Today in History for May 3, 2018

Mary Ward Brown

May 3, 1469 – Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote “The Prince” in 1513, was born in Florence, Italy.

May 3, 1765 - The first Quartering Act was enacted by the Parliament of Great Britain. This act expired on May 24, 1767.

May 3, 1775 - William Legge instructed colonial Governor Josiah Martin of North Carolina to organize an association of Loyalists and raise militias.

May 3, 1794 – James Osgood Andrew was born in Washington township in Wilkes County, Ga. He was the first native of Georgia to enter the Methodist ministry, and the Andrews Chapel in McIntosh, Ala. was later named in his honor.

May 3, 1802 - Washington, D.C. was incorporated as a city.

May 3, 1848 – Lt. William R. King, 22, died in Orizaba, Mexico during Mexican War (some say from measles). Born on July 15, 1822, he is buried at Belleville Baptist Church Cemetery in Conecuh County, Ala. Mexican War military records indicate that 2nd Lt. Wm. R. King served with Co. E (McAlpin’s), 1st Battalion of Alabama Volunteers of Mobile.

May 3, 1849 – Photojournalist Jacob Riis was born in Ribe, Denmark. His most famous book is “How the Other Half Lives” (1890).

May 3, 1855 – American adventurer William Walker departed from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.

May 3, 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln on this day issued a second call for volunteers to augment the miniscule Union standing army. The first call had been for 75,000 volunteer troops; this one asked for 42,000 more volunteers to sign up for three years plus an expansion of the “regular” army from 16,000 to 24,000. There was also a call for 18,000 to join the Navy for at least one year. All of this was done without authorization from Congress, under Lincoln’s role as Commander in Chief.

May 3, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Batesville, Ark.; along Lookout Creek, near Lookout Mountain, in Georgia; and at Watkins’ Ferry, Ga. Federal reconnaissance was conducted of the area around Farmington, Miss. and to the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, in north Mississippi.

May 3, 1862 – Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had been battling for more than a month to fend off the Army of the Potomac under George McClellan. The Federals had brought in siege guns, and were adding more forces across the Rappahannock, and Johnston finally decided to evacuate Yorktown, Va., to move further up the Peninsula. McClellan, despite outnumbering the Confederates 2-1, had never launched an actual attack because he feared he was the one outnumbered.

May 3, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Cedar Bluff, Ala. that ended the Streight raid. Union Colonel Abel Streight surrendered to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

May 3, 1863 - Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson took Hazel Grove, a hill that provided a prime artillery location, during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Once Stuart’s artillery occupied Hazel Grove, the Confederates proceeded to wreak havoc on the Union lines around Chancellorsville. Rebel cannons shelled the Union line, and the fighting resulted in more Union casualties than Jackson’s attack the day before.

May 3, 1863 – Battle of Suffolk. Noah Dallas Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock’s older brother) fought there with Co. F, 15th Ala. Inf., Army of Northern Va.

May 3, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought on the North Fork of Bayou Pierre, Willow Springs, Ingraham’s Heights, Jones Crossroads, Forty Hills, Hankinson’s Ferry, and along the Big Black River in Mississippi; at Saint Joseph’s Island, Texas; at Ashland, a Chuckatuck, Warrenton Junction, and Hanover Station in Virginia.

May 3, 1863 - Confederates evacuated Grand Gulf, Miss. A seven-day Federal operation began in Cass and Bates Counties in Missouri. Federal reconnaissance began along the Sante Fe Road, Mo. Federal reconnaissance began between Triune and Eagleville in Tennessee.

May 3, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman sent troops against Confederate forces at Dalton, Ga.

May 3, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near the mouth of Richland Creek, Ark.; with Cheyenne Indians at Cedar Bluff in the Colorado Territory; at Catoosa Springs, Chickamauga Creek, and at Red Clay in Georgia; at Bayou Redwood and Bayou Olive Branch, and near Baton Rouge in Louisiana; and at Bulltown, West Virginia.

May 3, 1877 – Labatt Park in London, Ontario, Canada, the oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world, had its first game.

May 3, 1879 - Henry Colbert was shot and killed in Escambia County on this Saturday by James Lambert. The killing was done in self-defense, according to The Evergreen Star.

May 3, 1891 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Eppa Rixey was born in Culpepper, Va. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

May 3, 1896 - Bro. B.H. Crumpton filled his regular appointment at the Baptist church in Pineville on this Sunday.

May 3, 1905 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Red Ruffing was born in Granville, Ill. He went on to play for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that the reunion of Confederate veterans at New Orleans the previous week was pronounced a great success. The Picayune estimated the number of attendants from outside the city at 43,000. The next reunion was to be held at Richmond, Va. The Journal also reported that J.L. Marshall had returned home from the Veterans reunion at New Orleans and said it was a great success. The Journal also reported that Mrs. Sarah Seymour and daughter, Miss Mary, had also attended the Confederate Veterans reunion at New Orleans.

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Pineville community, that Mrs. Howard Lee of Castleberry was visiting at the home of her father, Dr. G.G. Stallworth.

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Axle community, that the Rev. A.J. Lambert preached a very interesting sermon, which was enjoyed by all present.

