May 09, 1968

1968 Ten thousands whites and blacks gathered in Atlanta’s new Civic Center exhibition hall to prepare to take part in the "Poor People’s March" on Washington D.C.

May 09, 1913

1913 Fouteen year old Manteen Stover said she had arrived at the National Pencil Factory around 12:05 PM (roughly the same time as Mary Phagan had arrived) and that Leo Frank was not in his office. This contradicted Frank’s testimony that he had been in his office the entire time in which it was thought Phagan had been murdered. Another woman reported that she was walking outside the factory around 4:30 PM when she heard three piercing screams come from the basement of the building.

May 09, 1942

1942 Bell Bomber president Larry Bell announced that Harry E. Collins had been appointed to the post of vice president in charge of the company’s new facility in Marietta. While Collins was considered an excellent choice to start up the plant, he eventually lost the confidence of Larry Bell and was replaced on June 16, 1943, by Omer L. Woodson. Woodson performed his new job admirably, but the pressures of the position eventually became too much for him, and he resigned in August 1944. The next general manager was Carl Cover, but after just a few months on the job, he was killed in an airplane crash. The final general manager was Cobb County native James V. Carmichael, who served from December 22, 1944, until the closing of the plant early in 1946. [Contributed by Dr. Tom Scott, Kennesaw State University]

May 09, 1864

1864 As Union and Confederate forces battled in north Georgia, the Confederate commander of Atlanta, William Wilson, had the following notice published in Atlanta’s Intelligencer: "ATTENTION MILITIA! All persons between the ages of 16 and 60, not in the service of the Confederate States, in the second ward, are hereby notified to be and appear at the City Hall today, at 2 o’clock P.M., for the purpose of being armed and equipped for local defense. Herein fail not under penalty."

May 09, 1998

1998 Georgia Gov. Zell Miller was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.

May 09, 1864

1864 While the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge continued near Dalton, Union forces under Maj. Gen. James McPherson advanced through Snake Creek Gap to the south and advanced toward Resaca. The plan was to capture the small town, establish control of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and block Gen. Johnston’s retreat. However, Johnston had already sent a Confederate force to defend Reseca. McPherson overestimated the size of that force and withdrew to Snake Creek Gap to await reinforcements.

May 09, 1740

1740 With James Oglethorpe’s invasion of Spanish Florida now underway, a scouting party of 50 Creek Indians left camp at 4 a.m. During the day, they chased some Spanish soldiers, who were able to return to the safety of their fort. The Indians also captured a "Spanish Negro." [This term refers to a former slave -- probably from South Carolina -- who had escaped to freedom in Florida. Many of these escaped slaves became Spanish soldiers, and in fact there was an entire unit known as the Black Militia stationed at Fort Mose north of St. Augustine.] Also on May 9, Oglethorpe’s invasion force was joined by two sloops and four schooners from South Carolina with provisions and reinforcements for the siege of the Castillo de San Marcos fortress in St. Augustine.

May 09, 1862

1862 General David Hunter of the Union Army issued a proclamation freeing the slaves of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. President Lincoln, however, countermanded the proclamation, although stating that Hunter was "an honest man."

May 09, 1937

1937 Long before the Blues Brothers, there was the soul music duo of Sam and Dave (who had such hits as "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I’m Coming"). On this day, Dave Prather, Jr. was born in Ocilla, Ga.

May 09, 1989

1989 Jim Williams was acquitted in his fourth trial for the murder of Danny Hansford in Savannah; the case was dramatized in both the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.