Ed Jackson and Charles Pou

The University of Georgia

June 4

1738 At Westminister in London, Princess Augusta (wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales and son of King George II) gave birth to their first son--who one day would rule over Britain and the dissolution of its American colonies as King George III. In 1751, Frederick died, leaving George III in line for the throne when his grandfather, George II, died in 1760.

1785 In London, 88-year-old James Oglethorpe greeted the newly arrived John Adams, the first U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Oglethorpe reportedly "expressed a great esteem and regard for America, much regret at the misunderstanding between the two countries, and was very happy to have lived to see the termination of it." Adams described Georgia's founder as "very polite and complimentary," and shortly afterwards returned the visit.

1815 Future Confederate general Paul Jones Semmes was born in Wilkes County, Ga. Semmes became a banker, planter, and captain in the Georgia militia. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he became a colonel in the 2nd Georgia Infantry. In March 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general and commander of a brigade in Magruder's Division and subsequently a brigade in McLaws' Division. He served in a number of battles, including Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, where he was mortally wounded. Semmes' died on July 10,m 1863 in Martinsburg, W.V.

1913 Leo Frank's wife released a statement insisting her husband was innocent of the murder of Mary Phagan, and accused solicitor Hugh Dorsey of "torturing" witnesses to give false incriminating evidence against Frank. She said, in part, "the action of the solicitor general in arresting and imprisoning our family cook because she would not voluntarily make a false statement against my innocent husband, brings a limit to patience." Click here for a detailed accounting of the case.

1962 The Atlanta Arts Association began a memorial fund for those killed in the airplane crash the previous day. From Paris, mayor Ivan Allen Jr. said it would take considerable time to identify all the bodies and return them to Georgia. One of the two survivors of the crash, French stewardess Francois Aubie, said of the Georgians on board: "They seemed such a happy group. Most of them seemed ... much better educated and courteous than you find in many organized parties of tourists. . . ."

1976 State revenue commissioner Nick Chilivis reported that May saw the largest single month's revenue collection in Georgia history -- $164.5 million.

1976 Elvis Presley began a three-day concert at the Omni in Atlanta. This was the sixth of eight appearances for Elvis in Georgia.

1987 Morehouse College graduate and Olympic star Edwin Moses lost a 400-meter hurdle race, breaking a string of 122 consecutive victories over a 10-year span.

 2005 The University of Georgia men's golf team won the 2005 NCAA national championship, topping arch rival Georgia Tech, who finished in second place.

In Their Own Words on This Day. . .

1739 In addition to the Salzburgers at Ebenezer, there were a number of Germans living in and around Savannah who had came to Georgia to work as servants. On a number of occasions in his journal, Lutheran minister John Martin Boltzius noted the difficult life that the German servants faced, as with this day's entry:

"The children are not permitted by their masters to attend school, and the schoolmaster who lives among them also is not permitted to use even a few hours of his time for the children. Instead, he must work like the other servants. So that they may not grow up entirely ignorant, some of the parents intend to instruct them as much as they can from the books they have received.

"Some of the people who live out on the plantations are encountering difficulties in coming into town to attend church when we come to Savannah on their behalf. If Mr. Oglethorpe were told this, he would surely not be pleased. The people also complain much to us how ill they fare in regard to their food, clothing, and conditions of work; and, since there are a number of honest souls among them who are eager for the good, I have much sympathy for them and would like to help through my intercession, if only something could be done. In the meantime I shall do what I can once I return to Savannah and see Mr. Oglethorpe."

Source: George Fenwick Jones and Don Savelle (trans. and ed.), Detail Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America . . . Edited by Samuel Urlsperger: Volume Six, 1739 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1981), p. 108.

1740 What was life like for the 60 or more children at the Bethesda Orphan House [view engraving] near Savannah? According to an unsigned report dated on this day [apparently written by someone associated with the orphanage], "[N]o time is allowed for idleness or play, which are Satan's darling hours to tempt children to all manner of wickedness, as lying, cursing, swearing, uncleaness &c. . . ." As the following daily schedule from that report indicates, there was indeed little free time for the orphans:

"They rise about five o'clock, and each is seen to kneel down by himself for a quarter of an hour, to offer up their private prayers from their own hearts; during which time they are often exhorted what to pray for. . . .

