August 7, 1742

1742 Nathanael Greene, a hero of the American Revolution, was born in Rhode Island on this day. In recognition of his defense of the southern states, the Georgia General Assembly awarded him a grant of land near Savannah after the war. Unfortunately, he died of heat exhaustion in 1786. His widow, Catherine Greene, subsequently hired a tutor for her children. That tutor was Eli Whitney, who in 1793 invented the cotton gin.

August 7, 1790

1790 A delegation of Creek head men led by Alexander McGillivray met with U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox in New York and signed the Treaty of New York formally ceding the land between the Oconee and Ogeechee rivers to Georgia.

August 7, 1905

Georgia cities and towns first incorporated by acts approved on Aug. 7:

1905 Dacula (Gwinnett County)

August 7, 1906

1906 The Georgia General Assembly approved a joint resolution calling on Congress to create a National Military Park encompassing the areas of the Battle of Peachtree Creek (July 20, 1864), the Battle of Atlanta (July 22, 1864), and the Battle of Ezra Church (July 28, 1864). The resolution further called for a series of boulevards connecting the three battlefields.

August 7, 1912

Georgia cities and towns first incorporated by acts approved on Aug. 7:

1912 Bonaire (Houston County) and Plainfield (Dodge County)

August 7, 1913

1913 In the tenth day of the Leo Frank trial, railroad carptenter C.B. Dalton testified he had met with several women in the basement of the National Pencil Factory while Jim Conley watched out for him, and that he had seen numerous women come to the factory to visit Frank. After stating that the financial records of the National Pencil Factory showed there was $200 (the amount Jim Conley said Frank had showed him) on the premises the day of the murder, solicitor Hugh Dorsey rested the state’s case. The defense called Dr. Roy Childs, who disputed the testimony of Dr. Roy Harris -- saying cabbage was a very slow food to digest, implying that the murder could have been committed hours after Phagan had eaten. Pinkerton detective Harry Scott was recalled to the stand to testify on how Jim Conley had lied several times to investigators during the course of the murder investigation.

August 7, 1916

1916 Gov. Nathaniel Harris signed an act regulating the practice of optometry in Georgia. In addition to imposing various qualifications and educational requirements, the legislation created a state board to oversee the examining and licensing of optometrists.

August 7, 1919

Georgia cities and towns first incorporated by acts approved on Aug. 7:

1919 White (Bartow County)

August 7, 1920

1920 Gov. Hugh Dorsey signed a proposed constitutional amendment to create Lanier County (named for Georgia poet Sidney Lanier) from portions of Berrien, Clinch, and Lowndes counties. Because the maximum number of counties allowed by the state constitution -- 145 -- had already been exceeded, creation of any additional counties required a constitutional amendment. On Nov. 2, 1920, state voters approved the amendment making Lanier Georgia’s 157th county.

August 7, 1927

1927 Two-term governor George Busbee was born in Vienna, Georgia. Elected as state representative from Dougherty County in 1957, he served in the House for 18 years. He was elected governor in Nov. 1974, taking office in January 1975. At the time, Georgia’s constitution prohibited the governor from serving consecutive terms, but a constitutional amendment to allow a second term was approved by the voters in 1976. Busbee’s tenure is remembered for his efforts to run state government as a business, attracting out-of-state and international business and investments to Georgia, promising not to raise taxes, and promoting a new state constitution. During his administration, an editorial revision was made in the Constitution of 1945 and ratified by voters as the Constitution of 1976. Also, Busbee appointed a blue-ribbon commission to make substantive constitutional change. The results of that commission were sent to the General Assembly, which made a few changes and then sent the document to the voters for approval in the November 1982 general election. Thus, the Constitution of 1983--which, as amended, serves as our current state constitution, became George Busbee’s most lasting legacy.

August 7, 1940

1940 The Atlanta branch of the NAACP and the Atlanta Baptist Ministers Union began a two-day campaign in opposition to a proposed city bond issue because it would allocate inadequate funding for black schools.

August 7, 1945

1945 Georgia voters ratified a new state constitution for Georgia. A special constitutional commission had met during 1943 and 1944 and drafted a new constitution. Their proposal went to the 1945 General Assembly, which made some changes in the commission’s version and then authorized a statewide vote on ratification. Voters approved the new Constitution of 1945.

August 7, 1956

1956 Shelby Buck, Clint Castleberry, Joe Jenkins, Vernon (Catfish) Smith, Claude (Gabe) Tolbert, and John Varnedoe were inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

August 7, 1957

1957 Born in 1892 in Harlem, Georgia, Oliver Hardy--the rotund half of the Laurel and Hardy duo--died on this day in North Hollywood California. During his film career (1913-1950), Hardy appeared in 190 movies.

August 7, 1958

1958 The caravan of seven covered wagons from Dahlonega pulled out of Piedmont Park at 9 a.m. headed for Georgia’s state capitol. Arriving an hour later, two women from the wagon train carried carried a chest originally owned by William Few up the steps of the capitol. In the chest were 43 ounces of gold nuggets and dust. In ceremonies outside the capitol, they presented the chest of gold to Gov. Marvin Griffin. Subsequently, the nuggets and dust were milled into thin gold leaf to cover the state capitol dome.

August 7, 1972

1972 After firing Atlanta Braves manager Luman Harris, team officials named for Braves third baseman and Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews as skipper of the struggling franchise. Mathews would lead the Braves for two years, though the team would continue to lose more games than it won.