Today in History for Jan. 20, 2018

Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson

Jan. 20, 1616 – The French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived at a Huron village after being wounded in a battle with Iroquois warriors. He hoped to stay the winter there and heal from his wounds.

Jan. 20, 1692 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, 11-year-old Abigail Williams and nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris begin behaving much as the Goodwin children of Boston acted three years earlier. Soon Ann Putnam Jr. and other Salem girls begin acting similarly.

Jan. 20, 1702 - French colonists, led by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, established Fort Louis de la Mobile on a bluff 27 miles up the Mobile River from Mobile Bay. The settlement, soon known simply as "Mobile," moved to its permanent site at the mouth of the Mobile River in 1711. It served as the capital of the colony of Louisiana from its founding to 1718.

Jan. 20, 1777 - Brigadier General Philemon Dickinson led 400 raw men from the New Jersey militia and 50 Pennsylvania riflemen under Captain Robert Durkee in an attack against a group of 500 British soldiers foraging for food led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Abercromby near Van Nest’s Mills in Millstone, New Jersey.

Jan. 20, 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.

Jan. 20, 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempted to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but were ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.

Jan. 20, 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decided that Botany Bay was unsuitable for the location of a penal colony and decided to move to Port Jackson.

Jan. 20, 1791 – On this day “a curious assembly of Americans appeared before the brethren of the Prince of Wales Lodge No. 259 in London, England. The minutes of the Lodge recorded the event – “William Augustus Bowles, a Chief of the Creek Nation, whose love of Masonry has induced him to wish it may be introduced into the interior part of America, whereby the cause of humanity and brotherly love will go hand in hand with the native courage of the Indians, and by the union lead them on to the highest title that can be conferred on man, to be both good and great, was proposed by the Right Worshipful Master, with the Approbation of the Prince to be admitted an Honorary Member of this Lodge. He was seconded by the Secretary, and received the unanimous applause of the whole Lodge.”

Jan. 20, 1818 – The City of Mobile, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Jan. 20, 1820 – John Dudley Cary was born in Sumter District, S.C. He would eventually move to Conecuh County, where he served as Conecuh County Clerk and as a state legislator.

Jan. 20, 1825 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette left Baltimore on a steamboat bound for Norfolk, on his way to visit the legislature of Virginia at Richmond.

Jan. 20, 1825 – In November 1824, a Choctaw delegation arrived in Washington to negotiate a new boundary line in the Arkansas Territory. The government entertained the delegation, spending $2,500 for liquor, $400 for jewelry and $1,100 for clothing. A new agreement was reached on this day that set the Choctaw Line at a point 100 paces east of old Fort Smith and “running due south.” James S. Conway was selected to survey this new line. Arkansas residents complained to Conway, saying that the new line deprived Arkansas of valuable mineral resources. Conway “does not run the survey due south” and angles in a southwesterly direction, “depriving the Choctaw of land.”

Jan. 20, 1827 – Charles Renatus Hicks, one of the most important Cherokee leaders of the early 1800s, was believed to be the first to be chosen as Principal Chief of the tribe that was not a full blood Cherokee. He was born Dec. 23, 1767 in the town of Tomotly on the Hiwassee River. His parents were believed to be a white trader named Nathan Hicks and Nan-Ye-Hi, a half-blood Cherokee woman. At 59 years of age, Hicks passes on this day in Spring Place, Ga. two weeks after assuming the office from Chief Pathkiller. He was buried in the Old Mission Churchyard in Murray, Ga. His younger brother William Abraham Hicks was appointed interim Principal Chief by the National Council.

Jan. 20, 1830 – Red Jacket, originally named Otetiani but who changed his name to Sagoyewatha during the Revolutionary War, was a Native American Seneca chief born around 1758 in Canoga, New York. He was best known for his oratory skills that helped keep him in power despite strong criticism from his people. During the 1820s, Red Jacket lost prestige due to his drinking. In 1827 he was deposed as chief by a council of tribal leaders, only to be reinstated by the Office of Indian Affairs.

Jan. 20, 1830 - Lowndes County was established by an act of the Alabama General Assembly. The county was named in honor of William Lowndes, a U.S. congressman from South Carolina. The earliest settlers came to the area from Georgia and Tennessee.

Jan. 20, 1838 – Some sources say Osceola passed away on this day at Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina. Born in 1804, he was buried near the entrance to the fort. (Others sources say he died on January 30.)

Jan. 20, 1838 – A Notice from General Nathaniel Smith, Superintendent of Cherokee emigration, to the Cherokee people on this day informed them that steam boats would be available for their transportation to a territory west of the Mississippi River, but emigrants had the option to choose the overland route as well. He reminded the Cherokees of the sentiments of the President on the removal issue and warned them to remove early or face military force.

