Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The University of Georgia

June 5

1750 John Twiggs was born in Maryland. His family moved to Georgia when he was a young child. During the American Revolution, Twiggs was a general in the Georgia militia. His military skills also were called into play after the war in fighting the Creeks and preparing Georgia for the War of 1812. In 1809, the General Assembly named a new county in his honor.

1775 The first Liberty Pole in Georgia was erected in Savannah, which by this time was divided into two hostile factions.

1781 British Lt. Col. Thomas Brown surrendered Augusta to a combined force of Continental regulars under Gen. Lighthorse Harry Lee and Georgia and Carolina militia under Gen. Andrew Pickens and Col. Elijah Clarke.

1913 Responding to the statement of Lucille Frank the previous day, prosecutor Hugh Dorsey released his own statement denying any wrongdoing in arresting and questioning witnesses in the Mary Phagan murder case. Click here for a detailed accounting of the case.

1955 Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded a doctorate from Boston University.

1960 The recording company for 15-year-old Brenda Mae Tarpley released a record that would become a million seller and even bump Chubby Checker's "The Twist" from number one on the record chart. The young Lithonia native had adopted the stage name of Brenda Lee, and her soon-to-be hit song was entitled "I'm Sorry."

1962 With Georgia still reeling from the Paris plane crash two days earlier, another tragedy occurred. A. Ed Smith, Republican candidate for governor, was killed in a car accident near Woodbury, Ga.

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1739 In London, the Earl of Egmont recorded in his diary of George Whitefield's preaching style, which would become famous in both America and England:

"This evening Mr. Whitfeild [sic] came, attended by Mr. Seward and one of the Wesleys, to Woolwich Common, where a crowd of people (as usual) expected him to preach. A table was prepared for him, on which he got and made a sermon, which with a psalm and a long prayer lasted two hours. My wife went in her coach to hear him, and brought me word that he preached with great earnestness, often spreading his hands, but there was nothing in his doctrine she had not heard before, only he said that the common clergy do no preach the true doctrine of Christ, and inveighed against the polite men of the age. That he was called a madman and enthusiast, and made others so, but God would judge him revilers at the last day for all their hard speeches of him. My wife gave them money for the orphan house, and Mr. Seward presented him a book of hymns, published by John and Charles Wesley, two Methodist divines, his companions.

"This Seward was a broker in Exchange Alley, by which business he got £8,000, three of which he carries with him to Georgia, where he goes to assist Mr. Whitfeild in erecting an orphan house. he told my wife that in a year and a half Mr. Whitfeild designs to return and go all over England preaching."

Source: U.K. Historical Manuscripts Commission, Diary of the First Earl of Egmont (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1923), Vol. III, p. 64.

1804 University of Georgia president Josiah Meigs wrote to governor John Milledge on this day, showing that at least one thing has remained constant thoughout the University's history:

"With this you will receive a List of the wished for apparatus, and a Letter to Mr. Monroe -- I think if you will give it additional force by your own personal application it cannot fail of meeting, in him, that good will & activity in the business we wish for. I also write without seal to General Mitchell who is to forward the Papers. The apparatus, by the estimates, you see, will amount to about $1500, or perhaps more. I hope & believe that such exertions will be made by all the friends of the Institution that your Board will be able in the proper moment, to meet the expense. . . ."

Source: Harriet Milledge Salley (ed.), Correspondence of John Milledge, Governor of Georgia, 1802-1806 (The State Commercial Printing Company, Columbia, S.C., 1949), pp. 116-117.

January / February / March / April / May / June / July / August / September / October / November / December

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

If you have a date related to Georgia history or people that ought to be included, or if know of entries that should be corrected, send a note to Ed Jackson or Charles Pou.

Go to Yahoo/The History Channel This Day in History page for June 5

Go to Georgia History page