On October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel made landfall at Long Beach. The storm’s arrival in North Carolina occurred on a full moon high tide, maximizing impact of the storm surge on the barrier beaches of Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle, Holden Beach, Long Beach, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island.
Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On October 15, 1810, Alfred Moore, Revolutionary War officer and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, died. Born in 1755 in New Hanover County, Moore was descended from the early settlers of the Cape Fear region and was the grandson of the founder of Brunswick Town.
On October 14, 1886, Frank Porter Graham was born in Fayetteville.
On October 14, 1965, poet Randall Jarrell was struck and killed by a car while walking at dusk along the side of NC 54 Bypass. At the time, Jarrell was staying in the hospital in Chapel Hill recovering from a suicide attempt and being treated with antidepressants. Jarrell left behind nine volumes of poetry, four books of literary criticism, four children’s books, five anthologies, a novel and a reputation as a brilliant, if troubled, writer.
On October 14, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed at Lindley Field in Greensboro to celebrate its opening.
On October 13, 1982, Jim Thorpe’s medals from the 1912 Olympics were reinstated.
On October 13, 1938, Shirley Caesar, an award-winning gospel singer and preacher was born in Durham. Her beginnings were humble. She and her 11 siblings lost their father when they were young. She immersed herself in church and family life, and in singing, which she began at age 10.
Tobacco magnate Julian S. Carr was one of the most popular North Carolinians of his era. A generous philanthropist, he provided the funds for a dormitory at UNC and helped establish Trinity College, the forerunner to Duke.
On October 12, 1858, Thalian Hall in Wilmington opened with a gala celebration.
On October 12, 1793, Grand Master Mason and future North Carolina governor William R. Davie helped lay the cornerstone of Old East, the nation’s oldest state university building and a dormitory at UNC-Chapel Hill for more than 220 years.