Today in History for Aug. 11, 2018

Alabama Gov. George Wallace

Aug. 11, 1718 - Francois-Louis-Frederic Haldimand, who would help bring the United Empire Loyalists and Six Nations of Iroquois to safety in Canada following the American War for Independence, was born in Yverdon, Switzerland.

Aug. 11, 1806 - While hunting for elk along the Missouri River, explorer Meriwether Lewis of the Corps of Discovery was shot in the hip, probably by one of his own men. His wound was not serious, but Lewis spent the next several days lying face down in the bottom of a canoe as the party proceeded down river. By the time they reached St. Louis on Sept. 23, Lewis’ wound had healed and the excitement of homecoming overshadowed the event.

Aug. 11, 1811 - Alabama author Octavia Walton Le Vert was born on her family's plantation near Augusta, Ga.

Aug. 11, 1852 – John S. McDuffie was born. McDuffie would go on to be one of the captors of famous train robber, Rube Burrow. Years later, he would be shot and killed during an argument with Edward English on June 28, 1904. McDuffie is buried in McDuffie Cemetery in Monroe County, Ala.

Aug. 11, 1858 – The Eiger in the Bernese Alps was ascended for the first time by Charles Barrington accompanied by Christian Almer and Peter Bohren.

Aug. 11, 1859 – John DeLoach was commissioned for his second term as Monroe County, Alabama’s Circuit Court Clerk.

Aug. 11, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Hamburg, Mo.

Aug. 11, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Helena, Ark.; at Clarendon, Ark.; at Velasco, Texas; at Independence, Taberville and Little Compton, Mo.; at Brown's Plantation, Miss.; and at Saulsbury and near Williamsport, Tenn.

Aug. 11, 1862 – During the Civil War, an affair took place at Kinderhook, Tenn.

Aug. 11, 1863 – During the Civil War, Confederate forces pounded Federal entrenchments on Morris Island, S.C.

Aug. 11, 1864 – Samuel C.H. Dailey was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Aug. 11, 1864 – During the Civil War, Confederate General Jubal Early pulled out of Winchester, Va. as Union General Philip Sheridan approached the city. Wary of his new foe, Early moved away to avoid an immediate conflict. Sheridan followed with his force, settling his troops along Cedar Creek—just north of Strasburg, Virginia. As ordered by Grant, Sheridan stopped to await reinforcements. His army, consisting of both infantry and cavalry, would eventually total about 37,000 troops. Sheridan waited for a few days, but Confederate raider John Mosby and his Rangers burned a large store of Sheridan’s supplies. Alarmed and nearly out of food, Sheridan pulled back on August 16.

Aug. 11, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred near Moore's Hill, Ala.

Aug. 11, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at White Oak Creek, Ark.; near Sand Creek, Colo.; at Hartsville, Mo.; at Toll Gate and near Newtown and near Winchester, Va.

Aug. 11, 1877 - The two moons of Mars were discovered by Asaph Hall, an American astronomer. He named them Phobos and Deimos.

Aug. 11, 1879 – The Monroe County commissioners court appointed Jno. McCreary, William Mac Stallworth and J.M. Herrington to a committee to “let out the contract for building a bridge across Flat Creek on the state road leading from Pine Orchard to Smiths bridge on or near the Lindsey plantation.” Commissioners also appointed Charles. L. Scott, J.W. Shomo and D.R. King to a committee “to let out contract for building a new bridge across the bayou on the road leading from Mt. Pleasant to Gainstown.”

Aug. 11, 1870 – Neil McCorvey passed away at his Monroe County, Ala. home at the age of 76. A native of Robeson County, N.C., he’d lived in Monroe County for 60 years.

Aug. 11, 1886 – Monroe County Sheriff Burns had a very sick horse on this Wednesday night, according to The Monroe Journal.

Aug. 11, 1887 – The Monroe Journal reported that Lambert Daniel, a prominent young merchant of Robeline, La. and the son of Joseph Daniel, formerly of Monroeville, visited his uncle, S.F. Daniel, near Monroeville during the previous week.

Aug. 11, 1887 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Belle Kimball of Charlotte, N.C. was visiting Mrs. Emma Seymour and other friends at Monroeville.

Aug. 11, 1887 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Chestnut community, that John A. Riley was lying at the point of death with consumption, so said by the doctors. Also that week, in news from the Buena Vista community, it was reported that Riley, a young merchant of Chestnut, was seriously sick. At quite an early age, he had fallen a victim to consumption. His friends entertained no hope of his recovery.

