On November 7, 1954, attorney, teacher, congressman and North Carolina Governor William B. Umstead died of heart failure.
Born on a Durham County farm in 1895, Umstead served as a lieutenant in the 81st “Wildcat” Division during World War I before being elected to Congress. During his three terms in the House of Representatives and a single term in the Senate, Umstead focused mostly on rural issues, including soil conservation and rural electrification.
On November 7, 1950, Elymas Yates “E. Y.” Ponder was elected sheriff of mountainous Madison County, defeating Republican incumbent Hubert Davis by 31 votes.
On November 7, 1918, Billy Graham was born in Charlotte. A worldwide symbol of evangelism, he has preached to millions of people. Hundreds of millions more, in every corner of the globe, have heard his message through television, radio, print and film.
On November 6, 1973, the State Capitol became a National Historic Landmark. The designation by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior is reserved for nationally significant historic places that possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting American history. There are fewer than 2,500 of them across the country.
On November 6, 1755, Captain Hugh Waddell was named North Carolina’s commissioner in treaty negotiations with the Catawba and Cherokees.
At the beginning of the French and Indian War, it was imperative that England’s colonies solidify their alliances with neighboring native tribes. North Carolina was particularly concerned with relations between the Cherokees and the Catawba. The two tribes had been enemies for generations, yet both were allies of England and both had grievances with colonial settlers.
On November 6, 1865, the CSS Shenandoah lowered the Confederate flag and James I. Waddell surrendered command of the vessel to British authorities in Liverpool. The surrender came a full six months after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. In that time, Waddell, a native of Pittsboro, had led his men on the only circumnavigation of the world by a Confederate ship.
On November 5, 1957, North Carolina State Trooper Wister Lee Reece was shot and killed near Ellerbe and, less than an hour later, Trooper James Thomas Brown was murdered near Sanford. The crimes would grip the nation.
Reece’s murder came after a traffic stop. Witnesses described the car that was stopped as a black Oldsmobile with Pennsylvania license plates. During the next few weeks a nationwide manhunt—the largest ever in North Carolina’s history—ensued. An Oldsmobile was found abandoned in Chattanooga and fingerprints recovered.
On November 5, 1922, medical pioneer Karl von Ruck died in Asheville.
Born in Turkey in 1849 and raised in Germany, von Ruck immigrated to the United States shortly after receiving his medical degree