June 6, 1803

1803 Former Georgia militia general, member of the Georgia House of Representatives, U.S. Senator, and Georgia governor Josiah Tattnall died at age 38. Born near Savannah,Tattnall’s father took him and his family away during the American Revolution; his father being a loyalist. Josiah, however, favored the patriot side and ultimately returned to Georgia, reclaimed the family plantation, and became a military leader before entering politics.In the Georgia General Assembly,Tattnall was an important force in repealing the Yazoo Act. He was elected governor in November 1801, but failing health forced him to resign in late 1802. He traveled to Nassau to recover, but died while there. In 1801, the legislature created a new county and named it after him.

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June 6, 1838

1838 The forced removal of Cherokees to the West began when a party of 800 Cherokees escorted by a contingent of U.S. Army soldiers under Lt. Edward Deas left Ross’s Landing by riverboat headed downstream on the Tennessee River. Their trip would take them to the Ohio River, then westward to the Mississippi River, then southward to the Arkansas River, then upstream to the river’s head of navigation. Here, they would transfer to wagons for the final leg of the journey to the Indian Territory west of Arkansas. [Though the Cherokees on this trip did not go voluntarily, this was not part of what came to be known as the "Trail of Tears" -- the massive removal that left late in 1838 and resulted in so many Cherokee deaths. Still, Gen. Nathaniel Smith was moved to write Gen. Winfield Scott, "It has happened to me here to witness more distress within the last two days than in all my life before."]

June 6, 1861

1861 Politician Joseph M. Terrell was born in Greenville, Ga. In 1884, Terrell was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives (becoming the youngest member elected to the Georgia General Assembly), and in 1890 to the Georgia Senate. Terrell then spent ten years as Georgia’s attorney general (1892-1902), where he enjoyed unique success in arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1902, Terrell was elected governor of Georgia. He served two terms, in which he championed more funding for education (especially agricultural education), saw the establishment of a state court of appeals, and fought for reform in child labor laws. Terrell retired briefly after his second term as governor, before governor Joseph M. Brown appointed him to fill the vacancy caused by the death of U.S. Senator Alexander Clay. Unfortunately, Terrell was able to serve only three months before suffering a stroke and being forced to retire permanently from public life. He never fully regained his health and died in Atlanta November 17, 1912.

June 6, 1935

1935 Noted novelist, essayist, and teacher Harry Crews was born in Bacon County, Georgia.

June 6, 1962

1962 Albany-born Ray Charles’ version of "I Can’t Stop Loving You" topped the popular music charts, eventually selling more than 3,000,000 copies earning Gold and Platinum Records.

June 6, 1962

1962 A memorial service for the Georgians killed in a plane crash June 3 was held at the American Cathedral in Paris. Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. returned to Atlanta, where he praised the French authorities for their efficient, yet humane, handling of the tragedy.

June 6, 1967

1967 Bob Uecker, the Rodney Dangerfield of television advertising, actually played for the Atlanta Braves, as the Braves traded catcher Gene Oliver to Philadelphia for Uecker.

June 6, 1970

1970 Harold Ragsdale, who grew up in Clarksdale and Albany, reached the top of the national record charts with a song that used his daughters’ school chorus. The Grammy-winning record--"Everything is Beautiful." In case you haven’t guessed, Ragsdale’s professional name is Ray Stevens.

June 6, 1976

1976 As the Atlanta City Council prepared to vote on a residency requirement for public safety employees, mayor Maynard Jackson announced the "alarming trend" that 74% of Atlanta’s policemen lived outside the city.