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Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On December 11, 1790, a state Senate resolution declared that Farquard Campbell’s actions during the Revolutionary War were justifiable.
On April 11, 1967, the North Carolina General Assembly created the North Carolina Arts Council as a statutory agency.Established in 1964 by executive order of Governor Terry Sanford, the Arts Council began its work by documenting architecture, design, visual arts, crafts, theatre, music, dance, opera, creative writing, communications, film, concert series, school programs, statewide organizations, local arts councils and support throughout the state.
On July 28, 1995, Forsyth County Superior Court Judge William Z. Wood, Jr., ruled against O. J. Simpson’s attorneys, holding that aspiring screenwriter Laura Hart McKinney did not have to turn over her taped interviews with Los Angeles police officer Mark Fuhrman and others.
On February 14, 1943, saxophonist Maceo Parker was born in Kinston. Perhaps best known for his work with James Brown, Parker brought funk to the soul music of the James Brown Band. For nearly 20 years, Brown’s call “Maceo, I want you to Blow!” summoned his unique sound.
On January 31, 1878, the vessel Metropolis struck the shoals 100 yards from the beach at Currituck, halfway between two lifesaving stations.Built in 1861 and originally called the Stars and Stripes, the ship was outfitted for naval service in September 1862 and saw action during the Battle of Roanoke Island later that year. The ship was refitted for freight and passenger service but eventually fell into disrepair, rendering it inadequate for the longer trips.
On January 31, 1921, the impressive five-masted commercial schooner Carroll A. Deering was found wrecked on Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras. At the time, she was returning to Newport News from a trip to Brazil. Built in 1919 by the G. G. Deering Company in Bath, Maine, the ship was among the last wooden schooners built before their eclipse by iron shipbuilding.
On January 31, 1890, the American Tobacco Company was incorporated, creating the world’s largest tobacco conglomerate. Driving the creation of this industrial giant was James B. “Buck” Duke of the Durham-based W. Duke, Sons and Company. Facing tough competition from another Durham-based smoking tobacco firm, Duke had decided in 1881 to enter the cigarette business.
On January 30, 1951, publisher and conservationist Joseph Palmer Knapp died.A native of New York, born in 1864, Knapp was the publisher of Collier’s magazine. His American Lithographic Company pioneered the use of color inserts in newspapers and baseball cards distributed with tobacco. That connection led to his acquaintance with James B. Duke and the Tar Heel State.
On January 30, 1956, professional ice hockey debuted in North Carolina. A week earlier, a fire destroyed the home arena of the Baltimore Clippers, an Eastern Hockey League team. Charlotte representatives convinced the team to play five of their remaining home games at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Clippers’ Charlotte debut, in which they played the New Haven Blades, drew 10,363 people to the 9,500 seat venue with more than 3,000 being turned away at the gate.
On January 30, 1871, Gov. William Woods Holden’s impeachment trial began. The only Chief Executive in North Carolina history to be impeached and removed from office (and the first in the nation), Holden was a central figure in the state’s Civil War and Reconstruction era.