Ed Jackson and Charly Pou

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The University of Georgia

 

1734 On March 15, James Oglethorpe, Baron von Reck, Salzburger minister Israel Gronau , and two other Salzburgers left Savannah to search for a site for the Salzburgers to settle. On March 17, they agreed on a location on a creek about twenty miles northwest of Savannah. While still at sea, the Salzburgers had planned on erecting a stone marker at the site of their new Georgia home, which they hoped to call Eben Ezer, which meant "stone of help" or "monument to God's protection." [On March 26, James Oglethorpe would agree to their request and formally name the new settlement Ebenezer.] Initially, Baron von Reck and the Salzburgers were enthused about the site selected (see "In Their Own Words. . . " below). However, Ebenezer's location [see map] proved too far from the Savannah River, meaning everything had to be transported by land. Moreover, the soil quality was not good, and there was frequent flooding. Eventually, the Salzburgers would receive permission to move to a new site on a bluff where the Ebenezer Creek entered the Savannah River. Here, they would build New Ebenezer, one of colonial Georgia's most successful communities.

1735 Britain's Parliament funded the entire £25,800 requested by the Trustees for support of Georgia for the coming year -- even including an additional £200. This was a personal victory for James Oglethorpe, who had returned in England in 1734 to personally lobby for government funding for Georgia.

1866 Gov. Charles Jenkins signed legislation declaring "persons of color" to be defined as "all negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes, and their descendants, having one-eight negro, or African blood, in their veins." The act also authorized persons of color in Georgia the same rights as whites with respect to contracts,suits, inheritance, property, and punishments for violation of the law.

1902 Lawyer and golfing great Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. -- better known as Bobby Jones -- was born in Atlanta. Growing up across the street from the East Lake Country Club, Jones learned the game of golf early, winning his first tournament (a junior championship) at age nine. In 1916, he won the inaugural Georgia State Amateur Championship, and in 1917 and 1922, the Southern Amateur Championship. During this time, he was attending school, graduating from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in 1922, a B.S. from Harvard in 1924. After two years at Emory Law School (1926-27), Jones was admitted to the Georgia bar and began the practice of law in Atlanta. Amazingly, during much of his time in college, Jones was amassing string of victories as an amateur on the professional golf tour, He won nine major tournaments in the 1920s, but the culmination of his career occurred in 1930, when he won the four major championships of his time -- the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Amateur, and the U.S. Open. A sportswriter coined the term "grand slam" for this remarkable achievement. Jones retired from competitive golf soon afterwards, but remained very active in promoting the sport, primarily by producing short films demonstrating golf fundamentals. Jones was one of the primary designers of the Augusta National golf course, where the first Masters tournament was held in 1934. Jones went on to serve as an intelligence officer with the Air Force during World War II, then began a successful business and writing career as a spinal condition limited his ability to actively play and teach golf. He authored or co-authored four books -- Down the Fairway, Golf is My Game, Bobby Jones on Golf, and Bobby Jones on the Basic Golf Swing. Jones died in Atlanta on Dec. 18, 1971.

1922 One day after the Atlanta Journal's WSB radio station went on the air, the Atlanta Constitution launched its new WGST radio station using the radio facilities of Georgia Railway and Power Company. In the following months, the Constitution built its own facilities and was given the new call letters to WGM. For whatever reason, Constitution publisher Clark Howell, Sr. -- who also happened to be a trustee of Georgia Tech --decided to donate the radio station to Tech, at which point the call letters reverted to WGST.

1933 Gov. Eugene Talmadge signed a joint resolution of the General Assembly allowing the Georgia Bicentennial Commission to place a bronze tablet [click to view] on the wall of the main entrance to the state capitol commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of Georgia.

1943 Gov. Ellis Arnall signed a joint resolution of the General Assembly creating a commission to revise the Georgia Constitution of 1877 -- a document according to the resolution that had been adopted "while the fear of alien domination and control was still prevalent, since which time the conditions in the state have completely changed."

1955 Politician Cynthia McKinney was born in Atlanta. Being daughter to longtime state representative Billy McKinney, politics came natural for Cynthia. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in international relations she taught at Spelman College, Atlanta University, and Agnes Scott College before being elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1988, where she served in the same chamber as her father--marking the first and only time in Georgia history that a father and daughter served at the same time in the same house). After four years in the General Assembly, McKinney successfully ran in Georgia's new 11 congressional district in 1992, becoming the first African-American congresswoman from Georgia. She was reelected in 1994, but the next year the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 11th district as having been unconstitutionally drawn by the General Assembly [see story], which then forced redrawing congressional districts. In 1996, McKinney successfully ran in the new majority-white 4th congressional district. She was ousted from office in the 2002 Democratic primary by Denise Majette.

