Today in History for April 28, 2018

Harper Lee of Monroeville, Ala.

April 28, 1686 - The first volume of Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathamatic" was published.

April 28, 1758 - James Monroe, the fifth U.S. President, was born at Monroe Hall, Virginia, British America.

April 28, 1776 - Col. Lachlan McIntosh wrote a letter to inform General George Washington that he was pleased with his recruitment efforts in the colony at Savannah, Ga.

April 28, 1788 – Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.

April 28, 1789 – During what’s now referred to as the “Mutiny on the Bounty,” Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors were set adrift and the rebel crew returned to Tahiti briefly and then set sail for Pitcairn Island.

April 28, 1810 - Union General Daniel Ullmann, who is best known for being an advocate for black troops, was born in Wilmington, Delaware.

April 28, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Bolivar, Ala. and another was fought at Paint Rock Bridge, Ala.

April 28, 1862 – During the Civil War, Forts Jackson and Saint Philip in Louisiana, after the surrender of New Orleans, rendered their further resistance useless. A Federal operation began on the Marias-des-Cygnes and the Elk Fork Rivers in Missouri. A two-day Federal reconnaissance toward Purdy, Tenn. began.

April 28, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Warsaw, Mo.; at Cumberland Mountain, Tenn. and near Monterey, Tenn.

April 28, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Town Creek, Ala.

April 28, 1863 – Union Col. Florence N. Cornyn and members of the 10th Missouri Cavalry destroyed the LaGrange College & Military Academy in Franklin County, Ala. and also burned hundreds of homes and businesses, including the Lafayette Academy.

April 28, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Sand Mountain, Ga.; at Monticello, Ky.; and at Union Church, Miss. as part of the Grierson raid.

April 28, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Princeton, Ark.; with Indians along the Eel River in California; in Johnson County, Mo. and at Upperville, Va. A nine-day Federal operation between Springfield, Mo. and Fayetteville, Ark. began. A week-long bombardment of Fort Sumter, S.C. commenced.

April 28, 1864 – 59^TH ALABAMA: On the morning, the 59^th Alabama marched through Richmond, where the crowds cheered and yelled. They camped on Mechanicsville Road, four miles from the city of Richmond, which was close to the Chickahominy Swamp.

April 28, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought with Indians near Fort Cummings, New Mexico Territory.

April 28, 1878 – Actor and director Lionel Barrymore was born in Philadelphia.

April 28, 1881 – Billy the Kid escaped from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.

April 28, 1882 – Joseph Tarpley Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock’s father) signed a mortgage, under which he borrowed $60 from his wife Nancy’s nephew, Richard P. Liles, against “my entire crop of cotton, corn, sugar cane, fodder and peas grown by me the present year on my plantation or elsewhere under my direction in Covington County.” Repayment was due Oct. 1

April 28-29, 1886 - A 78-year-old Jefferson Davis was in Montgomery, Ala. to participate in elaborate ceremonies for laying the cornerstone of the Confederate Monument on Capitol Hill. It was the only cornerstone laid by Davis. Fundraising and design problems slowed the construction of the monument. A dedication ceremony for the completed monument was held on Dec. 7, 1898.

April 28, 1886 - Rain “fell in torrent” on this Wednesday, according to The Monroe Journal.

April 28, 1886 – Erich Salomon, one of the founders of photojournalism, was born in Berlin, Germany.

April 28, 1896 - Sam Moore, who was representing the firm of Michtral & Lyon of Mobile, was in Pineville, Ala. on this Tuesday.

April 28, 1897 - The Chickasaw and Choctaw, two of the Five Civilized Tribes, became the first to agree to abolish tribal government and communal ownership of land. The other tribes soon followed, finally throwing open all of Indian Territory to white settlement.

April 28, 1900 – German SS officer Heinrich Müller was born in Munich, Bavaria, German Empire.