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Poplar Springs community, that Mr. Less Biggs of Maros “had the misfortune to lose one of his feet while at work on the log train a few days ago.”

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Jones Mill community, that “several families around here were fortunate enough to enjoy a mess of fish through the efforts of W.H. Tucker, D. Roberts and J.A. Turner, who spent two days fishing last week.”

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Buena Vista community, that Mrs. C. Middleton stumbled over a brick in her hen house and sustained painful injuries to her face and hands. “Under the skillful treatment of Dr. Jas. Stallworth her wounds are rapidly healing. Mrs. Middleton has never been confined to her room.”

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Chestnut community, that Joe Daley’s house caught fire on day last week, but succeeded in putting out the fire before it did any serious damage.

May 3, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the McWilliams community, that Dr. Tenant McWilliams visited the town very often.

May 3, 1906 – The school in the Provo community closed on this Thursday.

May 3, 1912 – Poet, novelist and memoirist May Sarton was born in Wondelgem, Belgium.

May 3, 1913 – William Inge, who came to be known as the “Playwright of the Midwest,” was born in Independence, Kansas.

May 3, 1915 – The first episode of the ‘Trey of Hearts’ was show at the Arcade Theatre in Evergreen, Ala.

May 3, 1915 - During a 10-day-long stretch of fighting in the Carpathian Mountains on the Galician front in Austria-Hungary, a combined Austro-German force succeeded in defeating the Russian army near the Dunajec River (a tributary of the Vistula River that runs through modern-day northern Slovakia and southern Poland).

May 3, 1917 – The Monroe Journal reported that many pupils at Monroe County High School were “sorely disappointed at the decision of the faculty to abandon the usual commencement program at the close of the school two weeks hence. Diplomas will be delivered to members of the graduating class and certificates of promotion to others in an informal manner.”

May 3, 1918 - The Board of Trustees of Camden Grammar School was scheduled to meet on this Friday night for the purpose of nominating teachers for the ensuing school year. J.W. Turnipseed, S.L. Jones and S.C. Godbold were trustees of the school.

May 3 – Sept. 1, 1915 – Per their customary, traditional agreement, stores in Evergreen, Ala. began closing at 6 p.m. on every day except for Saturday.

May 3, 1920 – Daniel Robert “Dan” Bankhead, the first black pitcher in Major League Baseball, was born in Empire, Ala. in Walker County.

May 3, 1924 – Israeli poet and novelist Yehuda Amichai was born in Wurzburg, Germany.

May 3, 1936 - Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees made his Major League debut. He got three hits.

May 3, 1937 - Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Prize for "Gone with the Wind."

May 3, 1938 - Author and Poet Laureate Samuel Minturn Peck died in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

May 3, 1938 - Lefty Grove got the first of a record 20 consecutive wins.

  

May 3, 1951 - Gil McDougald of the New York Yankees became the fifth player to get six RBI in an inning.

May 3, 1951 – The Monroe Journal reported that John Hill, editor of The Frisco City Sun since its establishment in June 1950 and assistant editor of The Monroe Journal, had resigned his positions with the two papers. He was to assume the duties of public relations representative of the Alabama Electric Cooperative in Andalusia on Mon., May 7. He was to be succeeded on the Sun and Journal staffs by Riley N. Kelly of Excel.

May 3, 1951 – The Monroe Journal reported that the principals of Monroe County’s five high schools and one junior high school had been re-elected by the Monroe County Board of Education to return for the 1951-52 school terms, and all had indicated that they would return. Those principals included the following: Monroeville Schools – R.H. Vickery; Frisco City Schools – B.E. Lee; Beatrice Schools, John Harbour; Excel Schools – John Baggett; Uriah Schools – John Sawyer; Goodway (junior high) – C.E. Arnold.

May 3, 1951 - Monroe County authorities were using bloodhounds early on this Thursday morning in an attempt to track down two fugitives who escaped from the county jail at approximately 10:30 p.m. the night before. The two escapees were Tom Bailey and Henry Jones, both in jail on an indictment of second degree burglary. Sheriff Nicholas said that this was the first escape to occur in more than eight years.

May 3, 1951 – The Monroe Journal reported that Monroeville’s baseball team, with two league games under its belt against potent Pensacola and Atmore, was scheduled to take on the other two “toughies” in the league that coming week, playing host to Selma on this night (Thurs. May 3) and journeying to Thomasville for the tilt on the afternoon of Sun., May 6. Manager LeVaughn Hanks also announced that Edward Coniff, brilliant Mobile athlete who hurled for the Galveston, Texas professional team the previous summer, had joined the club and would be available for the duty on an average of once a week. Other Monroeville players that season included William Bayles, Cannon, Tunney Cardwell, Finlayson, Johnson, McKelvery, O’Keffe, Riley, Stephens, Tucker, Watkins, Buck Weaver.

May 3, 1952 – Lieutenant Colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict of the United States landed the first plane at the geographic North Pole.

May 3, 1952 – The Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network.

May 3, 1957 – Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, agreed to move the team from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California.

