Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On November 23, 1902, Walter Reed, head of U.S. Yellow Fever Commission in Cuba, died. During his time in Cuba, Reed conclusively demonstrated that mosquitoes transmitted the deadly disease. Reed called Hertford County home for much of his life before medical school.
On November 23, 1963, as the clock neared midnight in Raleigh, an attempt was allegedly made at the Dallas police department on behalf of Lee Harvey Oswald to contact one or two phone numbers in the 919 area code. It was the day after Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
On November 23, 1925, Olive Dame Campbell and Marguerite Butler incorporated the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. They named it after Mrs. Campbell’s late husband.
On November 23, 1881, “Aunt Abby” House, died.
Born around 1796 and raised near Franklinton, little is known of her life prior to the Civil War. Described as being stooped, grim-looking and often smoking a corn cob pipe, House carried one or two canes at all times, reputedly both to help her walk and to help her make points—and occasionally to whack those who didn’t get her point the first time.
On November 22, 1790, Elizabeth Maxwell Steele, a legendary patriot during the American Revolution, died at her home in Salisbury.
Twice widowed, Steele was the only woman operating a tavern in Rowan County before the war. She was self-sufficient, wealthy and well-connected, and during the Revolution she used her means to become what she called a “great politician.” Steele wasn’t a politician in the modern sense of the word. Rather, she looked out for her family’s and her community’s interests by seeking and sharing information about the war.
On November 22, 1718, the infamous pirate Blackbeard was killed. Reported to have been a privateer during Queen Anne’s War, Blackbeard is said to have turned to piracy afterward. He is one of the most famous figures associated with the “Golden Age of Piracy,” which flourished briefly along the North Carolina coast in the early 1700s.
On November 21, 1901, Nell Cropsey, disappeared from the front porch of her family home near the Elizabeth City waterfront. The Cropsey family had moved to Elizabeth City from New Jersey in 1898.
On November 21, 1757, the town of Halifax was established by the colonial legislature, which was meeting in New Bern. The act called for the establishment of a town on the lands of James Leslie on the Roanoke River. The new town was named Halifax, in honor of George Montagu, the second Earl of Halifax.