Today in History for Dec. 14, 2014

William Wyatt Bibb

Dec. 14, 1503 - Physician, astrologer and clairvoyant Nostradamus was born at St. Remy, Provence, France.

Dec. 14, 1690 – In Lovecraftian fiction, reputed Salem witch Abigail Prinn died mysteriously before the witch trials began. Prinn is believed to have cursed Salem before she died; perhaps to avert her anger, the colonists buried her with a stake through her chest. She first appeared in 1937’s “The Salem Horror” by Henry Kuttner.

Dec. 14, 1799 - The first president of the United States and prominent Freemason, George Washington, passed away at the age 67 at Mount Vernon, Va.

Dec. 14, 1819 – Alabama became a state. The Alabama Territory had been created in 1817 when Mississippi became a state. By November 1818 the population had grown sufficiently to apply for statehood. The Alabama constitutional convention met in July 1819 and William Wyatt Bibb was elected governor. In December President James Monroe signed the resolution admitting Alabama to the Union as the 22nd state.

Dec. 14, 1821 – Sparta, Ala. attorney Eldridge S. Greening was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Alabama.


Dec. 14, 1849 - On the 30th anniversary of Alabama statehood the capitol in Montgomery was destroyed by fire. The building had been erected only two years earlier, after Montgomery succeeded Tuscaloosa as the seat of state government. Construction of the new capitol was completed in 1851.

Dec. 14, 1857 – The Articles of Incorporation for the Claiborne Male and Female Institute were filed with the office of Monroe County Probate Judge M. McCorvey. The school’s trustees included William P. Leslie, John Gaillard, Samuel M. Pettibone, George W. Foster, John N. McClure, Nathan Agee, Rufus C. Torrey, Cornelius E. Thames and Andrew J. Henshaw.

Dec. 14, 1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln announced that he had granted amnesty for Mrs. Emilie Todd Helm. Helm was Mrs. Lincoln's half sister and the widow of a Confederate general.

Dec. 14, 1865 – The county seat of Dallas County, Ala. was officially moved from Cahaba to Selma.

Dec. 14, 1874 – On his deathbed, John Douglas confessed to kidnapping four-year-old Charley Ross of Philadelphia with the late William Mosher, but Douglas died before he could reveal what became of the boy. Ross was the primary victim of the first kidnapping for ransom in America to receive widespread attention from the media. The fate of Charley Ross remains unknown.


Dec. 14, 1903 - Orville Wright made the first attempt at powered flight with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, N.C. The engine stalled during take-off and the plane was damaged in the attempt. Three days later, after repairs were made, the modern aviation age was born when the plane stayed aloft for 12 seconds and flew 102 feet.

Dec. 14, 1911 - Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the South Pole. He reached the destination 35 days ahead of Captain Robert F. Scott. Amundsen'​s team was comprised of himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting.

Dec. 14, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Lazarus B. Rabb of Castleberry “died from disease.”

Dec. 14, 1919 – During World War I, Army Pvt. John Boone of Greenville “died from disease.”

  

Dec. 14, 1925 – Benjamin Franklin Riley, the author of “History of Conecuh County, Alabama” and other books, passed away in Birmingham.

Dec. 14, 1927 – Long-time Monroe Journal columnist and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton was born in Marengo County, Ala.

Dec. 14, 1930 – The Presbyterian church building on North Mount Pleasant Ave. in Monroeville was dedicated during morning worship service. Rev. T.C. Delaney was pastor at the time.

Dec. 14, 1942 – Little Eva crew members Lt. Norman Crosson and Sgt. Loy Wilson arrived on foot at Escott Station 12 days after surviving a plane crash.

Dec. 14, 1944 - Country music singers Hank Williams and Audrey Sheppard were married in a Texaco station in Andalusia by a justice of the peace.

Dec. 14, 1944 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Mr. and Mrs. Guy Booker had been notified that their son, Guy Dawson Booker Jr., was missing in action in the Pacific theater. Assigned to a U.S. Navy submarine that was rescuing victims from a sunken vessel, he was lost.

Dec. 14, 1949 – Former Major League Baseball first baseman William Joseph “Bill” Buckner was born in Vallejo, Calif. He would go on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and the Kansas City Royals. Buckner is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets, a play that has since become prominently entrenched in New England sports lore.

Dec. 14, 1952 - The Brooklyn Dodgers signed pitcher Sandy Koufax.

Dec. 14, 1958 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition became the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility.

Dec. 14, 1965 – Two Atmore men were arrested as law enforcement officials raided a “king-size” moonshine still on the road between Lenox and Range in Conecuh County, Ala. The still had a capacity of about 1,000 gallons. ATU agents, ABC agents and Conecuh County Sheriff James “Shorty” Brock conducted the raid.

Dec. 14, 1967 – The original motion picture adaptation of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” was released in theaters. Directed by Richard Brooks, the movie starred Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe and Paul Stewart.

Dec. 14, 1974 – Monroe Academy football standout Keith Pugh signed a football scholarship with the University of Alabama.

Dec. 14, 1984 - Howard Cosell retired from the NFL's Monday Night Football.

Dec. 14, 1985 – Former Major League Baseball right fielder Roger Maris passed away at the age of 51 in Houston, Texas.

Dec, 14, 1986 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins set an NFL record with his seventh 400-yard game.

Dec. 14, 1988 - CBS won the exclusive rights to Major League Baseball's 1990-94 seasons for $1.1 billion.

Dec. 14, 1989 - The play “Tru,” compiled from the words and works of Alabama author Truman Capote, opened on Broadway. Written by Jay Presson Allen, it premiered in the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 297 performances with Robert Morse starring as Truman Capote.

Dec. 14, 1997 - Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions ran for more than 100 yards for his 13th consecutive game.

Dec. 14, 1998 - Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers caught a pass in a game against the Detroit Lions. It was his 191st consecutive game with a reception.

Dec. 14, 1999 - In a public ceremony at the Panama Canal, Panama's President Mireya Moscoso de Grubar and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, representing the United States, exchanged documents that transferred control of the canal from the U.S. to the Republic of Panama.

Dec. 14, 2003 - U.S. President George W. Bush announced the American public that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had been capture by U.S. forces.