May 3, 1960 – The Anne Frank House museum opened in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

May 3, 1962 – The Evergreen Courant reported that work began during the previous week on the construction of a new red brick sanctuary and educational building for the Castleberry Methodist Church. This new building was constructed on the site of the old wood frame church, which was dismantled prior to the start of construction. The new structure was scheduled to be complete by Aug. 25.

May 3, 1963 - Peaceful African American demonstrators, many of them teenagers, were beaten back in downtown Birmingham by fire hoses and police dogs. The extreme tactics, ordered by police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor brought international attention to Project C, the name given to civil rights demonstrations in the city led by Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth.

May 3, 1965 - Alabama author Shirley Ann Grau is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book “The Keepers of the House.”

May 3, 1965 - The lead element of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (“Sky Soldiers”), stationed in Okinawa, departed for South Vietnam, becoming the first U.S. Army ground combat unit committed to the war.

May 3, 1967 – Evergreen High School’s varsity baseball team picked up four runs in the first inning and made them stand up for a 4-0 victory over Jackson in Evergreen. Lead off batter Don Montgomery got on first with a single and advanced to second on an error. Grove Jackson singled to right which brought Don Montgomery home. Homer Faulkner followed with a home run over the left field fence that scored Leon Hinson and Grover Jackson. Jackson had good scoring opportunities in the first, fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to get hits when they needed them. Grover Jackson ended all of these threats with strike outs. Jack White and Bill Bailey made good defensive plays for the Aggies. A good throw to the plate from Jack White prevented Jackson from getting a run in the fifth inning. Bill Bailey made a good fielding play followed by a good throw to end the game. Grover Jackson pitched his best game of the year.

May 3, 1968 - After 34 days of discussions to select a site, the United States and North Vietnam agreed to begin formal negotiations in Paris on May 10, or shortly thereafter.

May 3, 1971 - National Public Radio broadcasted for the first time.

May 3, 1971 - James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's assassin, was caught in a jailbreak attempt.

May 3, 1973 – The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago was topped out at 1,451 feet as the world's tallest building.

May 3, 1976 – On this Monday, Wilcox Academy’s baseball team clubbed Sparta Academy, 12-4, to put the Warriors season record at four wins and nine losses. Jerry Peacock was the losing pitcher. Walker Scott had three hits; Bobby Johnson, two; and Jerry Peacock, Joe Andrews and Sam Wiggins, one each.

May 3, 1978 – Evergreen weather reporter Earl Windham reported 3.44 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

May 3, 1978 – Former Troy placekicker Lawrence Tynes was born in Greenock, Scotland. He went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Giants.

May 3, 1979 – Camden native Tom “Sut” Jenkins, who played professional baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Browns, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 81 in Weymouth, Mass. He is buried in Pine Hill Cemetery in Quincy, Mass., right outside of Boston.

May 3, 1980 - Ferguson Jenkins of the Texas Rangers became the fourth player to win 100 games in the American League and the National League.

May 3, 1980 - At Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Mobile, Ala. native Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants hit his 521st and last home run, off Scott Sanderson of the Montreal Expos. This home run gave McCovey the distinction, along with Ted Williams (with whom he was tied in home runs), Rickey Henderson and Omar Vizquel of homering in four different decades.

May 3, 1983 – Three new members were welcomed into the Evergreen Kiwanis Club during the club’s regular meeting at Giuseppi’s. The new members were Mike Lanier, Jimmy Register and Bill Hart.

May 3, 1985 - A movie version of Alabama author Charles Gaines's book “Pumping Iron II: The Women” was released.

May 3, 1986 - Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees became the sixth player to hit three sacrifice flies in a game.

May 3, 1987 – A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to develop the restrictor plate for the following season both at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega.

May 3, 1990 – Evergreen, Ala. attorney Tommy Chapman, 40, was administered the oath of office as district attorney for Conecuh and Monroe counties, having been appointed to the position by Ala. Gov. Guy Hunt to replace Ted Pearson of Monroeville, who retired.

May 3, 1992 - Gregg Olson of the Baltimore Orioles became the youngest player to record 100 saves. He was 25 years old.

May 3, 1992 - Eddie Murray of the New York Mets became the 24th player to hit 400 home runs.

May 3, 1994 - Author Mary Elizabeth Counselman died in Gadsden, Ala.

May 3, 1995 - David Bell debuted for the Cleveland Indians.

May 3, 1997 - The "Republic of Texas" surrendered to authorities ending an armed standoff where two people were held hostage. The group asserted the independence of Texas from the U.S.

May 3, 2000 – The sport of geocaching began when the first official geocache ever was hidden in Oregon and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.

May 3, 2002 - The Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished Writer was given to Alabama author Mary Ward Brown at the Alabama Writers Symposium in Monroeville, Ala.

May 3, 2006 - In Alexandria, Va., Al-Quaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was given a sentence of life in prison for his role in the terrorist attack on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.

May 3, 2007 – Evergreen, Ala. weather reporter Harry Ellis reported that total rainfall for the month of April 2007 was 5.44 inches.

May 3, 2014 – Sarah Katherine Powell, daughter of Mike and Lynn Powell of Excel, Ala., was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Monroe County 2015.