July 14, 1540 – The DeSoto Expedition reached the ancient
Indian town of Tasqui on the Choccolocco Creek, about nine miles from its
junction with the Coosa River, in present-day Talladega County, Alabama.
July 14, 1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá
established a base in California and set out to find the Port of Monterey (now
Monterey, Calif.).
July 14, 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completed his
journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific,
but which turned out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the
Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
July 14, 1789 – Thousands of Parisian revolutionaries and
mutinous troops stormed the Bastille Prison in Paris, an event that began the
decade-long French Revolution. Frustrated by a severe food shortage, high taxation,
and the frivolous spending of Queen Marie Antoinette, a crowd that grew to
10,000 stormed the prison in search of gunpowder. Bastille Day became an
official holiday in France in 1880.
July 14, 1798 – The Sedition Act became law in the United
States making it a federal crime to write, publish or utter false or malicious
statements about the United States government. The act allowed the prosecution
of people who voiced or printed malicious remarks about the president or
government of the United States.
July 14, 1825 – During his tour of the United States, the
Marquis de Lafayette attended a banquet held in his honor at Sansay House in
Morristown, N.J.
July 14, 1860 – Owen Wister, the man who wrote “The
Virginian,” the first big cowboy novel, was born in Germantown, Pa.
July 14, 1861 – During the Civil
War, the blockade at Wilmington, N.C., was set by the USS Daylight. Federal
reconnaissance was also conducted from Alexandria to Fairfax Courthouse in Virginia.
July 14, 1862 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Cotton Plant, Batesville and Helena, Ark.; with
Indians at Angel’s Ranch on the Mad River in California; at Cynthia, Kentucky;
near Corinth, Miss., along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad; at Fayetteville,
Tenn.; and at Gaines’ Crossroad, Va.
July 14, 1862 – During the Civil
War, Federal reconnaissance was conducted from Grand River to Fort Gibson,
Tahlequak and Park Hill in the Indian Territory. A Federal raid was also
conducted on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad in Tennessee.
July 14, 1863 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Falling Waters, Md. and another near
Williamsport, Md.; near Iuka, Miss.; at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, Ohio;
on Morris Island, S.C.; at Elk River Bridge, Tenn.; and near Harper’s Ferry,
W.Va.
July 14, 1863 – During the Civil
War, draft riots continued in New York, N.Y.
July 14, 1864 - Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest
suffered his biggest defeat when Union General Andrew J. Smith routed his force
at the Battle of Tupelo, Miss. Union losses stood at 674, while Forrest and
Confederate General Stephen Lee lost over 1,300 soldiers.
July 14, 1864 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Bayou des Arc, or Farr’s Mill, Ark.; at
Pollesville, Md., as Jubal Early’s force crossed the Potomac back into
Virginia; near Bloomfield and another near Fredericksburg, Mo.; near Carmargo
Crossroads, near Tupelo, Miss.; at Versailles, Mo.; and at Malvern Hill, Va.
July 14, 1864 – During the Civil
War, a four-day Federal operation in Webster and Union Counties in Kentucky
began.
July 14, 1865 – The first ascent of the Matterhorn was
accomplished by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom died on the descent.
July 14, 1879 - The Evergreen Baseball Club was scheduled to
play the Greenville Club on this Monday, according to The Evergreen Star
newspaper.
July 14, 1881 - Sheriff Pat Garrett shot 21-year-old Henry
McCarty, popularly known as Billy the Kid, to death at the Maxwell Ranch,
outside Fort Sumner, in New Mexico.
July 14, 1882 - John Ringo, the famous
gun-fighting gentleman, was found dead in Turkey Creek Canyon, outside of
Tombstone, Arizona. It looked as if Ringo had shot himself in the head and the
official ruling was that he had committed suicide. Some believed, however, that
he had been murdered either by his drinking friend Frank “Buckskin” Leslie or a
young gambler named “Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce.” To complicate matters further,
Wyatt Earp later claimed that he had killed Ringo, so the truth remains obscure
to this day.
July 14, 1903 – Playwright and novelist Irving Stone was
born in San Francisco, Calif.
