November 12

This Day in American History

    1602 - The Vizcaino expedition held Mass on the feast day of San Diego de Alcala. He named the California landing port after the saint.
    1701- The Carolina Assembly passed a Vestry Act making the Church of England the official religion of the Carolina Colony. (Strong opposition by Quakers and other resident Nonconformists forced the colony's proprietors to revoke their legislation two years later.)
    1751- Margaret Molly Corbin birthday, revolutionary war hero who was near her husband at a battle when he was killed (women were on the battlefields of the war both as participants and as water, food, and munitions suppliers) and she immediately took over the cannon until she was wounded by enemy fire. Disabled, she lost the use of her left arm, she was granted a soldier's half- pay as a pension, was considered a full member of the military until mustered out in 1783. Margaret Corbin was listed on military rolls until April 1783. In 1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution had her remains moved from an obscure grave and re-interred with other soldiers behind the Old Cadet Chapel at West Point where they also erected a monument to her. Near the place of the battle, in Fort Tryon Park in New York City, a bronze plaque commemorates Margaret Corbin "the first American woman to take a soldier's part in the War for Liberty".
http://www.hhoc.org/hist/
http://www.thejukejoint.com/cabcalloway1.htmlmc_corbin.htm
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/corbin.html
    1775 -General Washington forbids recruiting officers enlisting blacks who were not “free men.” He later rescinds this as many blacks enlist in the British Army to earn their freedom from slavery.(Washington was from Virginia and was one of the largest land owners and slave owners in the state. As a side note, his best friends included the father of Robert E. Lee, who was to become a Confederate general. Henry Lee was to be the main drafter of the Declaration of Independence as he was very popular, very well respected and educated, but due to a family emergency at his farm, he suggested Thomas Jefferson fill his stead. Coda: In the 1800's, Washington freed many of his slaves, who continued to work the land as “free men” and after his death granted land to those remaining.
http://www.americanrevolution.org/blk.html
    1815- birthday of Elizabeth Cady Stanton; American woman suffragist and reformer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born at Johnstown, NY. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” she said at the first Women's Rights Convention, in 1848, “that all men and women are created equal.” For 54 years she was the women's rights movement's principal leader, organizer, theorist, and writer. Preserved the early women's movement her story in the first three volumes of the monumental History of Woman Suffrage (1881-1922) written along with Susan B. Anthony and Joseyln Gage. She died at New York, NY. Oct 26,1902 You can read some of Stanton's works in the WiiN Library:
http://www.womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blstanton.htm
http://www.nps.gov/wori/ecs.htm
http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov12.html
    1864- Union General William T. Sherman orders the business district of Atlanta destroyed before he embarks on his famous March to the Sea.When Sherman captured Atlanta in early September 1864, he knew that he could not remain there for long. His tenuous supply line ran from Nashville, Tennessee, through Chattanooga, then one hundred miles through mountainous northern Georgia. The army he had just defeated, the Army of Tennessee, was still in the area and its leader, John Bell Hood, swung around Atlanta to try to damage Sherman's lifeline. Of even greater concern was the Confederate cavalry of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a brilliant commander who could strike quickly against the railroads and river transports on which Sherman relied. During the fall, Sherman conceived of a plan to split his enormous army. He sent part of it, commanded by General George Thomas, back toward Nashville to deal with Hood while he prepared to take the rest of the troops across Georgia. Through October, Sherman built up a massive cache of supplies in Atlanta. He then ordered a systematic destruction of Atlanta to prevent the Confederates from recovering anything once the Yankees had abandoned the city. By one estimate, 37 percent of the city was ruined. This was the same policy Sherman would apply to the rest of Georgia as he marched to Savannah. Before leaving on November 15, Sherman's forces had burned the industrial district of Atlanta and left little but a smoking shell. In retaliation, the Confederates attempt to burn New York City on November 25 th (more on this on November 25 th ) As a side note: Historians believe much of the destruction of Atlanta was also caused by Confederate soldiers leaving no supplies for the invading Union Army, causing fires in residential areas.