April 28, 1911 – Confederate veteran Lemuel Austin Hendrix passed away at his home in Mexia, Ala. at the age of 72. Hendrix was born on April 29, 1839 and enlisted as a private in August 1861 with Co. E of the 23rd Alabama Infantry, aka, the “Monroe Rebels.” He was taken prisoner during the Port Gibson/Grand Gulf Campaign on May 10, 1863. He was forwarded to Alton, Ill. and then to Camp Douglas, Ill. and was released in June 1865. According to “History of Hendrix Family” by J.E. Hendrix, L.A. Hendrix was in position beside his brother, William James Hendrix, when W.J. Hendrix was struck by a cannon shot and instantly killed. L.A. Hendrix is buried at Mexia Baptist Cemetery.

April 28, 1915 - The movie “The Poet of the Peak,” screenplay written by Alabama author Marie Stanley under her maiden name Marie Layet, was released.

April 28, 1915 - The International Congress of Women convened at The Hague, Netherlands, with more than 1,200 delegates from 12 countries—including Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Poland, Belgium and the United States—all dedicated to the cause of peace and a resolution of the great international conflict that was World War I.

April 28, 1917 – Playwright Robert Anderson was born in New York City.

April 28, 1917 – Rev. W.H. Huggins, who lived in the vicinity of Owassa, passed away on this Saturday night.

April 28, 1918 – “The Memorial” was scheduled to be at McWilliams on this Sunday at 2 p.m., conducted by the Rev. Earnest of Mount Willing, Ala.

April 28, 1926 - Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Ala. Her famous novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird, was published on July 11, 1960, and sold more than 2-1/2 million copies in the first year. On May 1, 1961, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Letters. In 2015, she published her second novel, “Go Set a Watchman.”

April 28, 1928 – Geologist and astronomer Eugene Shoemaker was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

April 28, 1930 – The Independence Producers hosted the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.

April 28, 1932 – A vaccine for yellow fever was announced for use on humans.

April 28, 1934 – Novelist Lois Duncan was born in Philadelphia, Pa.

April 28, 1936 – Iraqi journalist and politician, Tariq Aziz, who also served as Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, was born in Tel Keppe, Iraq.

April 28, 1937 – Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was born in Al-Awja, Saladin Province, Iraq.

April 28, 1940 - The seventh anniversary of the Monroe Theatre was scheduled to be celebrated on this Sunday with a birthday party in the theatre lobby. The public was cordially invited by Bill Hendrix, manager. Showing on the screen that day, as the Seventh Anniversary Picture, was to be “Little Old New York,” featuring Alice Faye, Fred MacMurray, Richard Greene and Brenda Joyce.

April 28, 1946 - The Evergreen Baseball Club traveled to Milton, Fla. on this Sunday and won its second game of the season, 7-0. Hart pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, and McDonald held them to no hits for the next two innings. Johnson and Page each had two hits, and Bolton drove out a 300-foot homer in the first inning. The outstanding fielder was Barfield, first baseman.

April 28, 1947 – Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl and his five-person crew set sail from Callao, Peru, on the 40-square-foot balsa wood raft “Kon-Tiki” to prove that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia. After a 4,300-mile, 101-day trip, they would reach Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti on Aug. 7, 1947.

April 28, 1950 – Poet Carolyn Forche was born in Detroit.

April 28, 1955 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the Castleberry Swimming Pool would open soon. The water was expected to be turned on, and the Castleberry swimming pool was to open soon to the public, according to A.T. Weaver, Castleberry town clerk. The pool was of concrete construction, with a concrete bottom at the deep end, and was paved at the shallow end with smooth round pebbles. It was about 40 feet wide, and about 110 feet long.

April 28, 1955 – Monroe County was scheduled to play Jay, Fla. in Dixie Amateur Baseball League action at Vanity Fair Park in Monroeville, beginning at 8 p.m.

April 28, 1961 - The NFL chose Canton, Ohio as the site for the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

April 28, 1961 - Three teenage boys were arrested in Brewton on this Friday by Conecuh County Sheriff James Brock and FBI Agent Jules Hubbard after the three had wrecked a stolen car in Castleberry on Wed., April 26. The three 15-year-old boys confessed stealing the car. They were arrested in the home of one boy’s grandmother. Brock said the car, a 1955 Chevrolet station wagon, was stolen Tues., April 25. The boys drove to Castleberry that night to see a relative and while driving around in the vicinity they wrecked it. Brock said an all-out search was staged for the boys before the April 28 arrest. They were jailed in Evergreen, awaiting a federal agent from Mobile to pick them up.