Aug. 11, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that official bonds of C.W. McClure, County Superintendent of Education ($15,000); J.L. Smith, Tax Collector ($12,000); and J.F. Deer, County Treasurer ($33,400) had been filed and accepted. All the bonds were good and sufficient. That of Deer was the “strongest of kind ever filed in the county, representing an aggregate value of over $100,000,” The Monroe Journal reported.

Aug. 11, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Perdue Hill community, that Prof. R.E. Gordon, principal of Perdue Hill High School, had “been in town for several days, working for the interest of his school.”

Aug. 11, 1896 – The Monroe Journal, reported, in news from the Poplar Springs community, that the Rev. Mr. Ray of Canoe, Ala. preached to “quite a large congregation at Poplar Springs church on the first Sabbath in this month. The church there is not large enough to accommodate all the people that attended services there, very frequently a number of people are compelled to remain outside.”

Aug. 11, 1897 – Poet Louise Bogan was born in Livermore Falls, Maine.

Aug. 11, 1911 - Lieutenant Governor W.D. Seed of Montgomery visited Evergreen on this Friday. He was returning home from the Monroe County Masonic Conference at Burnt Corn.

Aug. 11, 1918 – During World War I, the Battle of Amiens ended.

Aug. 11, 1919 - Friedrich Ebert, a member of the Social Democratic Party and the provisional president of the German Reichstag (government), signed a new constitution, known as the Weimar Constitution, into law, officially creating the first parliamentary democracy in Germany.

Aug. 11, 1920 - Jas. K. Kyser, Drs. J.W. Rutherford and D.R. Nettles and Mr. W.J. Nettles returned to Monroe County on this Friday from an extended tour of the oil fields of the west. Their itinerary included the fields of Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. All of the gentlemen told “interesting stories of the wonderful development in progress in the sections visited,” according to The Monroe Journal.

Aug. 11, 1920 – Elwood Winton Deming, a prominent young man of Evergreen, met a tragic death at an early hour this morning, being run over and killed by a southbound freight train. Both lower limbs were severed and he expired a few hours afterwards. He was on his way home from the railway station when the terrible accident occurred. Young Deming was prominently connected, being the only son of Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Deming and nephew of C.P. Deming. He was 24 years old. Born on Oct. 28, 1895, he was buried in the Old Evergreen Cemtery.

Aug. 11, 1921 – Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York.

Aug. 11, 1925 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “He,” which was originally published in the September 1926 issue of Weird Tales.

Aug. 11, 1929 – Babe Ruth became the first Major League Baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.

Aug. 11, 1932 – Playwright Fernando Arrabal was born in Melilla, Spanish Morocco.

Aug. 11, 1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrived at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Though closed in 1963, the prison is said to be haunted to this day by ghostly presences.

Aug. 11-12, 1935 - Burglars entered the office of Lucian Jones Motor Co. on this Sunday night or early Monday morning. The lock on the cash drawer was broken and a small amount of cash was taken. The thieves also attempted to break the hinges from the safe but after removing the bolts from the top and bottom of the hinges, abandoned the job. Entrance to the building was gained by removing a heavy screen from a window on the south side of the building.

Aug. 11, 1936 – Short-story writer Andre Dubus was born in Lake Charles, La.

Aug. 11, 1951 - The first Major League Baseball game to be televised in color was broadcast. The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 8-1.

Aug. 11, 1952 - Hank Williams was fired from the Grand Ole Opry and was told not to return until he was sober.

Aug. 11-14, 1952 - Three Monroe County high school coaches were scheduled to attend the statewide coaching clinic to be held at the University of Alabama. They were Levaughn Hanks, Monroe County High School; Robert Riley, J.U. Blacksher High School; and William Hamilton, Frisco City High School.

Aug. 11, 1956 - Conecuh’s first two bales of cotton were auctioned off on this Saturday afternoon in Evergreen for the fancy price of 43 cents per pound. The two bales were purchased by Kendall & Kendall of Evergreen. A fair crowd was on hand to watch the bidding. Judge Lloyd Hart was the auctioneer. The first two bales were ginned that year on Aug. 4 at Evergreen Gin. Arriving almost simultaneously in the race for first bale honors were Grady Ralls of Evergreen Route D and J.T. Ward of Evergreen Route C.

Aug. 11, 1957 – Playwright David Henry Hwang was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

Aug, 11, 1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the proclamation that made Horseshoe Bend National Military Park a unit of the National Park Service. The 2,040-acre park in Tallapoosa County preserves the site of the final conflict in the Creek War of 1813-14 and marked the defeat of the Red Stick Creeks, led by Menawa, by Gen. Andrew Jackson and his forces. Visitors to the park will find a museum containing artifacts from the battlefield, and exhibits detailing the Creek War, the War of 1812, and Creek Indian history, and may view important sites on the battlefield by driving the auto tour road or walking a 2.8-mile nature trail.