    1892-William “Pudge” Heffelfinger became the first generally-acknowledged professional football player when he was paid $25 for expenses and a cash bonus of 4500. It was the cash bonus that made him professional. Scoring the winning touchdown for the Allegheny Athletic Association, he helped his team beat the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, 4-0.
    1898-Birthday of Flora Belle Ludington, innovative librarian of Mount Holyoke College who advanced the cooperative Inter-library system that allows students and researchers use of the entire library system of the United States.
    1906 - The mercury soared to 106 degrees at Craftonville, CA, a November record for the U.S
    1911-Trumpet player Buck Clayton birthday
http://www.harlem.org/people/clayton.html
http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/clayton.htm
http://www.harlem.org/people/clayton.html
http://www.thejukejoint.com/cabcalloway1.html
    1915 - Harvard University's Theodore W. Richards became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry. He was given his award in Stockholm, Sweden.
http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1914/richards-bio.html
    1920- in the wake of the growing scandal surrounding accusations that members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to fix the 1919 World Series, baseball owners appointed Federal Judge Kenesa Mountain Landis, the game's first commissioner with extremely broad powers. Landis replaced the National Commission, a three man governing board, to a seven-year term from 1921 to 1928. He received a salary of $42,500 a year plus $10,000 for expenses to rule the 16 American and National League baseball clubs. He was re-elected three times and died in office on November 24, 1944.
    1925-First Louis Armstrong Hot Five recording, Chicago (Okeh label)
    1920- an underwater highway tunnel with twin tubes was started this day to run from New York City to Jersey City under the Hudson River. It was named after its chief engineer, Clifford Milburn Holland. It was opened on
November 12,
1927- by President Calvin Coolidge, who gave the signal form the presidential yacht Mayflower anchored in the Potomac River off Washington, DC. In that first hour, 20,000 people walked through the tunnel from shore to shore. Vehicular traffic was allowed through on November 13, 1927. 1921, the first conference of great powers to be held on American soil and affecting American interests was the Conference on the Limitation of Armaments, which was assembled at Memorial Continental Hall in Washington, DC, from this day to February 6, 1922. Nine nations took part in this conference: The United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, China, Holland, Belgium, and Portugal. The American delegation was headed by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes.
    1925- Louis Armstrong Hot Five makes their first recording,
Chicago, ILL Okeh
    1929- birthday of Grace Kelly; American award-winning actress (Rear Window, To Catch a Thief) who became Princess Grace of Monaco when she married that country's ruler, Prince Rainier Ill, in 1956. Born at Philadelphia, PA, she died of injuries sustained in an automobile accident, Sept 14, 1982, at Monte Carlo, Monaco. 1936 –San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Exhibits/Bridge/sfobay.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/assoc/bridge00.html
    1933-First Sunday football game in Philadelphia (previously illegal)
    1941-Madame Lillian Evanti, opera singer, founds the National Negro Opera Company.
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/223/
Americna_Negro_Theatre_formed
    1942 - The naval battle of Guadalcanal began between Japanese and American forces during World War II. The battle lasted until November 15. The U.S. scored a major victory, inflicting heavy losses on a Japanese task force and preventing Japanese reinforcements from reaching the island. The early TV series “Victory at War” captures much of the famous battle.
http://www.friesian.com/history/guadal.htm
    1945-Singer Neil Young born Toronto, ON, Canada.
    1946- drive-in banking service was instituted by the Exchange National Bank of Chicago, IL. Ten tellers' windows protected by heavy bulletproof glass and impregnable corrugated steel were equipped with automatic slide out drawers to enable motorists to transact business without leaving their cars.
    1951---Top Hits
Because of You - Tony Bennett
Sin (It's No) - Eddy Howard
And So to Sleep Again - Patti Page
Slow Poke - Pee Wee King
    1955 - The worst recorded attendance to a football game occurred in the Washington State vs. San Jose State game at Pullman, Washington. The game was played as scheduled, despite high winds and a temperature of 0 degrees F. The total paid attendance was 1.
