Today in History for Jan. 20, 2015

Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville

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

Jan. 20, 1820 – John Dudley Cary was born in Sumter District, S.C. He would eventually move to Conecuh County, Ala., 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, 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, 1863 - Union General Ambrose Burnside began an offensive, known as the Mud March, against General Robert E. Lee. The campaign was abandoned three days later due to heavy rain.

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.

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

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, 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 nextdoor building, which belonged to Jas. F. Jones, was almost totally destroyed and several other buildings were threatened.

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, 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, 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 Probate Judge. Roy L. Moorer was his chief clerk. Assisting clerks included Mrs. Robbye A. Hart and Miss Perry Mae Darby.

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

Jan. 20, 1959 – Greenville High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat Evergreen High School, 74-35, in Greenville, Ala. 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, 1973 – Army Sgt. Spencer E. Taylor, a 1964 graduate of Marshall High School in Evergreen, 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, 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 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.

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, 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.