July 14, 1905 - Dr. Samuel W. Yarbrough, a dental surgeon,
died at his home in Monroeville, Ala. on this Thursday evening after an illness
of several weeks. He was buried at the Baptist cemetery in Monroeville the
following day with Masonic honors.
July 14, 1907 - Rev. J.M. Gilmore filled his regular
appointment at the Monroeville Baptist church on this Sunday. He preached at
Ollie school house in the afternoon.
July 14, 1912 – Folk singer Woody
Guthrie was born in Okemah, Okla.
July 14, 1913 – Future U.S. President Gerald Rudolph Ford
was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska.
July 14, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Sheriff
Williams was making preparations to execute John Salter and Robert Watkins on
Aug. 6.
July 14, 1915 - A movie version of Alabama author Octavius
Roy Cohen's book “The
Honeymoon Baby” was released.
July 14, 1917 – Playwright Arthur Laurents was born in
Brooklyn.
July 14, 1918 – Swedish director and writer Ingmar Bergman
was born in Uppsala.
July 18, 1918 - Quentin Roosevelt, a pilot in the United
States Air Service and the fourth son of former U.S. President Theodore
Roosevelt, was shot down and killed by a German Fokker plane over the Marne
River in France.
July 14, 1919 – Army Pvt. Charles Frances McDonald Jr. of
Monroeville, Ala. “died from disease” during World War I at General Hospital
No. in Spartanburg, S.C. Born on Aug. 25, 1890 to Charles Frances McDonald Sr.
and Annie Strock, McDonald enlisted June 4, 1917 in Mobile. He was sent to
France on May 7, 1918, served with HQ Detachment, 1st Field Artillery Brigade,
1st Division, AEF and with the Army of Occupation-Germany. He later reported
sick to hospital and was shipped to Fort Gordon, Ga. on April 28, 1918. He is
buried in Old Salem Cemetery near Mexia, Ala.
July 14, 1922
– German SS officer Elfriede Rinkel was born in Leipzig, Germany.
July 14, 1927 – The Monroe Journal reported that Messrs.
Mims and Hudson, who had recently sold the plant of the Monroeville Ice &
Power Co. to the Gulf Utilities Co., had purchased the gin plant at Megargel
and planned to operate it in connection with their plant at Uriah. It was
assumed that both plants would be operated by electricity generated at Uriah.
July 14, 1927 – The Monroe Journal reported that regular
meetings of Alabama Lodge No. 3 were held on Friday evenings before the first
and third Sundays in each month at 7:30 p.m. Regular convocations of Monroe
Chapter No. 122 were held on the first Monday evening in each month.
July 14, 1927 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Edna
Faulk had returned home after a visit to friend in Montgomery, and that Mr.
L.N. Faulkenberry of Tunnel Springs was a visitor to Monroeville during the
first of the week.
July 14, 1927 – The Evergreen Courant reported that a few
weeks before, the Boy Scouts of Evergreen secured permission from W.H. Wild to
build a swimming pool on his lot below and adjoining the one on which the
Evergreen Ice & Fuel Company’s ice plant was located, using the stream of
pure water which flowed from the pump of the plant. The boys went to work and
within short time had a dam constructed across the ravine, doing all the work
by hand. Wild had a doubt when he granted the boys his permission whether or
not they would ever complete the job they had undertaken. In this, doubt he was
mistaken, for he was soon convinced that the boys meant business and had built
a pool that would afford them quite a bit of swimming. He became interested in
the project and got permission from the boys to enlarge on their very excellent
beginning and the result was that a splendid pool was accessible to those who
desired to swim. As compensation to the boys who began the project, Wild gave
each boy a free pass to the pool. The pool was filled with the purest of water,
fresh from the deep well of the Evergreen Ice & Fuel Co. Provision was made
to keep out the surface water resulting from rains and other sources. Gravel
and sand covered the entire bottom and a drain made it possible to empty the
pool at intervals when deemed necessary. From the start, it proved to be a
popular place for children.