April 28, 1962 – Early on this Saturday morning, Conecuh County Exchange employees Eugene B. McIntyre, 52, and Earl Steen, 24, both of Evergreen were killed instantly in a three-vehicle accident near the Murder Creek Bridge on U.S. Highway 31 in Evergreen. Also injured in the crash were Geneva Steen, 59, and George Thompson, 63, who were hurt when they jumped off the bridge to avoid the collision. Five women from Mobile also suffered “bruises and injuries” when the 1957 Cadillac they were in collided with other vehicles involved. Preston Smith, 51, the driver of a big trailer truck that collided with the two-ton truck occupied by the two fatally wounded men, was not injured.

April 28, 1963 – The reorganized Conecuh County (Ala.) Amateur Baseball League opened its season on this Sunday afternoon with three games – Damascus at Paul, McKenzie at Red Level and Flat Rock vs. Mixonville in Evergreen. Bernard Powell was president of the league.

April 28, 1964 – National Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He went on to play his entire career for the Cincinnati Reds. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

April 28, 1965 - Alabama author George Wylie Henderson died in New York, N.Y.

April 28, 1966 - A flying club was organized in Uriah on this Thursday night. The men named the organization “The Flying Six.” Les Hayles, president of the club, stated that the purpose of the club was for them to have mutual ownership in a plane and to learn to operate a plane on an economical basis. C.E. Snow Jr., financial chairman and secretary, said the club planned to expand its membership at a later date. Charter members of the club were Randolph Lambert, Alvin Smith, Mr. Snow, Lloyd (Whitey) Chunn and Mr. Hayles.

April 28, 1969 - The 24^th annual Conecuh County Fat Calf Show lived up to the reputation of previous shows as “best county show in Alabama” in Evergreen on this Monday. It was a fine show and a fine sale of show calves after and both events were attended by overflow crowds at Conecuh Stockyard. Young Donnie Goneke of Belleville and a member of the Repton 4-H Club showed a Hereford which took the Grand Champion blue ribbon. J.H. Witherington bought the calf paying 53 cents per pound. The calf weighed 1,040 pounds. Arnold Hall of Owassa and a member of the Evergreen FFA had the Reserve Champion in his Charolais Crossbreed. W.C. Bowers bid 44 cents per pound to buy the calf for Flxible Southern Co.

April 28, 1970 - The Evergreen City Council approved the use of the ‘911’ emergency telephone number in the City of Evergreen, Ala.

April 28, 1970 – During the Vietnam War, U.S. President Richard Nixon gave his formal authorization to commit U.S. combat troops, in cooperation with South Vietnamese units, against communist troop sanctuaries in Cambodia.

April 28, 1971 – Wilcox County native Hank Aaron hit his 600th career home run.

April 28, 1972 – Sparta Academy held its first ever athletic banquet at the Holiday Inn in Evergreen, Ala. Tommy Yearout, co-captain of the 1971 Auburn Tigers, was the guest speaker.

April 28, 1972 - The North Vietnamese offensive continued as Fire Base Bastogne, 20 miles west of Hue, fell to the communists. Fire Base Birmingham, four miles to the east, was also under heavy attack. As fighting intensified all across the northern province of South Vietnam, much of Hue’s civilian population tried to escape south to Da Nang. Farther south in the Central Highlands, 20,000 North Vietnamese troops converged on Kontum, encircling it and cutting it off. Only 65 miles north of Saigon, An Loc lay under siege and continued to take a pummeling from North Vietnamese artillery, rockets, and ground attacks. To the American command in Saigon, it appeared that South Vietnam was on the verge of total defeat by the North Vietnamese, but the South Vietnamese were able to hold out.

April 28, 1975 – General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departed for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on victory.

April 28, 1976 – Sparta Academy’s softball team remained undefeated as they staged a tremendous late rally on this Wednesday to edge Fort Dale Academy, 15-14. Donna Salter was the winning pitcher as the girls ran their record to 3-0. Leanne Tanner led the hitters with two safeties.

