Today in History for Jan. 13, 2015

Napoleon Bonaparte Buford

Jan. 13, 1128 - The military order Knights Templar was granted a papal sanction, declared to be an army of God by Pope Honorius II.

Jan. 13, 1807 - Union General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford was born in Woodford, Kentucky. During the Civil War, Buford held many commands in the West and was a hero at the Battle of Belmont, Missouri.

Jan. 13, 1830 – The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana began.

Jan. 13, 1840 – Confederate soldier Walter Newton Duke was born. He enlisted in Co. D. of the 5th Alabama Regiment (later Co. C after April 27, 1862) on March 16, 1861. He was listed as sick at St. Frances de Sales Hospital between March 1, 1862 and Aug. 31, 1862. He was taken prisoner at South Mountain, Md. on Sept. 14, 1862, forwarded to Ft. Delaware, Del. on Oct. 2, 1862 and to Aikens Landing for exchange on Nov. 10, 1862. He was a patient at Winder General Hospital No. 4 from Nov. 3, 1862 to Dec. 16, 1862. He was taken prisoner at Gettysburg on July 4, 1863 and forwarded to Ft. Delaware on July 7, 1863 and arrived on July 12, 1863. He arrived at Point Lookout, Md. on Oct. 23, 1863 and was paroled on Feb. 18, 1865. He died on Dec. 16, 1922 and was buried in Ramah Cemetery at Teneha in Shelby County, Texas.

Jan. 13, 1862 - Union General Ambrose Burnside and his forces arrived at Hatteras Inlet in North Carolina.

Jan. 13, 1865 - In North Carolina, Union forces began a massive three-day bombardment at Fort Fisher.

Jan. 13, 1906 – A head-on collision between two trains took place on the Southern Alabama division of the Louisville & Nashville railroad about two miles north of Monroe Station at about 5 a.m. One of the trains was a northbound logging train of 11 empty cars belonging to the Bear Creek Mill Co. The other train was a southbound “special” train carrying the “Little Johnny Jones” theatrical company from Selma to Pensacola. That train consisted of two baggage cars, a day coach and two Pullman luxury cars.

Jan. 13, 1906 - Hugh Gernsback of the Electro Importing Company advertised radio receivers for sale for the price of just $7.50 in "Scientific American" magazine.

Jan. 13, 1910 – The first public radio broadcast took place as a live performance of the opera “Cavalleria rusticana” was sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, New York.

Jan. 13, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Brooklyn merchant E.N. Amos had entered bankruptcy.

Jan. 13, 1929 - Nearly 50 years after the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp died quietly in Los Angeles at the age of 80.

Jan. 13, 1937 – The “Allen Treasure,” $2,700 in pre-Civil War gold coins were discovered beneath a smoke house in the Clarke County community of Rockville, Ala.

Jan. 13, 1955 – Astronomer Morris K. Jessup, the author of “The Case for the UFO,” received a letter from a man who identified himself as “Carlos Allende.” In the letter, Allende informed Jessup of the “Philadelphia Experiement.”

Jan. 13, 1968 – Johnny Cash gave his legendary live performance at Folsom Prison in Folsom, Calif.

Jan. 13, 1977 – The Evergreen Courant reported that five persons had been arrested and charged with the burglary of the County Line Discount Package Store on U.S. Highway 84, outside Repton, on the Conecuh-Monroe county line. The burglary took place around midnight on Jan. 4, 1977.

Jan. 13, 1977 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team improved to 6-2 on the season with a 72-58 win over T.R. Miller. Senior center Marion Stanton led Evergreen with a double double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

Jan. 13, 1983 - Weather reporter Earl Windham reported a low of 23 degrees in Evergreen.

Jan. 13, 1986 - "The Wall Street Journal" printed a real picture on its front page. The Journal had not done this in nearly 10 years. The story was about artist, O. Winston Link and featured one of his works.

Jan. 13, 2005 - Major League Baseball adopted a steroid-testing program that suspended first-time offenders for 10 days and randomly tested players year-round.

Jan. 13, 2005 - Concert and operatic star Nell Rankin died in New York at age 81. The Montgomery, Ala. native made her stage debut in Wagner's Lohengrin in Zurich, Switzerland in 1949.

Jan. 13, 2005 - The NFL fined Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay Packer crowd during a playoff win the previous weekend.

Jan. 13, 2006 – A tornado destroyed the Belleville, Ala. fire station in Conecuh County and left a path of debris and structural damage a half-mile wide and a mile long along U.S. 84. One death occurred, three homes were destroyed, and 15 structures were damaged.