August 28, 1734

1734 The first proposal for a Georgia lottery was made, though it was not to be a lottery for Georgia colonists. Rather, in London, the Georgia Trustees considered a preliminary proposal by Thomas Lownds to hold a lottery in Edinburgh or some other town in northern Britain for the benefit of Georgia in return for eight percent of the money raised. The nine trustees present unanimously approved the idea. However, because a quorum of the trustees’ Common Council was not present, the issue was deferred to a future meeting.

August 28, 1883

Georgia towns and cities incorporated by acts approved on August 28:

1883 Holton (Bibb County), Temple (Carroll County), and Ty Ty (formerly Worth, now Tift County)

August 28, 1889

Georgia towns and cities incorporated by acts approved on August 28:

1889 McRae (Telfair County)

August 28, 1929

1929 Gov. Lamartine Hardman signed a proposed constitutional amendment to authorize a state income tax not to exceed five percent coupled with a reduction of the state ad valorem tax to a maximum of four mills the first year the income tax is collected, three mills the second year, and thereafter to two mills.

August 28, 1931

1931 Gov. Richard Russell signed an act providing for a major reorganization of the executive branch of Georgia state government. Russell had campaigned for the office of governor during the Depression on a platform to restructure state government to promote economy and efficiency. One of the major results of the reorganization act was to abolish separate boards of trustees for each college and university in Georgia and instead create a single Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

August 28, 1945

1945 Jackie Robinson met with baseball commissioner Branch Rickey to discuss his future and the difficulties he would face as the first black player in major league baseball. Later, Robinson would agree to a salary of $600 per month, plus a $3,500 signing bonus, to break in with Montreal Royals farm club for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson would play with the Royals for the 1946 season before joining the Dodgers in l947.

August 28, 1948

1948 In a 12-7 Dodger victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, Jackie Robinson hit a single, double, triple, and home run--in the process scoring three runs and knocking in two more.

August 28, 1962

1962 After a nationwide appeal by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for clergymen to come to Albany and demonstrate for civil rights, seventy-four, including nine rabbis, eight Catholic laymen from Chicago and over forty Protestant ministers, were arrested following a march to city hall. The next day the Albany Herald proclaimed, "Crowd Cheers as Cops Clap Clerical Crowd in Calaboose."

August 28, 1963

1963 Martin Luther King Jr. gave his memorable "I Have a Dream" speech at Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington by 250,000 supporters of civil rights.

August 28, 1976

1976 At age 61, 6th District Congressman John Flynt had represented Georgia in Congress for 22 years, ascending to chair the House Ethics Committee. But on this day the Democrat learned he would have Republican opposition in the general election. received a challenge as an upstart with no previous political experience officially kicked off his campaign. Flynt’s opponent was a 33-year-old history professor from West Georgia College with no political experience -- Newt Gingrich.

August 28, 1996

1996 In somewhat of a surprise, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded their left-handed pitching ace Denny Neagle to the Atlanta Braves in return for minor league prospects Ron Wright, Corey Painter and pitcher Jason Schmidt.

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MAY
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Today in History

1959 The Atlanta Public Library was integrated when Dr. Irene Dobbs Jackson, mother of Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, Jr., became the first African American to receive a library card. read more