crash 141 days earlier.
Gaston’s story of survival was so remarkable that he was featured in “Ripley’s
Believe It or Not!” for having survived “141 days of hell.”
April 23, 1945 – During World War II, Adolf Hitler's
designated successor Hermann Göring sent him a telegram asking permission to
take leadership of the Third Reich, which caused Hitler to replace him with
Joseph Goebbels and Karl Dönitz.
April 23, 1954 – Wilcox County, Ala.
native Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit his first Major League home run.
April 23, 1957 - An earthquake with its epicenter near
Guntersville, Ala. affected parts of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, but caused
little damage. The Montgomery Advertiser
reported that "thousands of light sleepers were awakened by the
shock" at about 3:30 a.m.
April 23, 1963 - At the outset of his one-man march against
segregation, William Moore was slain alongside an Etowah County, Ala. highway
when he was shot by a rifle fired at close range. Moore, a white postal worker
from Binghamton, N.Y. had begun his march in Chattanooga intending to travel to
Jackson, Mississippi. A white storeowner from DeKalb County was implicated in
the shooting but was never indicted.
April 23, 1964 - Ken Johnson of the Houston Astros threw the
first no-hitter for a loss. The game was lost, 1-0, to the Cincinnati Reds due
to two errors.
April 23, 1968
– During the Vietnam War, student protesters at Columbia University in New York
City took over administration buildings and shut down the university.
April 23, 1970 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the
Evergreen United Methodist Church would be participating in the Greater
Montgomery Fellowship for Christian Athlete’s Rally by having Jerry Leachman, a
member of the University of Alabama football team and the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, speak at the 11 o’clock worship service (presumably on
Sun., April 26).
April 23, 1970 – The Evergreen Courant reported that there
had been a number of changes in personnel at the Evergreen Post of the Alabama
State Troopers in recent months, and the newspaper printed a picture of the men
who are patrolling the highways in Conecuh and Monroe counties. They were Lt.
W.W. Nettles, assistant district commander; Post Sgt. O.J. Nelson, Troopers
R.H. Cottingham and T.W. Hall, Evergreen, Trooper J.D. Stuckey, Monroeville,
Troopers W.E. Gill and F.D. Brackin and Cpl. B.E. Bozeman, Evergreen. Not
present with the picture was made were Capt. W.O. Nichols, district commander,
and Trooper M.E. Craft of Monroeville.
April 23, 1970 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the
March of Dimes Certificate of Appreciation had been awarded to David T. Hyde
Jr. and Mrs. H.A. Deer in grateful recognition of their devoted and energetic
efforts toward realizing the National Foundation’s mission of preventing birth
defects and their disabling after effects. Making the presentation was Julian
H. Maynard, field representative of the Foundation.
April 23, 1971 – The Second Annual Monroe County Choral and
Band Festival was scheduled to be held on this Friday at 8 p.m. at Patrick
Henry Junior College in Monroeville, Ala. Excel High School’s first chorus,
under the direction of Ben Rackard, was to be among the musical groups
participating in the event. Also participating was to be the Excel High School
band, which was directed by John R. Carder.
April 23, 1972 – Prominent Conecuh Countian and Evergreen
Livestock Co. operator James Henry Witherington, 76, passed away in a Mobile,
Ala. hospital.
April 23, 1975 - At a speech at
Tulane University, President Gerald Ford said the Vietnam War was finished as
far as America is concerned.
April 23, 1976 – Actor Gabriel Damon was born in Reno,
Nevada.
April 23, 1976 - A movie version of Alabama author Charles
Gaines's book “Stay Hungry” was
released.
April 23, 1977 – Major League Baseball outfielder and
designated hitter Andruw Jones was born in Willemstad, Curaçao. He went on to
play for the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Texas Rangers, the
Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees.
April 23, 1982 - The Unabomber mailed a pipe bomb from
Provo, Utah to Penn State University.
April 23, 1985 - The Coca Cola company unveiled their New
Coke formula for their signature beverage. The result was outrage from Coke
drinkers across the country, who bombarded the company with demands to return
to the original formula. Less than three months later, 'old Coke' was
re-introduced as 'Coca Cola Classic' and New Coke became known as the
modern-day equivalent to the Edsel.
April 23, 1991 - Crawford T. Johnson III at the Annual
Shareholders Meeting of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United, Inc. announced his
retirement as Chief Executive Officer of the company and the appointment of
Claude B. Nielsen as President and Chief Executive Officer. Nielsen had served
as President and Chief Operating Officer of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United, Inc.
since Feb. 1, 1990. He was to assume the responsibilities of Chief Executive
Officer effective May 1, 1991.
April 23, 1994 - Evergreen Little League was scheduled to
hold Opening Day ceremonies on this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Evergreen
Municipal Park in Evergreen, Ala. Players on T-Ball, Minor League and Little
League teams were to be introduced at this time.
April 23, 1994 - Rikard’s Mill was scheduled to open to the
public for the first time as a living history museum after being still for more
than 30 years. The mill was to open to the public on this Saturday at 9 a.m.;
the ribbon-cutting was to be held between 10 and 10:30 a.m. The mill is 22
miles north of Monroeville, just off Alabama Highway 265 north of Beatrice,
Ala.
April 23, 1998 - James Earl Ray died in Nashville, Tenn. at
age 70 while serving a life sentence for the assassination of Martin Luther
King Jr. Ray had confessed to the crime and then later insisted he had been
framed.
April 23, 1999 - U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions was scheduled to
visit Conecuh County, Ala. on this Friday at 4 p.m. for a town hall meeting at
the renovated historic depot in Evergreen.
April 23, 2005
– The first video was uploaded to YouTube, titled "Me at the zoo."
April 23, 2013
– At least 28 were dead and more than 70 were injured as violence broke out in
Hawija, Iraq.
April 23, 2014 – Eight members of the “Three River
Adventurers” departed on historic 139-mile canoe trip from Travis Bridge in
Conecuh County, Ala. to Pensacola, Fla. The group included Dalton Campbell of
Owassa, Frank Murphy of Herbert, Sam Peacock of Repton, John Potts of Flat
Rock, Ed Salter of Repton, Joel Williams of Evergreen, Marc Williams of
Evergreen and Evergreen native Larry Yeargan of Coosada. On April 28, they
arrived at Swamp House Landing near Pensacola.
April 23, 2014 – Meb Keflezighi threw out the ceremonial
first pitch at Fenway Park in Boston. The first American male to win the Boston
Marathon in more than 30 years, Keflezighi was a natural choice to throw out
the first pitch before the Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway. He wore his marathon
medal and a jersey emblazoned with No. 26.2 – a nod to the mileage of the marathon
event.
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