Jan. 20, 1841 – Danish adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen died at the age of 60 in the Colonial Hospital in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land.

Jan. 20, 1841 – Vietnamese emperor Minh Mạng died at the age of 49 in Phú Xuân, Đại Nam.

Jan. 20, 1858 - On this night, the USCS Robert J. Walker was at Pensacola, Fla. when a major fire broke out at Fort Pickens. The ship's men and boats, along with the hydrographic party of the U.S. Coast Survey steamboat USCS Varina, rallied to fight the fire. The next day, the commanding officer of the Robert J. Walker received a communication from Captain John Newton of the Army Corps of Engineers, who commanded the harbor of Pensacola, acknowledging the important firefighting service rendered by the Robert J. Walker.

Jan. 20, 1861 – During the Civil War, the unfinished Fort Twiggs, later named Fort Massachusetts, on Ship Island, off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, was seized by Mississippi State troops.

Jan. 20, 1862 – During the Civil War, Federal operations began in the vicinity of Atchison, Kansas. Also on that day, a second stone barricade was put in place at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, S.C. by the Federals in an attempt to prevent Confederate blockade runners from entering.

Jan. 20, 1863 – During the Civil War, Patterson, Mo. was captured by Confederate Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke. A skirmish was also fought out from Jacksonville, N.C.

Jan. 20, 1863 - Union General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac began an offensive, now known as the “Mud March,” against General Robert E. Lee. The operation quickly bogged down as several days of heavy rain turned the roads of Virginia into a muddy quagmire. The campaign was abandoned three days later, and the campaign was considered so disastrous that Burnside was removed as commander of the army on January 25.

Jan. 20, 1864 – During the Civil War, naval reconnaissance began of Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan, at the mouth of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Ala. Skirmishes were also fought at Island Number 76 on the Mississippi River and a Tracy City, Tenn. An eight-day Federal operation also began in the District of North Carolina.

Jan. 20, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Point of Rocks and Ft. Larned in Kansas. A Federal operation was also conducted between Pocotaligo to the Salkehatchie River, S.C.

Jan. 20, 1874 – Hugh T. Fountain was named postmaster at Burnt Corn, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1885 – Monroe Journal editor Horace Hood left Monroeville, Ala. for Montgomery to be present at the opening of the state legislature on Jan. 21.

Jan. 20, 1889 – Musician Huddie William Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, was born on or near this day in Mooringsport, La.

Jan. 20, 1891 - In Italy, a luminous object or meteor was seen, accompanied by a fall of stones from the sky and an earthquake.

Jan. 20, 1896 - Capt. W.B. Kemp, State Senator from the 21^st District, was in Monroeville, Ala. on this Monday and reported to The Journal that “everything (was) quiet in political circles in his neighborhood.”

Jan. 20, 1896 – Actor and comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City.

Jan. 20, 1906 – J.W. Wilkinson of Manistee, Ala. attended the Masonic lodge at Blacksher on this Saturday, according to The Monroe Journal.

Jan. 20, 1911 – Around 6 p.m., the Dunn Hardware Co. garage and warehouse in Evergreen, Ala. was totally destroyed by fire. Caused by an oil explosion, the fire resulted in a “mass of flames” and several employees barely escaped. The next door building, which belonged to Jas. F. Jones, was almost totally destroyed and several other buildings were threatened.

Jan. 20, 1914 – The school for naval air training opened on this day in Pensacola, Florida.

Jan. 20, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Capt. J.C. Cheney had made a donation of “several volumes of very valuable reference books” to the Evergreen City School Library.

Jan. 20, 1915 - Author John Craig Stewart was born in Selma, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that Monroeville, Ala. had “experienced this week the first real breath of winter during the season. Following the rain on Sunday, the temperature dropped with marked suddenness and sleet and ice were in evidence for three days.”

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that The Peoples Bank of Roy (present-day Frisco City, Ala.) had held its annual meeting of stockholders a few days before and had elected the following officers and directors: W.M. Newton, President; J.F. Busey, Vice President; D.M. Maxwell, Cashier; W.H. Tucker, W.H. Pearce, C.P. Deming, W.R. Blackwell, W.M. Newton, J.F. Busey and D.M. Maxwell.

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that thermometers in Evergreen, Ala. dipped down to 20 degrees during a recent cold snap.

Jan. 20, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that an inmate died a “few nights ago” in the county jail.