    1955-Billboard publishes the results of its annual disc jockey poll. The most played R&B single is Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love," most promising artist is Chuck Berry and the favorite R&B artist is Fats Domino. In the pop category, rock and roll is barely present. Elvis Presley is voted the most promising country & western artist.
    1955 -- Sci-Fi author L. Sprague de Camp, one of my favorite authors, is elected royal chronicler of the Hyborian Legion.
    1957--A film called Jamboree previews in Hollywood. Among those featured are Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Frankie Avalon, Slim Whitman and Connie Francis; consider a classic today.
    1957-"Jamboree," the first movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis, previews in Hollywood. Among those featured in the flick are Fats Domino (with whom Lewis shares top billing), Carl Perkins, Frankie Avalon, Slim Whitman and Connie Francis.
    1959---Top Hits
Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
Mr. Blue - The Fleetwoods
Don't You Know - Della Reese
Country Girl - Faron Young
    1959 - Between Noon on the 11th and Noon on the 12th, a winter storm buried Helena, MT, under 21.5 inches of snow, which surpassed their previous 24 hour record by seven inches.
    1964--Shirley Ellis records "The Name Game" as a follow-up to her #8 hit, "The Nitty Gritty". Her latest effort would reach #3.
    1966--Donovan's "Mellow Yellow" is released, and begins its climb to #2 in the US. It was long rumored that the song is about smoking dried banana skins, which was believed to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s, but this rumor has since been debunked. The song's title actually refers to the fact that Donovan had suffered from liver disease in early 1966 and had become severely jaundiced. He originally says it refers to his trip in the Greek Isle's and remembers Sapho the poetess and safron in the food making it yellow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellow_Yellow
    1966-Donovan's "Mellow Yellow" is released. He wrote the song as under the influence of "smoking banana skins".
http://www.alohatropicals.com/mb-01.html
    1967 - On Broadway, Pearl Bailey took over the lead role in the musical, "Hello Dolly". "Pearlie Mae", as Buck was called, was a hit.
    1967 - The Detroit Lions set an NFL record by fumbling the football 11 times and losing it 5 of those times.
    1967—Top Hits
To Sir with Love - Lulu
Soul Man - Sam & Dave
It Must Be Him - Vikki Carr
You Mean the World to Me - David Houston
    1967--BARNES, JOHN ANDREW III Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry 173d Airborne Brigade. Place and date: Dak To, Republic of Vietnam, 12 November 1967. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Born: 16 April 1945, Boston, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Barnes distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while engaged in combat against hostile forces. Pfc. Barnes was serving as a grenadier when his unit was attacked by a North Vietnamese force, estimated to be a battalion. Upon seeing the crew of a machine gun team killed, Pfc. Barnes, without hesitation, dashed through the bullet swept area, manned the machine gun, and killed 9 enemy soldiers as they assaulted his position. While pausing just long enough to retrieve more ammunition, Pfc. Barnes observed an enemy grenade thrown into the midst of some severely wounded personnel close to his position. Realizing that the grenade could further injure or kill the majority of the wounded personnel, he sacrificed his life by throwing himself directly onto the hand grenade as it exploded. Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his own safety, and profound concern for his fellow soldiers, he averted a probable loss of life and injury to the wounded members of his unit. Pfc. Barnes' extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1968-baseball player Sammy Sosa born San Pedro de Marcoris, Dominican Republic.
    1968 -- Supreme Court voids Arkansas law banning teaching of evolution in public schools. Alabama continues warning high school students evolution is 'controversial', putting stickers on biology books.
    1968 - A severe coastal storm produced high winds and record early snows from Georgia to Maine. Winds reached 90 mph in Massachusetts, and ten inches of snow blanketed interior Maine.
    1972- Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins became the first NFL coach to win 100 regular season games in only 10 seasons as the Miami Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots, 52-0.
    1974 - A great Alaska storm in the Bering Sea caused the worst coastal flooding of memory at Nome AK with a tide of 13.2 feet. The flooding caused 12 million dollars damage, however no lives are lost.
