Today in History for Dec. 1, 2014

Thomas H. Watts of Butler County.

Dec. 1, 1851 – Charter was issued to Coffeeville Lodge No. 122 in Coffeeville, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1861 - The British government sent a message to the Lincoln administration insisting that the U.S. respond within a week concerning two British diplomatic envoys being held. The British also began preparing for war.

Dec. 1, 1862 – In his State of the Union Address President Abraham Lincoln reaffirmed the necessity of ending slavery as ordered 10 weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.

Dec. 1, 1863 – Butler County, Ala. native Thomas H. Watts began serving as Alabama’s Confederate governor. His term would end on May 1, 1865 at the end of the Civil War when he was arrested for treason to the Union in Union Springs.

Dec. 1, 1903 – Charter was issued to Opp Lodge No. 605 in Opp, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1908 – Charter was issued to Garland Lodge No. 684 in Garland in Butler County, Ala.

Dec. 1, 1928 – Jones Mill Post Office officially changed its named to the Frisco City Post Office after the Town of Jones Mill, Ala. officially changed its name to Frisco City after a 153-50 vote in favor of the change on Sept. 17, 1928.

Dec. 1, 1931 – In Lovecraftian fiction, two intruders died at the Cabot Museum of Archaeology in Boston while trying to steal a mummy, which had been found on a Pacific island.

Dec. 1, 1941 – During World War II, Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed Administrative Order 9, which created the Civil Air Patrol.

Dec. 1, 1946 – Paula Jean Welden, a sophomore at Bennington College in Vermont, disappeared while walking on Vermont’s Long Trail, and her disappearance remains an unsolved mystery.

Dec. 1, 1948 – In connection with the famous “Taman Shud Case,” the body of an unidentified man was found in Adelaide, Australia, involving an undetectable poison and a secret code in a very rare book. The case remains unsolved and is "one of Australia's most profound mysteries."

Dec. 1, 1948 – Major League Baseball outfielder George Arthur Foster was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He would go on to play for the San Francisco Giants, the Cinncinnati Reds, the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox.

Dec. 1, 1950 – Army SFC Fred Fuqua of Escambia County, Ala. was killed in action in Korea.

Dec. 1, 1950 – Army Cpl. Ruben Thurman Jr. of Escambia County, Ala. died while a prisoner of war in Korea.

Dec. 1, 1955 - Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a boarding white passenger as required by Montgomery, Ala. city ordinance. Her action prompted the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott and earned her a place in history as “the mother of the modern day civil rights movement.” Ms. Parks was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in August 2000.

Dec. 1, 1964 – Major League Baseball’s Houston Colt .45s changed their name to the Astros.

Dec. 1, 1967 - Seattle was awarded an American League Baseball franchise.

Dec. 1, 1971 - Muhammad Ali reported seeing a UFO while jogging in Central Park.

Dec. 1, 1984 – Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie won the 50th Heisman Trophy.

Dec. 1, 1989 – In high school football, Courtland beat Excel, 13-2, in the Class 1A title game in Courtland, Ala. Excel junior lineman Drexel Lambert tackled Courtland’s Warren Bailey in the end zone for a safety to give Excel a 2-0 lead with 7:15 left in the game’s first quarter.

Dec. 1, 1994 - Mike Frier of the Seattle Seahawks was paralyzed in a car accident.

Dec. 1, 2003 - Bidding began on the baseball that was deflected by a fan in the stands during a Chicago Cubs game. The ball was sold on Dec. 18, 2003, for $106,600 at auction. The foul ball appeared to be headed for the glove of left fielder Moises Alou in Game 6 of the National League Championship series. The Florida Marlins ended up winning the game, 8-3. The Cubs then lost Game 7.