Jan. 20, 1918 - On this morning during World War I, British and German forces clashed in the Aegean Sea when the German battleships Goeben and Breslau attempted a surprise raid on Allied forces off the Dardanelle Straits.

Jan. 20, 1920 – Italian film director Federico Fellini, who became famous for his 1960 film “La Dolce Vita,” was born in Rimini, Italy.

Jan. 20, 1931 - Frisco City High School’s faculty was scheduled to host a “book tea” on this Tuesday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the benefit of the school library. The school could not be accredited until it has a fully equipped library, so the faculty was hosting the event as a means of replacing the old library which was destroyed by fire.

Jan. 20, 1937 – Lawrence Wheeler Locklin II, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Locklin of Monroeville, Ala., and the grandson of the late L.W. Locklin, whose name he bore, passed away shortly after 5 a.m. on this Wednesday morning in a Mobile hospital. He was stricken on Jan. 13 and was rushed to Mobile for an operation for appendicitis. Complications followed and throughout his illness his condition was critical. “Monroeville was stunned… at the news of the death of this popular child,” The Monroe Journal reported. Born on May 17, 1923, he was buried in the Baptist Cemetery in Monroeville, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1938 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Deputy Sheriff J. Greely Moore, who was also a former county sheriff, had qualified as a candidate for Sheriff in the upcoming primary election.

Jan. 20, 1942 – During World War II, at the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discussed the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish question.”

Jan. 20, 1945 – Pulitzer Prize-winning Novelist and short-story writer Robert Olen Butler was born in Granite City, Ill.

Jan. 20, 1946 – Novelist Susan Vreeland was born in Racine, Wisc.

Jan. 20, 1947 – James “Big Jim” Folsom began his first term as Alabama governor on this date after being elected in 1946. His first term ended on Jan. 22, 1951 when he was succeeded by Gordon Persons.

Jan. 20, 1947 – Lloyd G. Hart began his term as Conecuh County (Ala.) Probate Judge. Roy L. Moorer was his chief clerk. Assisting clerks included Mrs. Robbye A. Hart and Miss Perry Mae Darby.

Jan. 20, 1947 – National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Josh Gibson died at the age of 35 in Pittsburgh, Pa. He played his entire career in the old Negro Leagues. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972.

Jan. 20, 1948 – Millry, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Jan. 20, 1949 - Free substitution was adopted for one year in the National Football League.

Jan. 20, 1949 - J. Edgar Hoover gave Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen.

Jan. 20, 1950 – Poet and author Edward Hirsch was born in Chicago, Ill.

Jan. 20, 1952 - The second annual Camellia Show in Monroeville, Ala., sponsored by the Monroe Men’s Camellia Club, was scheduled to be held at the local regional livestock coliseum on this Sunday, when camellia blooms were to be on display from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. This was to be the second show of this kind to be staged by the local group which was organized approximately three years before.

Jan. 20, 1956 – Evergreen High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat McGill of Mobile, 63-44, in Evergreen, Ala. Randy White led Evergreen with 32 points. Other standout Evergreen players in that game included Kelly, King, Pugh, Boykin, Carrier and Joyner.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Greenville High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat Evergreen High School, 74-35, in Greenville. Billy Melton led Evergreen with 11 points.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Alabama Recording Secretary Mabel Amos of Conecuh County, Ala. administered the oaths of office to the cabinet of new, incoming Alabama governor, John Malcolm Patterson.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Alabama Gov. John Patterson, who took office the day before, announced that Mabel Amos of Brooklyn, Ala. would remain in the governor’s office during the new administration. Amos, who had served in the office for 20 years, began work there in 1939 under Gov. Frank M. Dixon. She went on to serve under governors Chauncey Sparks, Jim Folsom and Gordon Persons.

Jan. 20, 1959 – Novelist Tami Hoag was born Tami Mikkelson in Cresco, Iowa.

Jan. 20, 1961 - The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th President of the United States was held on this Friday at the eastern portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This 44th presidential inauguration marked the commencement of the term of John F. Kennedy as President and Lyndon B. Johnson as Vice President. According to the Jan. 12, 1961 edition of The Monroe Journal, Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Garrett of Uriah planned to be included in the delegation of Alabamians to attend the inauguration.

Jan. 20, 1961 – Eighty-seven-year old poet Robert Frost recited his poem "The Gift Outright" at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.

Jan. 20, 1965 - The period of unemployment for former Conecuh County (Ala.) Probate Judge Lloyd G. Hart was very brief. The veteran judge of probate of Conecuh County ended his 18^th year in office at midnight on Mon., Jan. 18, and he went to work in a position with the Alabama Public Service Commission at eight o’clock on this Wednesday morning.

