Ed Jackson and Charly Pou

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The University of Georgia

March 25

1740 George Whitefield laid the first brick on the central building of the Bethesda Orphan House near Savannah.(see engraving).

1765 Following Britain's victory in the French and Indian War, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763. One of its provisions was to extend Georgia's southern boundary from the Altamaha River to the St. Marys River. Two years later, on March 25, 1765, Gov. James Wright approved an act of the General Assembly creating four new parishes -- St. David, St. Patrick, St. Thomas, and St. Mary -- in the newly acquired land, and further assigning Jekyll Island to St. James Parish. [Click here to view map of the Georgia's colonial parishes.] Twelve years later, the Constitution of 1777 combined St. David and St. Patrick parishes into the new county of Glynn, and St. Thomas and St. Mary into the new county of Camden.

1925 Noted writer Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah. She later attended Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville, graduating in 1945. In 1947, O'Conner obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree from the State University of Iowa, then moved to New York, where she lived in an artists' retreat. In 1950, O'Connor was stricken with lupus, the same disease that killed her father. Her widely acclaimed first novel -- Wise Blood -- was published in 1952. For the rest of her brief life, she would battle her disease while continuing to write. A Good Man is Hard to Find, a collection of short stories, was published in 1955. Her second novel, The Violent Bear it Away, was published in 1960. She had completed the stories for another collection when she died in Milledgeville on August 3, 1964 at age 39. This collection was published posthumously as Everything That Rises Must Converge. In 1971 her collected works -- The Complete Stories -- won the National Book Award. [Click here to view Georgia College and State University's extensive web site on Flannery O'Connor.]

1934 Horton Smith won the first Masters golf tournament in Augusta, defeating Craig Wood by one stroke.

1937 Gov. E.D. Rivers signed an act of the General Assembly abolishing the Department of Industrial Relations and creating in its place a new Department of Labor. The act also provided for a Commissioner of Labor to be elected by the voters of the state. Later, the Constitution of 1945 elevated the Commissioner of Labor from the status of statutory to constitutional officer.

1947 Singer Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born in Pinner, Middlesex, England. After a long string of hits, Dwight moved to the U.S., where he became a part-time resident of Atlanta, Ga. Continuing his recording and concert career in this country, Dwight -- better known as Elton John -- was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.

1958 Gov. Marvin Griffin signed an act authorizing a $250,000 award for the first commercial oil well drilled in Georgia that produces at least 100 barrels of oil per day. The award would be distributed as follows: $50,000 to the owner of the property or mineral rights where the well was drilled; $100,000 to the company or individual responsible that financed the drilling of the well; $87,500 to the contractor who furnished the equipment; and $12,500 to be divided among the work crew that actually drilled the well. [To date, this award has never been claimed.]

1962 Arnold Palmer won the second of his three Masters victories (1958, 1962, and 1964)

1963 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the University of Virginia on "The Future of Integration."

1965 The civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala, ended as Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers into Alabama's capital city.

1966 Atlanta Braves pitcher and 1991 and 1998 National League Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine was born in Concord, Mass.

1971 At Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., the six-member jury in the court martial trial of Lt. William Calley, accused of murdering over one-hundred Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in 1968, entered the tenth day of deliberations. For the first time, jurors had no questions for the judge in the case. Previously, they had asked that the testimony of twelve witnesses be read back, and asked for color slides of some evidence. The lack of questions led to speculation that the jury was nearing a verdict -- correctly as it turned out. A guilty verdict would be announced on March 29th.

1973 Tommy Aaron became the second Georgia-born golfer to win the Masters. The first Georgian to win the Masters was Claude Harmon from Savannah in 1948. In 1987, Augusta-born Larry Mize won the prized Green Jacket given the tournament winner.

1981 Atlanta Braves outfielder Gary Matthews was traded to Philadelphia for pitcher Bob Walk.

1983 The Georgia Bulldog basketball team defeated third-ranked St. John's 70-67 to advance to the finals of the East Regional in the NCAA championship tournament. Terry Fair led the way for Georgia with 27 points.

1983 Ollie Davidson pled guilty to two federal misdemeanor counts of extorting money from employees for the reelection campaign of State Labor Commissioner Sam Caldwell. Davidson, a manager in the department's Tifton office, had plea bargained; in exchange for her plea she would not be prosecuted further and agreed to testify for the government in future trials involving this case. Caldwell eventually was convicted and forced to resign.

1996 The Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team defeated top-ranked Louisiana Tech 90-76 to win the Midwestern Regional and advance to the Final Four of the NCAA championship tournament. Georgia was led by national player of the year Saudia Roundtree, who scored a career high 37 points.

2001 Smyrna native Julia Roberts won the Oscar for best actress for her title role in the movie Erin Brockovich.

Georgia cities and towns first incorporated by acts approved by the governor on March 25:

1947 Lambert (Liberty County)
 
 

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1737 In his journal of Trustee deliberations, the Earl of Egmont recorded receipt of information from America that supported James Oglethorpe's arguments for the need of a British Army regiment under his command to defend Georgia and Carolina from attack by Spanish forces in Cuba and St. Augustine:

"Mr. Saml. Eveleigh wrote to his correspondent in London, that a Sloop was arrived from the Govr. of Providence with a packet . . . together with 5 affidavits made before that Govr. by 5 Englishmen who had been lately prisoners at the Havana, and were newly arrived there. These letters confirm'd the Accts. of the preparations of the Spaniards at the Havanah [sic] against Carolina.

"That Capt. Dunbar was come from Georgia wth. an Acct. that at Frederica, Darien and Savannah all was well prepared, and the Inhabitants resolved to defend themselves. That the Forts at the two former Towns are Strong & regular, and a great progress was made in the 3d at Savannah."

Source: Robert G. McPherson (ed.), 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), pp. 248-49.

1740 George Whitfield recorded in his diary the laying of the first brick of his Bethesda Orphan House:

"Went this day to Bethesda, and with full Assurance of Faith laid the first Brick of the great House. The Workmen attended, and with me kneeled down and prayed. After we had sung a Hymn suitable to the Occasion, I gave a Word of Exhortation to the Labourers, and bid them remember to work heartily, knowing that they work for God and not for Man. Much Satisfaction seemed to be amongst them, and blessed be God's holy Name, his Work prospers much in our Hands! Near twenty Acres of Land are cleared, and almost ready for Planting. Two Houses are already raised, and one near upon being finished. All the Timber for the Frame of the great House is sawn, and most of it brought to the Place where it is to be built. A good Part of the Foundation is dug, and many Thousands of Brick ready for Use. Near forty Children are now under my Care. . . ."

Source: [no author or editor cited], Our First Visit in America: Early Reports from the Colony of Georgia, 1732-1740 (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1974), p. 302.
 
 

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 Charly Pou.

Go to Yahoo/The History Channel This Day in History page for Mar. 25

Go to Georgia History page

Go to GeorgiaInfo table of contents