July 19, 1814

1814 Educator and future University of Georgia chancellor Patrick H. Mell was born in Liberty County, Georgia. In 1833, he attended Amherst College in Massachusetts for two years, and then became a teacher for two years. In 1837, Mell returned to Georgia, where he took a series of faculty positions at Emory College at Oxford, Mercer University, and the University of Georgia (where he became vice chancellor in 1860). In 1862, Mell organized a regiment of students and faculty and served as commanding colonel (though the unit was stationed at Rome and never involved in combat). In 1878, Mell was appointed chancellor of the University of Georgia. He also served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1863 until his death in 1888.

July 19, 1827

1827 George Wimberley Jones DeRenne was born in Philadelphia, Penn. He would obtain an undergraduate degree in 1845, a medical diploma in 1847, and a masters degree in 1848. Though raised and educated in Pennsylvania, DeRenne descended from Noble Jones, and in 1857 he inherited Wormsloe, the Jones family plantation near Savannah. His love of history led him to collect numerous rare books, maps, engravings, and manuscripts. His entire collection was lost to Sherman’s troops during the Civil War, but afterwards he began building a new collection that ultimately totaled over 10,000 different items and formed the most complete collection related to early Georgia history. In 1938, the University of Georgia Library acquired the DeRenne collection from his descendants. Today, these important records and documents comprise the Wymberly Jones DeRenne Georgia Library within the University of Georgia’s Hargrett Library.

July 19, 1864

1864 Confederate forces engaged several divisions of Gen. George Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland trying to cross Peachtree Creek north of Atlanta. In heavy fighting, some Union forces succeeded while others were turned back. Meanwhile, Sherman was with Gen. Schofield’s 23rd Corps at the present site of Emory University. Here, he issued Special Field Order No. 39, which stated in part: "If fired on from the forts or buildings of Atlanta no consideration must be paid to the fact that they are occupied by families, but the place must be cannonaded without the formality of a demand. . . ." As night fell, Thomas’ forces stretched along Peachtree Creek to the north, Schofield’s forces formed an arc to the northeast, and McPherson’s forces were to the east. Sherman was now ready to advance on Atlanta, while Hood was determined to turn him back. Little did either general know how many soldiers would fall in battle on the next day.

July 19, 1893

1893 Lawyer and former Confederate general James T. Holtzclaw died in Montgomery, Ala. [See Dec. 17 entry for biographical informationon Holtzclaw.]

July 19, 1904

1904 Gov. Joseph Terrell signed an act of the General Assembly proposing a constitutional amendment to limit the number of counties in Georgia to 145. Previously, the Constitution of 1877 had provided that no new counties could be created in excess of the 137 then in existence. Georgia voters ratified the constitutional amendment on Oct. 5, 1904. This then meant that the General Assembly could create up to eight more counties -- which it did at the 1905 session.

July 19, 1905

1905 The Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution urging Congress and the President to repeal or modify the Chinese Exclusion Act because that act "is now bearing its evil fruits in the boycott of American goods, and is likely to affect seriously our Southern products, as well as the Christian mission work in China."

July 19, 1964

1964 University of Georgia basketball great Teresa Edwards was born. She would go on to become an Olympic basketball player, winning gold medals in 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996.

July 19, 1986

1986 Hall of Fame knuckle-ball pitcher Phil Niekro won his 307th game tying him with Mickey Welch for 14th place on all-time win list. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Braves great accomplished this feat as a Cleveland Indian.

July 19, 1996

1996 To mark the centennial of the modern Olympic games, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp featuring the classic Discobolus statue with first day of issue ceremonies at OLYMPHILEX ’96 in Atlanta, Ga. On the same day, the United Nations issued a set of two U.S.-denominated stamps to mark the Olympics, with first day of issue ceremonies also at OLYMPHILEX.

July 19, 1996

1996 On this night, the eyes of the world were on Atlanta, Georgia, as opening ceremonies were held in Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

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Today in History

1986 At only 5’ 7" in height, Atlanta Hawk Spud Webb amazingly defeated teammate Dominique Wilkins and other basketball stars to win the annual NBA Slam Dunk Competition. read more