Alabamian Joins SCOTUS; Wallace Born: August In Alabama History

MONTGOMERY, AL — As Alabama celebrates its bicentennial this year, a look back at significant dates in the state's history reveals that Alabama has a rich history that has impacted the entire country - for positive and negative reasons.

Continuing our monthly series in celebration of Alabama's 200th birthday, Patch looks at significant dates in August in Alabama's stories history:

August 2, 1819

The first Alabama constitution is adopted, paving the way to statehood in December. Known today as the Constitution of 1819, to distinguish it from five subsequent constitutions, it was considered a model of democracy at the time. It granted, for example, suffrage to all adult white males without regard to property ownership or other qualifications.

August 3, 1936

Alabamian and superstar athlete Jesse Owens wins his first gold medal in the 1936 Olympics. Owens went on to win four gold medals in Berlin, in front of Adolf Hitler, who believed black athletes to be inferior to white athletes.

August 5, 1864

The Battle of Mobile Bay begins. U.S. Admiral David Farragut, with a force of fourteen wooden ships, four ironclads, 2,700 men, and 197 guns, assaulted the outnumbered Confederate defenses guarding the approach to Mobile Bay. Farragut’s victory removed Mobile as a center of blockade-running and freed Union troops for service in Virginia.

August 7, 1966

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was born in Huntsville. Wales attended Randolph School, Auburn University and the University of Alabama before founding the online encyclopedia in 2004.

August 8, 1922

Hattie Hooker Wilkins of Selma becomes the first woman to win a seat in the Alabama legislature. One of three Alabama women to run for legislative office that year, Wilkins was the only successful candidate, beating out incumbent J. W. Green for a seat in the House of Representatives. Wilkins served only one term, choosing not to run for re-election in 1926.

August 12, 1937

President Franklin Roosevelt appoints Alabama senator Hugo Black to the U.S. Supreme Court. Black’s nomination was soon confirmed by his Senate colleagues, but before he took his seat on the court that October he was compelled to address the nation by radio in order to respond to controversy about his membership in the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s. Black served on the court until 1971, retiring just a few days before his death.

August 15, 1841

Julia Tutwiler is born in Tuscaloosa. Tutwiler, president of what later became the University of West Alabama, worked to secure the admittance of women to the University of Alabama, to reform Alabama’s prisons, and to expand educational opportunities for women.

August 17, 1909

Alabama becomes the first state to ratify the 16th amendment. When the amendment went into effect on February 25, 1913, it gave Congress the power to collect income taxes.

August 19, 1942

Senator Fred Thompson was born in Sheffield, Alabama. Thompson served in the UNited States Senate representing Tennessee from 1994-2003. Thompson was also an actor who appeared in Die Hard 2, The Hunt for Red October and Law & Order, among other roles. Thompson died in 2015.

August 25, 1919

George C. Wallace is born in Clio, Alabama. A four-time governor of Alabama, three-time candidate for U.S. president, Wallace early in his career epitomized white resistance to Civil Rights demands in the 1960s. Almost killed by a would-be assassin in 1972, Wallace later recanted his segregationist views and was re-elected governor largely due to votes of African Americans.