    1975---Top Hits
Island Girl - Elton John
Lyin' Eyes - The Eagles
Who Loves You - Four Seasons
I'm Sorry - John Denver
    1979-Jefferson Starship singer Marty Balin's rock opera "Rock Justice" opens a four-day run at San Francisco's Old Waldorf night club. Balin stars in and co-directs the musical, about a rock star who dreams he's on trial for not having a hit record.
    1981 - The space shuttle Columbia was launched for the second time; it was the first space vehicle to be used more than once.
    1983 - Lionel Richie started the first of four consecutive weeks at #1 on the music charts as "All Night Long (All Night)" became the United States most popular song.
    1983---Top Hits
Islands in the Stream - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
Somebody's Gonna Love You - Lee Greenwood
    1984-Madonna releases the "Like A Virgin" LP.
    1986 - For the first time in the history of the NBA both head coaches were absent from the game when coached K.C. Jones and Don Nelson were too sick to be at the Boston-Milwaukee game. The Boston Celtics had their 44th straight home victory as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 124-116.
    1986- Red Sox Roger Clemens becomes only the second American League pitcher to unanimously win the Cy Young Award. Denny McLain was the first to accomplish the feat in 1968.
    1987 - Heavy snow spread across much of New England. Totals in Massachusetts ranged up to 14 inches in Plymouth County. The seven inch total at the Logan Airport in Boston was their highest of record for so early in the season, and the 9.7 inch total at Providence RI was a record for November. Roads were clogged with traffic and made impassable as snowplow operators were caught unprepared for the early season snowstorm.
    1988 - "Rattle and Hum", the album by U2, started a six-week run at the top of the U.S. album charts. Hum along now, as we list the tracks on the "Rattle and Hum": "Helter Skelter", "Van Diemen's Land", "Desire", "Hawkmoon 269", "All Along the Watchtower", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "Freedom for My People", "Silver and Gold", "Pride (In the Name of Love)", "Angel of Harlem", "Love Rescue Me", "When Love Comes to Town", "Heartland", "God Part II", "The Star Spangled Banner", "Bullet the Blue Sky", "All I Want is You".
    1989 - Thirty-three cities reported record high temperatures for the date as readings soared into the 70s and 80s from the Southern and Central Plains to the Southern and Middle Atlantic Coast Region. The afternoon high of 80 degrees at Scottsbluff NE was a record for November, and highs of 76 degrees at Rapid City SD and 81 degrees at Chattanooga TN were the warmest of record for so late in the season.
    1991—Top Hits
Cream - Prince & The N.P.G.
Can't Stop This Thing We Started - Bryan Adams
Real, Real, Real - Jesus Jones
Someday - Alan Jackson
    1995 — -- Miami quarterback Dan Marino passes Fran Tarkenton (47,003 yards) to become the NFL's all-time passing yards leader on a 9-yard toss to Irving Fryar in the Dolphins' 34-17 loss to New England. Marino finishes his career with 61,361 yards passing.
    1996-Reverend Jesse Jackson threatened to lead a potentially crippling boycott against Texaco if the oil giant failed to settle a lingering racial- discrimination lawsuit. Six Texaco employees initially filed the $520 million suit in 1994; the ensuing years saw the case mushroom into a complaint backed by some 1,400 workers. Despite growing pressure, Texaco was slow to respond to the case. However, Jackson's involvement, coupled with the revelation of a "secret" audio tape that captured Texaco executives making racial slurs and plotting to derail the lawsuit, helped bring the case to a close. On November 15, Texaco announced what was believed to be a $ 175 million settlement to the case, which included a one-time salary boost for minority employees, as well as the establishment of "diversity training and sensitivity programs".
    1998---Top Hits
Doo Wop (That Thing)- Lauryn Hill
Lately- Divine
The First Night- Monica
One Week- Barenaked Ladies
    2002- Miguel Tejada, who receives 356 points from the Baseball Writers' Association, including 21 first-place votes of the 28 cast, is selected as the American League's Most Valuable Player. The A's shortstop joins countrymen Sammy Sosa and George Bell as Dominican Republic natives to win the award.