July 14, 1927 – The Evergreen Courant reported that some of
the interesting events occurring in China at that time were likely to be
witnessed by Lewis A. Barfield of Evergreen, who was one of the latest men to
leave San Diego for service with the expeditionary force of U.S. Marines at
Shanghai. He was with a detachment of Marines who embarked on the transport
Thomas with Shanghai as their destination. Due to the rapid shifting of troops,
however, the local Marine was to possibly eventually go to Tientsin or some
other point in China, where the Marines were guarding American lives and
interests. Three or four thousand U.S. Marines had been ordered to China since
February 1927, and from time to time small detachments were likely to be
ordered there, remaining for an indefinite period. Lewis was 22 years old and
was born in Evergreen. He lived at the home of his father, Arthur M. Barfield
of Evergreen, before he joined the Marine Corps in April 1927.
July 14, 1927 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Troop C,
55th Machine Gun Squadron of the Alabama National Guard in Evergreen
was to leave the latter part of the week for Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga., where the
annual encampment was to take place that year. The boys were scheduled to be
there for a period of 15 days. The local company was under the command of Capt.
William D. (Dave) Lewis.
July 14, 1928
– The New Vietnam Revolutionary Party was founded in Huế and provided some of
the communist party's most important leaders in its early years.
July 14, 1933 – In Germany, all political parties are
outlawed except the Nazi Party.
July 14, 1933
– The Nazi eugenics program began with the proclamation of the Law for the
Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring that called for the compulsory
sterilization of any citizen who suffered from alleged genetic disorders.
July 14, 1935 - Author C. Terry Cline was born in
Birmingham, Ala.
July 14, 1942 – “The Pride of the Yankees” was released in
theaters for the first time.
July 14, 1948 – Funeral services for 2nd Lt. Winton D.
McIntyre, who graduated from Evergreen High School in 1940, were held at
Memorial Cemetery in Mobile, Ala. with full military honors. He was killed at
the age of 22 in New Guinea on April 9, 1944 while serving with the 53rd
Artillery Battalion. McIntyre, son of Mr. and Mrs. O.R. McIntyre, and his
parents were former residents of Conecuh County, but later moved Prichard. Born
on Aug. 11, 1921, McIntyre was well known in Evergreen, where he finished high
school in 1940. His grave can be found in what is now called the Mobile
National Cemetery in Section 7, Site 2098.
July 14, 1948 - At the National
Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, half of the Alabama delegation walked
out in protest of the party's stand for civil rights. Three days later, those
delegates and other southerners formed the States' Rights party, or
"Dixiecrats," at a convention in Birmingham, nominating Strom
Thurmond of South Carolina for president.
July 14, 1948 – Judge E.T. Millsap announced on this
Wednesday that Edwin C. Rodgers had resigned his position as Monroe County
engineer effective July 22 to accept a similar position in Madison County,
Tenn. Rodgers had served as county engineer since August 1946, when he was
discharged from the Army. He and his family planned to move to Jackson, Tenn.
the latter part of July to make their home.
July 14, 1952 – NFL linebacker Ken
Hutcherson was born in Anniston, Ala. He went on to play for Anniston High
School, Livingston University, the Dallas Cowboys, the San Diego Chargers, the
Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.
July 14, 1958 – During the Iraqi
Revolution, the monarchy was overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim
Qasim, who becomes the nation's new leader.
July 14, 1960 – The Evergreen Courant reported that John W.
Crutchfield, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Crutchfield of Lenox, had enlisted in the
Regular Army recently under the Graduate Specialist Program. Master Sergeant
Gerald Horne was the US Army Recruiter for the Evergreen area.
July 14, 1964 - U.S. military
intelligence publicly charged that North Vietnamese regular army officers
command and fight in so-called Viet Cong forces in the northern provinces,
where Viet Cong strength had doubled in the past six months.
July 14, 1967 - Eddie Mathews of the Houston Astros hit his
500th career home run.
July 14, 1968 – Atlanta Braves
slugger Henry "Hank" Aaron of Wilcox County, Ala. hit the 500th home
run of his career in a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. With 499 career
home runs under his belt, Aaron hit a three-run shot in the third inning off
Giants’ pitcher Mike McCormick. Aaron was mobbed at home plate by his teammates
and presented with an award by Braves President Bill Bartholomay honoring him
as the seventh man in baseball history to hit 500 home runs.
July 14, 1968 - Defense Secretary
Clark Clifford visited South Vietnam to confer with U.S. and South Vietnamese
leaders.