1969 The Atlanta Braves traded catcher Joe Torre to St. Louis for first baseman Orlando Cepeda. Torre would later return to Atlanta as Braves manager (1982-84). Torre would also return to haunt the Braves as the victorious Yankee manager in the 1996 World Series.

2008 The University of Georgia men's basketball team completed an unlikely run at the SEC tournament by defeating Arkansas to win the SEC tournament championship and advance to the NCAA tournament. Georgia had come in as the bottom seed, but defeated Mississippi. Kentucky and Mississippi St. (on the same day because one game had been postponed by a tornado hitting Atlanta), before toppling Arkansas on this day.
 
 

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1734 While the first transport of Salzburger emigrants to Georgia waited in Savannah, Baron von Reck (the leader of their group), James Oglethorpe, and three Salzburgers inspected the site twenty miles northwest of Savannah, selected for their settlement. Though the Salzburgers would later change their mind about the suitability of this site, von Reck wrote a glowing description of the site in his journal:

"We continued our Journey, and set out by Break of Day, and at nine arrived at the Place where the Saltzburgers were afterwards settled. I shall here give a short description of it. The Lands are inclosed between two Rivers, which fall into the Savannah. The Saltzburg Town is to be built near the largest, which is called Ebenezer...and is navigable, being twelve Foot deep. A little Rivulet, whose Water is as clear as Crystal, glides by the Town; another runs through it, and both fall into the Ebenezer. The Woods here are not so thick as in other Places. The sweet Zephyrs preserve a delicious Coolness, notwithstanding the scorching Beams of the Sun. There are very fine Meadows, in which a great Quantity of hay might be made with very little Pains: there are also Hillocks, very fit for Vines. The Cedar, walnut, Pine, Cypress, and Oak, make the greatest Part of the Woods. There is found in them a great Quantity of Myrtle Trees, out of which they extract, by boiling the Berries, a green wax, very proper to make Candles with. There is much Sassafras, and a great Quantity of those Herbs of which Indigo is made, and Abundance of China Roots. The Earth is so fertile, that it will bring forth anything that can be sown or planted in it; whether fruits, Herbs, or Trees. There are wild Vines, which run up to the Tops of the tallest Trees; and the Country is so good, that one may ride full gallop 20 or 30 Miles an end. As to Game, here are Eagles, Wild Turkies, Roe-Bucks, Wild Goats, Stags, Wild Cows, Horses, Hares, Partridges, and Buffaloes."

1793 From St. Marys, Ga., James Seagrove wrote to Gov. Edward Telfair about deadly raids by Creek Indians on white communities:

"I take the earliest opportunity of informing Your Excellency of a most alarming and unfavorable event which took place on this frontier on the 11th of this instant. A party of Creek Indians, in number about thirty from the lower part of Flint River, entered the store of Robert Seagrove at Traders' Hill on this river on the evening of the 11th instant and in the most brutal and savage manner murdered Mr. John Fleming, the storekeeper, and Mr. Daniel Moffet. A man of the name of Upton is missing, supposed to be taken off a prisoner. On being informed of this on the evening of the 12th, I pursued with a small party of volunteers from this town well mounted, but, our distance being fifty miles from Traders' Hill, the lapse of time gave the murders too great a start of us. On our arrival at the above place we found the store robbed of goods to the amount of £2000 Sterling and the corpses of the two unfortunate victims of savage barbarity which we had buried. My party returned the 13th to Colerain where the public stores are kept, and next morning, Thursday the 14th, I received advice that some people had been killed the day before about six miles from that place. There being now twenty-two volunteers well mounted, we proceeded without a moment's delay and in less than an hour came [to] where we found three men and a little girl murdered and one of the men scalped. We did not wait to bury them but took the trail of the savages and pursued all that day and night for upwards of fifty miles but could not come up with them. We returned on Friday afternoon to where the last mentioned people were murdered and buried them. Those unfortunate people appear to have been coming in to settle in this country. They had a wagon with their property, the horses carried off by the murderers, and it is thought a woman and child, who are missing, are prisoners.We are taking every means in our power to prevent this promising country from breaking up, but as our numbers are few should the war become general we must give way unless we receive aid from other quarters. We rely on Your Excellency's care of us and that you will order us assistance. Could we have a company of fifty horsemen on Continental pay it would be a means of saving our country! . . . I am putting Colerain in a state of defence and in a few days hope to have it in such a situation as to bid defiance to all Indian attacks. The cause of this sudden and unexpected attack on us I cannot account well for. I cannot believe that the Creek Nation are acquainted with it. The source of the evil is from another quarter, but this I shall know in a few days. . . ."

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© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

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