Today in History for Aug. 24, 2017

Virgil Trucks

Aug. 24, 79 A.D. – Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying the Roman city of Pompeii.

Aug. 24, 410 – Rome was sacked by the Visigoths.

Aug. 24, 1456 - The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was bound and completed in Mainz, Germany.

Aug. 24, 1591 – British poet Robert Herrick was baptized in London, England.

Aug. 24, 1680 - Colonel Thomas Blood died at his home in Bowling Alley, Westminster. He was the Irish adventurer who stole the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in 1671.

Aug. 24, 1776 - American General Charles Lee informed Congress that Georgia should be kept out of enemy hands and recommended that the Continental Army assign additional reinforcements. Lee argued that the state’s salubrious climate, crops of rice, numerous harbors and rivers, livestock and proximity to the West Indies made it mandatory to keep out of enemy hands.

Aug. 24, 1781 – During the American Revolutionary War, a small force of Pennsylvania militia was ambushed and overwhelmed by an American Indian group, which forced George Rogers Clark to abandon his attempt to attack Detroit.

Aug. 24, 1787 – Belgian-English sailor, hunter and explorer James Weddell was born.

Aug. 24, 1798 – Asa Johnston, who arrived in Conecuh County 1818 as one of its original pioneers, was born in Bibb County, Ga.

Aug. 24, 1813 – General Ferdinand Claiborne led about 80 men to reinforce Fort Easley at Wood’s Bluff on the Tombigbee River in present-day Clarke County, Ala., writing that if the Creeks attacked there he would “give a good account of them.”

Aug. 24, 1814 – During the War of 1812, British troops under General Robert Ross overwhelmed American militiamen at the Battle of Bladensburg, Md. and marched unopposed into Washington, D.C. During the “Burning of Washington,” the White House, the Capitol and many other buildings were set ablaze.

Aug. 24, 1825 – Jessee C. Farrar was commissioned as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Aug. 24, 1828 - Confederate General George Hume "Maryland" Steuart was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Steuart was with the Army of Northern Virginia at the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Va. in 1865.

Aug. 24, 1861 – During the Civil War, Jefferson Davis appointed the following commissioners to represent the Confederacy in Europe: John Slidell in France, James M. Mason in Great Britain and Pierre A. Rost in Spain.

Aug. 24, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought with Apache Indians near Fort Bliss, Texas by Confederate Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor. Baylor had the distinction of being dismissed from the Confederate army by none other than Jefferson Davis himself because of his harshness toward Native Americans. Later on, he was back in a gray uniform as a colonel.

Aug. 24, 1862 – During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama was officially commissioned off the island of Terceira, in the Azores, to begin a two-year career of plundering U.S. merchant vessels.

Aug. 24, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Red Bird Creek and Madisonville in Kentucky; at Bolivar, Miss.; and at Waterloo Bridge and Bristoe Station in Virginia.

Aug. 24, 1862 - Fearing further Sioux Indian attacks, New Ulm, Minnesota was evacuated by the citizen and the Federal Garrison.

Aug. 24, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Gunter’s Landing, near Port Deposit, Ala.

Aug. 24, 1863 – Croatian explorer Dragutin Lerman was born in Požega, Slavonia.

Aug. 24, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Brownsville, Ark.; on the Atchafalaya River, at Morgan's Ferry, on the Comite River, and at Olive Branch in Louisiana; at Bullit's Bayou, Miss.; near Hopewell, Waynesville, and Independence in Missouri; near Lamb's Ferry and at Hartwood Church in Virginia; and near Kearnysville, Shepherdstown and Halltown in West Virginia.

Aug. 24, 1863 – During the Civil War, because of the Williams C. Quantrill raid on Lawrence, Kansas, Union Brigadier General Thomas Ewing, located at Kansas City, Kansas, ordered all residents of Bates, Cass and Jackson Counties in Kansas to leave, allowing citizens loyal to the Union authorities to remain at military posts. Great resentment that lasted for years was generated by the estimated 20,000 displaced people.

Aug. 24, 1864 – The Battle of Ream's Station, Virginia took place on this day as Confederate troops secured a vital supply line into Petersburg, Virginia, when they halted destruction of the Weldon and Petersburg Railroad by Union troops.

Aug. 24, 1870 – The Wolseley Expedition reached Manitoba to end the Red River Rebellion.