July 14, 1969 - U.S. President Nixon signed a baseball from
the baseball Hall of Fame that had the signatures of nine other U.S.
Presidents.
July 14, 1969 - Though technically still legal tender, the
United States withdrew the large denomination bills of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and
$10,000 from circulation on this day.
July 14, 1970 - U.S. President Nixon threw out the first
ball at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
July 14, 1977 – Evergreen, Ala. weather observer Earl
Windham reported a high temperature of 100 degrees on this day.
July 14, 1977 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the
Evergreen Chamber of Commerce was offering a prize of a $25 U.S. savings bond
to the person who submitted the best “slogan” to be used to promote Evergreen.
The slogan would be one like those used by other cities over the country such
as “Birmingham, The Magic City,” “Opp, the City of Opportunity,” “Monroeville,
the Hub City of Southwest Alabama,” etc.
July 14, 1981 - The Major League Baseball All-Star Game was
postponed because of a 33-day-old baseball players strike. The game was held on
August 9.
July 14, 1981 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan met with Willie
Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates to discuss sickle cell anemia and funding
for the National Institute of Health.
July 14, 1990 - The Evergreen Saddle Club was scheduled to
hold a free horse show on this Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Horse Arena at the
Evergreen Municipal Park in Evergreen, Ala.
July 14, 1998 – Weather observer Harry Ellis reported 1.15
inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.
July 14, 2003 – In an effort to discredit U.S. Ambassador
Joseph C. Wilson, who had written an article critical of the 2003 invasion of
Iraq, Washington Post columnist Robert Novak revealed that Wilson's wife
Valerie Plame was a CIA "operative".
July 14, 2003 - The U.S. government finally admitted the
existence of Area 51.
July 14, 2005 – Marine Corps Cpl. Christopher David Winchester,
23, of Escambia County, Ala. was killed by a roadside bomb explosion near
Tikrit during Operation Iraqi Freedom. A 2000 graduate of Flomaton High School,
he was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion,
Regimental Combat Team-2, 2nd Marine Division. A memorial marker
placed in his honor at baseball fields in East Brewton. Winchester was born on
Nov. 13, 1981 and was buried in Weavers Cemetery in Brewton.
July 14, 2006 – Right-handed pitcher Christopher Scottie
Booker of Monroeville, Ala. was returned to the Washington Nationals by the
Kansas City Royals.
July 14, 2007 - The family of Third Sergeant, Dr. Henry
Smith Skinner, descended on the Belleville community on this Saturday to
remember him and his service to his country during a ceremony at the Belleville
UMC Cemetery. Dr. Skinner, born in 1839 in Missouri, moved from Virginia to
Conecuh County about 1860 with his family. He and his brother, John, answered
the summons to war and joined the 3rd Florida Cavalry at Milton,
Fla. This company, along with four others from Florida and five more from
Alabama, were consolidated, being designated as the 15th Confederate
Cavalry, better known as the Simpson Mounted Rangers. Living in Belleville, Dr.
Skinner practiced dentistry for 55 years, was a member of the Methodist Church,
the Masonic Order, and the United Confederate Veterans. He died in 1922 and is
buried in the Belleville United Methodist Church Cemetery located on U.S.
Highway 84.
July 14, 2014 - Olympic gold medal winner Alice Coachman
passed away. At age 16, Coachman enrolled in the high school program at
Tuskegee Institute. She was a mainstay on Tuskegee's powerful track squad,
which won 11 of 12 AAU championships between 1937 and 1948 under legendary
coach Cleve Abbott. Coachman won 10 straight championships in the high jump
between 1939 and 1948, as well as 25 indoor and outdoor 50- and 100-meter
championships. In 1948, she finally had her chance at the Olympics (the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were
cancelled because of World War II). Despite being past her prime at age 25 and
suffering from back troubles, Coachman set an Olympic record in the high jump
with a leap of 5 feet, 6-1/8 inches—a feat that stood for eight years. Coachman
was the first black female athlete of any nation to win an Olympic gold medal
and also was the first American female to win an Olympic medal in track and
field. Image shows Coachman during the medal ceremony for the high jump at the
1948 Summer Olympics in London.
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