Aug. 11, 1959 - The Monroeville City Council approved purchase of a new police car at a meeting in Monroeville on this Tuesday night. A four-door Plymouth was to be purchased from Monroe Motor Co., who offered a low bid of $2,270.45 among local dealers. The local concern allowed $1,500 trade-in for the present police vehicle, a 1957 model Ford custom four-door. The new car was to have an automatic transmission and a 230-horse power engine. Plans agreed upon by the Council call for installation of a telephone in the new car by which residents can contact policemen directly. Details on operation of the phone were to be announced later. Another addition to the new automobile was to be a partition between the front and back seats protecting the policemen on duty from prisoners riding in the back seat.

Aug. 11, 1964 – The Town of Repton, Ala. was scheduled to hold a municipal election. Candidates for the office of mayor included H.L. Dees and M.A. Hanks. Candidates for town council included E.M. Brantley, C.F. Carter Jr., Eddie Rogers, George Armstrong, John E. Davison, G.H. Dees Sr., J.L. Dees, Joe Kelly, W.O. Lowery, Bobby Regan and Carl W. Ryals.

Aug. 11, 1965 – Monroe County Probate Judge David M. Nettles announced that Governor George Wallace had given assurances that a bypass of Monroeville on the south would be one of the projects that would be accomplished from the $25 million highway bond issue approved by the legislature. He said another $100,000 was expected to be allocated for blacktopping of the river road from Perdue Hill to Eliska.

Aug. 11, 1967 - For the first time, U.S. pilots were authorized to bomb road and rail links in the Hanoi-Haiphong area, formerly on the prohibited target list, including targets within 25 miles of the Chinese border.

Aug. 11, 1970 - Montreal Expos first baseman Fred Whitfield, a native of Vandiver, Ala., made his last Major League appearance. His career batting average was .253 with a total of 108 home runs and 356 runs batted in.

Aug. 11, 1970 - As part of the Vietnamization effort, South Vietnamese troops relieved U.S. units of their responsibility for guarding the Cambodian and Laotian borders along almost the entire South Vietnamese frontier.

Aug. 11, 1971 - Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins got his 500th and 501st home runs of his Major League Baseball career.

Aug. 11, 1972 - The last U.S. ground combat unit in South Vietnam, the Third Battalion, Twenty-First Infantry, departed for the United States.

Aug. 11, 1976 – Major League Baseball outfielder Bubba Crosby was born in Bellaire, Texas. During his career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.

Aug. 11, 1980 - Admiral Jeremiah Denton of Mobile made a brief stop in Evergreen early on this Monday morning. Car trouble had thrown him behind schedule and forced the cancellation of a planned press conference. Denton did get a chance to “politic” Sgt. James Powell of the Evergreen Police Department and asked for his vote in his race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in the Primary Election of Sept. 2.

Aug. 11, 1984 - The Cincinnati Reds honored Major League All-Star and Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench by retiring his uniform (No. 5).

Aug. 11, 1988 – The Monroe Journal reported that pre-season football practice had picked up considerably during the past week at Monroe County, J.U. Blacksher, Frisco City, Repton and Excel high schools and Monroe Academy when full-contact drills began. Monroe County High, the largest school in The Journal’s coverage area, had 40 varsity and 20 junior varsity players still working hard at Mon., Aug. 8’s practice. Paul Woolley, MCHS’s new head football coach, reported that his 40-player varsity squad included 14 seniors.

Aug. 11, 1989 - The South Alabama Officials Association was scheduled to hold its Fall 1989 Football Clinic at Hillcrest High School in Evergreen, Ala. at 7 p.m. The clinic, sponsored by the Alabama State Athletic Association, was designed to teach the rules of football to anyone who was interested in learning more about football rules and rule changes.

Aug. 11, 1990 - Egyptian and Moroccan troops joined U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia to help protect from a possible Iraqi attack.

Aug. 11, 1993 – The first edition of “Crazy in Alabama” by Mark Childress released by Putnam Adult.

Aug. 11, 1994 - The longest work stoppage in Major League Baseball history began. Because of the strike, the 1994 World Series was cancelled; it was the first time baseball did not crown a champion in 89 years.

Aug. 11, 1995 - A federal investigation was opened concerning the deadly siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1992. The investigation was to find out whether FBI officials approved a "shoot on sight" order.

Aug. 11, 2015 – For the first time in Major League Baseball history, all 15 home teams won their games. Prior to this happening, the record was 12 which was reached over a century ago in 1914.