Jan. 20, 1969 – During the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as president of the United States and said, “After a period of confrontation [in Vietnam], we are entering an era of negotiation.”

Jan. 20, 1972 – During the Vietnam War, in continued efforts to disrupt an anticipated communist offensive, a contingent of more than 10,000 South Vietnamese troops began a sweep 45 miles northwest of Saigon to find and destroy enemy forces.

Jan. 20, 1973 – Army Sgt. Spencer E. Taylor, a 1964 graduate of Marshall High School in Evergreen, Ala., was among a group of handpicked soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg to provide a cordon along Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon.

Jan. 20, 1973 – Fred David McClammy of “Mystery Stone” fame passed away at the age of 33. He is buried in the Lone Star Cemetery at Pine Orchard.

Jan. 20, 1974 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported. 4.6 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1974 – Around 4:25 p.m. on this Sunday afternoon, Evergreen (Ala.) Assistant Police Chief Talmadge Hampton (Tal) Smith, age 65, was killed in the line of duty when he was struck by a car while crossing U.S. Highway 31 South on foot. Smith, an eight-year veteran of the police force, had just checked the doors of Taylor Auto parts and was returning to his patrol car, which was parked in front of Barlow’s Paint & Body. The car that struck Smith was driven by R.C. Trawick of Flomaton, and witnesses said the accident was unavoidable. Born on March 7, 1908, he was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1976 - The Evergreen City Council had a rather uneventful second meeting of the year on this Tuesday night, according to City Clerk Miller T. Sellers. Approval was given to the painting of the fireplugs in the downtown area ‘Red, White and Blue’ in the “Spirit of 1776.” The Council also voted to appropriate $500 to the city’s Bicentennial Committee. The committee had planned a number of activities during the year to mark the nation’s 200th birthday.

Jan. 20, 1979 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported 1.87 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1979 – John Coburn, 71, of Evergreen, Ala. passed away after a long illness. Coburn was a retired contractor who was associated with the group that built the houses in the first subdivision in Evergreen. He was also the contractor for many other homes, churches and buildings in Evergreen and the surrounding area. Born on Sept. 22, 1907, he was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 1979 – Monroe Academy’s varsity boys basketball team remained undefeated by beating Sparta Academy, 62-44, in the Sparta Academy Invitational Tournament championship game in Evergreen, Ala. Terry Peacock led Sparta with 15 points. Peacock and Bobby Padgett were named to the all-tournament team.

Jan. 20, 1981 - Ronald Reagan, former Western movie actor and host of television’s popular “Death Valley Days” was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States.

Jan. 20, 1982 - Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off of a bat in Des Moines, Iowa and was hospitalized to undertake a series of rabies shots.

Jan. 20, 1985 - The most-watched Super Bowl game in history was seen by an estimated 115.9 million people. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 38-16. Super Bowl XIX marked the first time that TV commercials sold for a million dollars a minute. Joe Montana was awarded his third MVP award.

Jan. 20, 1986 - New footage of the 1931 movie "Frankenstein" was found. The footage was originally deleted because it was considered to be too shocking.

Jan. 20, 1991 – The body of a Paul man who had been missing for almost five months was found on this Sunday morning at approximately 11:20 a.m. by some local hunters. Larry Ray Thomas, 37, had been missing since Aug. 28, 1990 when he was last seen on the Brooklyn Road. His body was found approximately 372 feet off County Road 42 (Brooklyn Road) next to a pine tree. Foul play was ruled out by the forensics lab in Mobile. Born on Aug. 23, 1953, he was buried in New Providence Cemetery in Conecuh County. His date of death on his headstone is Aug. 28, 1990.

Jan. 20-21, 1995 - Heather Watson, Conecuh County’s Junior Miss, participated in the Alabama State Junior Miss Finals in Montgomery.

Jan. 20, 2007 – A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.

Jan. 20-21, 2009 – Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported low temperatures of 19 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 20, 2009 – Sparta Academy’s varsity girls basketball team, ranked No. 2 in the state, beat Warrior Academy, 57-17, in Eutaw, Ala.

Jan. 20, 2009 – Montgomery attorney James H. Anderson, who was representing Pete Wolff III in the ongoing lawsuit over Evergreen, Alabama’s disputed mayoral election, filed a brief in Conecuh County Circuit Court, giving his position on a number of legal points in the case. Anderson’s brief, a six-page document, made the argument that the outcome of past lawsuits and state law support Wolff’s side of the case. Wolff ran for mayor against incumbent Larry Fluker only to lose by two votes in the Oct. 7 runoff election.