April 28, 1977 – Conecuh County High School’s basketball team was honored with a banquet. Award winners included Leon Kennedy, Outstanding Player; Lawrence Finn, Most Valuable Player; Clinton Peters, Rebound Award; and Willie Jones, Defense Award. Preston Fluker was the varsity team’s head coach, and James Sanders was the B team’s head coach.

April 28, 1980 – Woodlands (also known as the Frederick Blount Plantation) in Gosport, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

April 28, 1981 – Evergreen, Ala. native and former NFL player Benjamin Rudolph was drafted in the third round (60th pick overall) by the New York Jets.

April 28, 1985 - Billy Martin was named the manager of the New York Yankees for the fourth time.

April 28, 1988 - The Baltimore Orioles lost for the 21st consecutive time. It was the longest streak to start a season in Major League Baseball.

April 28, 1994 - The 100th episode of "The Simpsons" aired on FOX.

April 28, 1994 – Hillcrest High School’s boys track team finished sixth and Hillcrest’s girls also finished in sixth place at the 5A sectional track meet held on this day in Troy. Boys team results were as follows: Smith’s Station, first place, 186 points; Eufaula, second place, 85 points; Charles Henderson, third place, 75 points; Greenville, fourth place, 73 points; Andalusia, fifth place, 53 points; Hillcrest, sixth place, nine points; and Wetumpka, seventh place, seven points. Girls team results were as follows: Smith’s Station, first place, 171 points; Eufaula, second place, 46 points; Greenville, third place, 43 points; Charles Henderson, fourth place, 38 points; Wetumpka, fifth place, four points; and Hillcrest, sixth place, one point. Individual results were as follows: 400-meter dash, Lasharon Johnson, sixth place; discus, Blake Anderson, sixth place; shot put, Steven Snell, fourth place; 3200-meter relay, Chad Smith, Charles Thomas, Jonathan McEwen and Equardo Thomas, fourth place. State qualifiers – Steve Snell, shot put; Chad Smith, 3200-m relay; Charles Thomas, 3200-m relay; Jonathan McEwen, 3200-m relay; and Equardo Thomas, 3200-m relay.

April 28, 1995 – Episode No. 46 of “The X-Files” – entitled “F. Emasculata” – aired for the first time.

April 28, 2001 - Alabama author James Still died in Hazard, Ky.

April 28, 2001 - Millionaire Dennis Tito became the world's first space tourist. 

April 28, 2007 – Evergreen, Ala. Mayor Larry Fluker threw out the first pitch to open the Babe Ruth baseball season at Evergreen Municipal Park.

April 28, 2009 – “Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith” by Beth Holloway was published in paperback under the alternate title “Loving Natalee: The True Story of the Aruba Kidnapping and Its Aftermath.” The paperback edition includes additional material that wasn’t in the original hardback edition, which was published on Oct. 2, 2007.

April 28, 2011 – The Father Ryan Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy rededicated the fountain erected in Greenville, Ala. in 1914 to mark the spot where a modified version of “Dixie” written by Miss Ina Marie Porter was first sung in 1861. Legend has it that Porter wrote the words on one day and it was sung the next day.

April 28, 2011 - A Dutch instructor pilot was killed when his Apache helicopter collided with a steel cable over the Alabama River at Packer’s Bend that guided the ferry there. The accident happened around noon on this Thursday. Capt. Richard van de Perre was piloting the helicopter when it apparently collided head-on with a steel cable stretched across the river at an estimated 50-60 foot height that helps guide the Davis Ferry, operated by the Monroe County Commission, as it crosses the river. The cable shattered the cockpit windshield and apparently killed van de Perre instantly.

April 28, 2011 - Prior to the first performance of the “To Kill a Mockingbird” play in Monroeville, Ala. on this Thursday, Georgia-Pacific officials announced the company would donate $150,000 to construct an amphitheater on the grounds of the Old Monroe County Courthouse.

  

April 28, 2014 - Eight members of the “Three River Adventurers” arrived at Swamp House Landing near Pensacola, Fla., ending a historic 139-mile canoe trip from Travis Bridge to Pensacola. 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.