Aug. 24, 1873 - An esoteric mystery of the Old West was solved when the first photograph was taken of the Mount of the Holy Cross in Colorado. Stories of the natural snow cross had circulated amongst settlers of the West for years and were the subject of much debate. Ultimately, photographer William Henry Jackson embarked on an expedition with the sole purpose of finding the Mount of the Holy Cross and succeeded in capturing the unique formation on film for the first time ever, thus proving its existence.

Aug. 24, 1886 - Hon. J.W. Leslie left Monroeville on this Tuesday morning for Brewton to attend the Annual District Sunday School Convention, which convened at that place that week.

Aug. 24, 1887 – National Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Harry Hooper was born in Bell Station, Calif. During his career, he played for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

Aug. 24, 1899 – Poet, short-story writer and essayist Jorge Luis Borges was born in Buenos Aires.

Aug. 24, 1905 – The Monroe Journal reported that G.W. Broughton had resigned as Monroe County, Alabama’s surveyor and that the Rev. B.J. Skinner had been selected to fill the vacancy.

Aug. 24, 1905 - Prof. Douglas Allen of Jackson, Ala. lectured at Beatrice on the subject of “industrial education.”

Aug. 24, 1906 - Miss Ella Norred of Pineapple closed her school on this Friday evening at the Owens school house and returned home.

Aug. 24, 1909 – Workers started pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.

Aug. 24, 1911 – Monroeville, Ala. was awarded the County High School by unanimous vote of the state high school commission.

Aug. 24, 1911 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Tinela community, that a “crowd of young folks were the guests of the Messrs. Schriner on their launch Tuesday. Their ride extended as far as Peach Tree where they went kodaking.”

Aug. 24, 1911 – The Monroe Journal reported that freight and passenger service on the Manistee & Repton Railroad would be discontinued on Aug. 31. “The discontinuance of freight traffic on this road will prove a severe blow to the splendid farming section in the vicinity of Jones Mill and other communities through which it runs, unless something is done to supply its place,” The Journal reported. “The shutting down of the mill at Manistee greatly curtailed the paying tonnage handled by the road and the existing traffic arrangement with the main line it is said, will not warrant the continuance of operation at a profit, hence the action determined upon.”

Aug. 24, 1914 – During World War I, German troops captured Namur.

Aug. 24, 1914 – During World War I, the Battle of Cer ended as the first Allied victory in the war.

Aug. 24, 1914 - The American poet Alan Seeger volunteered for service in the French Foreign Legion during the First World War.

Aug. 24, 1915 - A “slide” occurred in the “deep cut” on the Gulf, Florida & Alabama Railroad a few miles northwest of Monroeville, Ala. on this Tuesday. Several laborers were caught beneath the falling earth from the high embankment, and one man suffered a broken leg while others met with slight injuries.

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported, in news from the Owassa community, that Frank Perkins, who was a member of the Signal Corps in Montgomery, was home on a furlough the previous week.

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that H.C. Rankin had been elected mayor of Brewton.

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that the “work of straightening the road beyond Sandy Creek on the new road to Castleberry is being finished rapidly, and when finished will be a long needed improvement.”

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Monroe Journal published a notice saying that men contemplating enlistment in the Cavalry Troop being formed in Monroe County, Ala. at that time would find C.G. Yarbough at the Coxwell Drug Store in Monroeville, Ala., where he would provide information about the troop and lend assistance to those wanting to join.

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Perdue Hill community, that J.W. Wilkinson attended the Conecuh County Masonic conference at Repton, Ala. during the previous week.

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Perdue Hill community, that roads were “almost impassible, there having been no repairs made since the big washouts.”

Aug. 24, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Pineapple community, that Dr. Watkins accompanied Dick Wiggins to Selma during the previous week for an operation.

Aug. 24, 1932 - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, Calif. to Newark, N.J., took about 19 hours.

Aug. 24, 1933 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Thing on the Doorstep,” which was originally published in the January 1937 edition of Weird Tales.

Aug. 24, 1938 – Right-handed Andalusia pitcher Virgil Trucks, a 21-year-old native of Birmingham, struck out his 418th batter of the season, the highest season total in organized baseball, for the Andalusia team in an Alabama-Florida League game. He went on to make his Major League debut with the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 27, 1941 and eventually played for the St. Louis Browns, the Chicago White Sox, the Kansas City Athletics and the New York Yankees.

Aug. 24, 1941 – Adolf Hitler ordered the cessation of Nazi Germany's systematic T4 euthanasia program of the mentally ill and the handicapped due to protests, although killings continued for the remainder of the war.

