November 29, 1794

1794 Georgia’s General Assembly ratified the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

November 29, 1834

1834 U.S. Brig. Gen. Thomas E. G. Ransom was born in Norwich, Vt. After serving at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and the Atlanta Campaign, Ransom was in command of the 17th Corps in pursuit of Hood when he died Oct. 29, 1864 in Rome, Ga.

November 29, 1895

1895 William V.S. Tubman, 17th Liberian president (1944-71) and grandson of an ex-slave from Augusta, was born in Liberia.

November 29, 1929

1929 - Franklin D. Roosevelt was in Warm Springs, Ga. for his eighteenth visit to the state he considered his "second home."

November 29, 1935

1935 Pres. Franklin Roosevelt participated in dedication ceremonies for Techwood Homes--the nation’s first public housing project--at Georgia Tech’s football stadium. In his remarks, Roosevelt noted: "Within sight of you today stands a tribute to useful work under government supervision--the first slum clearance and low-rent housing project. Here, at the request of the citizens of Atlanta, we have cleared out nine square blocks of antiquated, squalid dwellings for years a detriment to this community. Today these hgopless dwellings are goine and in their place we see the bright, cheerful buildings of the Techwood Housing Project. Within a very short time people who never before could get a decent roof over their heads will live here in reasonable comfort and healthful, worthwhile surroundings. Other will find similar homes in Atlanta’s second slum clearance, the University [Homes for Negroes] Project."

November 29, 1941

1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived in Warm Springs, Ga. for his thirty-ninth visit to his "second home." The visit was cut short when Japanese officials made threatening remarks about attacking American and British interests in the Pacific Ocean. Roosevelt returned to Washington the following day; Pearl Harbor was attacked one week later.

November 29, 1943

1943 The newest employee at the Bell Aircraft plant in Marietta was Mrs. Helen Dortch Longstreet, widow of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet of the Confederate States of America. She completed a riveting class at the Rickenbacker Aircraft Training School in Marietta. According to Larry Bell, in a November 1943 speech, some 34 percent of the employees at the plant were women. He also added that 92 percent of the workers were southerners, including forty of the top 125 administrative staff. [Contributed by Tom Scott, Kennesaw State University.]

November 29, 1944

1944 Georgia born doctor Alfred Blalock performed the world’s first blue baby operation at Johns Hopkins. This operation was a forerunner of modern heart surgery.

November 29, 1961

1961 Georgia historian and educator Margaret Davis Cate died in Brunswick, Ga. [See Nov. 24 entry for brief biography.]

November 29, 1980

1980 In response to the bus drivers’ strike which had crippled the Fulton County School District’s transportation plan, MARTA began offering half-price fares to students going to and from school.

November 29, 1980

1980 Led by freshman phenom Herschel Walker’s 205 yards rushing and three touchdowns, the Georgia Bulldogs vanquished archrival Georgia Tech 38-20 to complete an undefeated season. Walker not only led the team to victory, but also broke the national single season rushing record when he blasted up the middle, powering over several defenders along the way, on a 65-yard touchdown run which iced Georgia’s victory. Now the only thing standing in the way of a national championship for the Bulldogs was a January 1 clash with Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.