June 25, 1735

1735 In London, the Georgia Trustees voted to send a new shipload of settlers to build a new town and fort on the Altamaha River. This settlement would be named for Frederick, the Prince of Wales and son of King George II.

June 25, 1812

1812 News reached Savannah that the U.S. declared war on England six days earlier.

June 25, 1868

1868 Congress enacted legislation readmitting Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina to the Union providing they ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and agree to never amend their state constitutions to deprive any citizen of the right to vote.

June 25, 1921

1921 Lawyer and politician Thomas Hardwick was inaugurated as governor of Georgia. Despite his earlier leadership in Georgia’s black disfranchisement movement, Hardwick had a surprisingly progressive administration. He denounced the newly resurrected Ku Klux Klan became an advocate of prison reform, ended the flogging of prisoners, helped achieve Georgia’s first gasoline tax to help build roads, and pushed for a graduated state income tax (not adopted until 1931). Perhaps his most remembered achievement as governor came in 1922 when after the death of U.S. Senator Tom Watson, Hardwick appointed Rebecca Latimer Felton to fill Watson’s seat, making making the first woman to serve in the U.S Senate. After his term as governor, Hardwick ran unsuccessfully in 1924 and again in 1932, before retiring to his law practice. [See January 31 entry for more biographical information on Hardwick.]

June 25, 1976

1976 Savannah-born Johnny Mercer, widely recognized as one of America’s top songwriters ever, died at age 66. Winner of 4 Academy Awards, Mercer had 702 songs published and 13 number one songs. Among his best-remembered lyrics were those for "Moon River," "Days of Wine and Roses," "Charade," "That Old Black Magic," "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," "Autumn Leaves," "Jeepers Creepers," and "That Old Black Magic."

June 25, 1990

1990 The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Georgia v. South Carolina defining the boundary between the two states in the lower stretches of the Savannah River.

June 25, 1993

1993 Georgia-born actress Julia Roberts married Lyle Lovett.

June 25, 1997

1997 The National Hockey League officially awarded an NFL hockey franchise to Atlanta’s Ted Turner, who announced his new team would be known as the "Thrashers" in recognition of Georgia’s state bird, the Brown Thrasher.

June 25, 2003

2003 Former Georgia governor Lestor Maddox died. See September 30, 1915 This Day in Georgia History entry for more biographical information.

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Today in History

1864 Johnston pulled Confederate forces back from Pine Mountain and Lost Mountain toward Marietta. For the third week, heavy rains and Johnston’s policy of strategic retreats had avoided a major … read more