Aug. 24, 1951 – Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Oscar Hijuelos was born in New York City.

Aug. 24, 1956 – Evergreen High School’s Aggies were scheduled to begin football practice on this Friday under head coach Wendell Hart. Only six lettermen returned from the 1955 team – five linemen and one back. Returning lettermen were Capt. Wayne Frazier, tackle; alternate captain Russell Deason, tackle; James Nelson, guard; Bert Cook, end; Mickey Joyner, end; and Bert Tuggle, halfback. As of Aug. 16, there was still no replacement to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of assistant coach John Robinson, who resigned the week before. There was an extreme shortage of both teachers and coaches over the state at that time.

Aug. 24, 1960 – National Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop and third baseman Cal Ripken Jr. was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland. He played his entire career (1981-2001) for the Baltimore Orioles. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

Aug. 24, 1963 – During the Buddhist crisis, as a result of the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, the US State Department cabled the United States Embassy, Saigon to encourage Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals to launch a coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm if he did not remove his brother Ngô Đình Nhu.

Aug. 24, 1964 – Gloria Jean Blanton of Excel, Ala. was named the winner of the Monroe County Maid of Cotton contest at the Monroeville Community House. Runner-up was Nancy Merriwether of Perdue Hill.

Aug. 24, 1969 - Company A of the Third Battalion, 196th Light Infantry Brigade refused the order of its commander, Lieutenant Eugene Schurtz Jr., to continue an attack that had been launched to reach a downed helicopter shot down in the Que Son valley, 30 miles south of Da Nang.

Aug. 24, 1970 - U.S. B-52s carried out heavy bombing raids along the DMZ.

Aug. 24, 1970 - A radical protest group calling themselves the New Year’s Gang blew up the Army Mathematics Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Army Mathematics Research Center in Madison, resulting in the death of a graduate student who was working late.

Aug. 24, 1972 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the large “Gulf” gas station sign had been erected at the intersection of I-65 and State Highway 83 in Evergreen, Ala. The sign’s poles were 110-feet tall and the sign was 15-feet tall for a total height of 125 feet.

Aug. 24, 1975 - Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers set a Major League Baseball record when he stole his 38th consecutive base.

Aug. 24, 1976 – Two teenagers were startled by an unidentified creature walking along the side of Abair Road in rural Whitehall, N.Y. They later described the thing as standing seven to eight feet tall, walking upright like a man, and swinging its long arms at its side. The monster’s eyes gave off a reddish glow and it made a sound like a pig squealing.

Aug. 24, 1977 - Alabama author John Green was born in Indianapolis, Ind. He is best known for his 2012 book, “The Fault in Our Stars.”

Aug. 24, 1981 - Mark David Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of John Lennon.

Aug. 24, 1981 - The Fall Term of Circuit Court in Conecuh County was scheduled to begin on this Monday morning at nine o’clock at the County Courthouse in Evergreen. Circuit Judge Robert E.L. Key was to preside and after Court was opened would empanel the Grand Jury, following which trial of the cases on the Civil Bar Docket was to begin. The Grand Jury was to be assisted in its deliberations by District Attorney Ted Pearson of Monroeville and Assistant District Attorney David T. Hyde Jr. of Evergreen. There were a total of 17 cases on the Civil Docket, according to Circuit Clerk Mrs. Jean Ralls.

Aug. 24, 1989 - Pete Rose, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, was banned from baseball for life by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti after being accused of gambling on baseball.

Aug. 24, 1989 – Flomaton beat Frisco City, 27-8, in Flomaton, Ala.

Aug. 24, 1990 - Iraqi troops surrounded foreign missions in Kuwait.

Aug. 24, 1992 – Hurricane Andrew made landfall just south of Miami as a Category 5 hurricane.

Aug. 24, 1995 - The Monroe County Chapter of the Alabama Dog Hunters Association was scheduled to have a meeting at 7 p.m. in Monroeville at the Scott Paper Co. offices at 530 Hornady Drive. Buddy Bradley, President of the Alabama Dog Hunters Association, was to be the guest speaker.

Aug. 24, 1998 – Country comedian Jerry Clower passed away at the age of 71 following heart bypass surgery in Jackson, Miss.

Aug. 24, 2003 – Ethiopian-English explorer and author Wilfred Thesiger passed away at the age of 93 in Croydon, London, England.