Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The University of Georgia

August 13

1735 In London, the Georgia Trustees voted to name the new settlement near the mouth of the Altamaha River "Frederica" in honor of Prince Frederick, oldest son of King George II, providing he would approve of their action.

1909 Gov. Joseph M. Brown signed an act [see text] designating February 12 as Georgia Day, as this date marked the anniversary of the landing of James Oglethorpe and Georgia's first colonists. The law required the State Superintendent of Schools and local school superintendents to have teachers conduct exercises in which students take part in various activities relating to Georgia, its history, and lives of distinguished Georgians. [For more on why Feb. 12 is generally celebrated as Georgia's birthday, click here.]

1910 Gov. Joseph M. Brown signed Georgia's first law regulating the use of automobiles. Among the provisions, every vehicle had to be registered with the Secretary of State, had to have a license plate bearing the registration number, and had to have at least one headlight capable of projecting a beam 100 feet at least one red taillight illuminating the license plate. The law mandated no specific highway speed limit except to provide that driving speed must be "reasonable and proper." However, vehicles had to slow to 6 miles per hour when approaching a bridge, sharp curve, or intersection The minimum driving age was set at 16, unless a minor had a year's experience driving and was accompanied by the owner of the vehicle. And, the law made it illegal to drive while intoxicated.

1913 On the fifteenth day in the trial of Leo Frank, another medical witness was called by the defense. Dr. William Kendrick, head of the Atlanta Medical School, said that Dr. Roy Harris's conclusions on the time of Phagan's death were mere guesswork. Another witness testified to having worked the previous Thanksgiving with Frank, and that nothing unusual had happened. Jim Conley had claimed he watched while Frank entertained a woman in his office that day. More character witnesses were called during the afternoon. In cross-examining one of these witnesses, prosecutor Hugh Dorsey asked if he had ever heard complaints about Frank fondling young girls. At this point Mrs. Rae Frank, Leo Frank's mother, leapt to her feet and shouted at Dorsey "No, nor you either, you dog." One of the defense attorneys escorted Mrs. Frank out of the courtroom. Click here for a detailed accounting of the case.

1921 Gov. Thomas Hardwick signed an act striking from the Georgia Code the prohibition on women voting, holding civil office, or performing any civil functions unless specifically authorized by law. The act, however, continued the statutory prohibition on women serving on military, jury, police, patrol, or road duty.

1957 John Carson, R.L. (Shorty) Doyal, Harold McNabb, Charles Roberts, Eric Staples, and John (Stumpy) Thomason were inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

1962 After having been arrested for attempting to integrate the Holiday Inn in Albany, Ga., three blacks and two whites were convicted of loitering.

1980 The National Democratic Convention formally nominated Jimmy Carter for reelection as president.

1986 University of Georgia Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker signed a 5-year contract with the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys worth approximately $1 million per year. Previously, Walker had been a standout for the United States Football League New Jersey Generals.

1997 Ground breaking ceremonies were held for the Mall of Georgia at Mill Creek, a 496-acre site in Gwinnett County at the interchange of I-85 and Ga. 20. When completed in 1999, the Mall of Georgia's enclosed area totalled 1.7 million square feet, making it the largest shopping center in the Southeast.

Georgia towns and cities incorporated by acts approved on Aug. 13:

1903 Kingwood (Colquitt County)

1904 Danburg (Wilkes County), Irwinton (Wilkinson County), Maples (Mitchell County), and Tiger (Rabun County)

1907 Dooling (Dooly County), Lilly (Dooly County), and Patten (Thomas County)

1912 Barrets (Lowndes County), Chauncey (Dodge County), and Crest (Upson County)

Other acts involving Georgia cities and towns approved Aug. 13:

1904 Charter for Rising Fawn (Dade County) repealed

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1735 The Earl of Egmont recorded in his journal of the proceedings of the Trustees:

"This 13 August 1735 Sr. Tho. Lomb Aldn. of London carry'd the Silk received from Georgia to her Majesty, and took her direction how She would have it work'd up into a Suit of Cloathes [sic] for her. She appear'd much pleased with it, and Sr. Thomas declared to her that he prefer'd it to the Piedmontese Silk in every respect, and particularly that it has less wast [sic]."

Source: Robert G. McPherson, The Journal of The Earl of Egmont: Abstract of the Trustees Proceedings for Establishing the Colony of Georgia, 1732-1738 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1962), p. 102.

1739 William Stephens, in Georgia as secretary for the Trustees, recorded in his journal the difficulty of enforcing the ban on rum in the colony:

". . . In the Afternoon the Magistrates assembled at my House, to enquire into a Riot committed last Night by some drunken People. . . . I proposed it to them confess where it was they bought the Rum which had occasioned it, and I would intercede with the Magistrates to be milder in their Punishment . . .and they promised they would another Day; but why not now, I could not tell. . . .These three men . . . were all promising to be useful Men in the Colony, and one of them lately married, at whose House they had thus debauched themselves. From whence it is an obvious reflexion [sic], how fatal this Excess of Rum-drinking is likely to prove among the common People; and how ineffectual all Means have hitherto been found, for suppressing the Sale of it. . . ."

Source: William Stephens, A Journal of the Proceeding in Georgia (no city: Readex Microprint Corporation, 1966), Vol. II, pp. 92-93.

1863 From Fredericksburg, Va., William Stillwell wrote a poignant but discouraging letter to his wife back in Georgia:

". . . Oh, Mollie, how dark! This indeed is a dark day for the Confederacy. Hundreds of our men are deserting and those that remain are discouraged and disheartened and people at home are whipped and want us to give up. To give up is but subjugation, to fight on is but dissolution, to submit is awful, to fight on is death! Oh, what shall we do? To submit, God forbid. To fight on, God deliver. Oh, Mollie, when I think of the thousand[s] of mangled forms of human beings crippled, torn in pieces, the thousands of widows and fatherless children all over our land, the weeping and mourning and anguish throughout the land, I am compelled to cry out, "Oh, God, how long will Thou afflict us, how long shall the horrors of war desolate our once happy country?" . . . I tell you, dear Mollie, unless the great God help us we are gone, and how can we expect Him to bless such a people as we are. I once believed in the justice of our cause, but we have made it a curse and not a blessing. I believe that the next six months will decide our fate, and I fear it will be against us. All that I can say is, God forbid.

"The men from North Carolina held [a] meeting yesterday. I believe they will go back to the Union. The men from Georgia say that if the [Union] army invades Georgia they are going home. I don't believe our army will fight much longer.I know that many will or would say that I am whipped. I would say to them if they would come and see and feel what I have would feel as I do. . . ."

Mills Lane (ed.), "Dear Mother: Don't grieve about me. If I get killed, I'll only be dead.": Letters from Georgia Soldiers in the Civil War (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1990), pp. 260-261.

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© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

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