"At six all the family goes to church, where a psalm is sung and the second lesson expounded by Mr. Whitefield . . . .

"At our return home about 7, we sing Bishop Ken's Morning Hymn; and whoever is president of the house uses family prayer as the spirit gives him utterance. . . . Between seven and eight we go to breakfast in the same room with the children, who sometimes sing a hymn before, sometimes after and sometimes both before and after every meal, as well as say graces. During breakfast the business of the day is talked of and each appointed his station and perhaps some useful questions are asked the children, or exhortations given them.

"From eight to ten the children go to their respective employs, as carding, spinning, picking cotton or wool, sewing, knitting. One serves the apothecary, who lives in the houses, others serve in the store or kitchen; others clean the house, fetch water, or cut wood. Some are placed under the tailor, who lives in the house; and we expect other tradesmen, as a shoemaker, carpenter &c., to which others are to be bound.

"At ten they go to school, some to writing, some to reading. At present there are two masters and one mistress, who in teaching them to read the scripture, at the same time explain it to them, and sing and pray with them more or less as they think fit . . . .

"At noon we go to dinner all in the same room, and between that and two o'clock every one is employed in something useful . . . .

"From 2 'till 4 they go again to school, as in the morning, and 4 to 6 to work in their respective stations as before mentioned. At six the children go to supper, when the master and mistresses attend to help them, and sing with them, and watch over their words and actions.

"At seven the family all goes to church, where is a psalm and exposition after the second lesson, as in the morning service. And at our return about 8 many of the parishioners come in to hear Mr. Whitefield examine and instruct the children by way of question and answer, which perhaps is an edifying to all present, as any of his sermons or expositions. His main business is to ground the children in their belief of original sin, and to make them sensible of their damnable state by nature . . . .

"At nine o'clock we go to supper, and the children up to their bedroom, where some person commonly sings and prays again with them. Before they go to bed, each boy, as in the morning, is seen to kneel by his bedside, and ordered to pray from his heart for a quarter of an hour, some person instructing them how to pray as in the morning.

"On the Lord's Day we all dine on cold meat, prepared the day before, because all may attend the worship of God, which we have that day four times at church, which fills those hours employed at work on the other day. And thus is our time all laid out in the service of God, the variety of which is a sufficient relaxation to a well-disposed mind and obviates idle pretenses for what is called innocent (though in reality damnable) recreations."

Source: Mills Lane (ed.), General Oglethorpe's Georgia: Colonial Letters, 1733-1743 (Savannah: Beehive Press, 1990), Vol. II, pp. 437-439.

1864 From camp along the Western & Atlantic Railroad near Ackworth [click here to see map], Maj. Fredrick Winkler of the 26th Wisconsin Infantry wrote his wife:

". . . We are now about nine miles from Marletta; our corps came here about noon yesterday and skirmishers met the enemy and, according to information received, the enemy was in our front in great force. We took position and entrenched ourselves. This morning other corps Joined us and the danger, if there was any, is now past. I was officer of the day yesterday, and was at work from four A.M. until after dark in one of those heavy showers which we have had daily this month, and was drenched to the skin. The second part of the campaign against Atlanta seems now to be concluded; that is, the enemy has been driven by maneuver, rather than by dint of fighting, from his second defensive position in the mountains. Our army, augmented by a large force of the 17th Corps under Frank Blair, is now concentrated on both sides of the railroad, between Acworth and Marietta, and to-morrow a forward movement against the enemy's third position -- which it is supposed will be the south bank of the Chattahoochee River, covering Atlanta -- will be commenced. We have orders to be ready to march at daylight tomorrow. . . . " [Click here to view entire letter, which includes his comments on the probable nomination of Abraham Lincoln for a second term by the Republican Convention scheduled to meet in Baltimore.]

Source: Civil War Letters of Major Fredrick C. Winkler, in 26th Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers Home Page

1962 The day after a plane crash in France claimed the lives of 115 Georgians, Ralph McGill wrote the following:

". . . Atlanta and Georgia were going to church when the news first began to come by press wires and trans-Atlantic telephone calls. It was a beautiful morning. Some of the humid heat had fled before scattered showers in the night and a breeze which blew in the first hours after dawn. The sky was new-washed blue. The towering clouds moved slowly and serenely across it. . . . Then came the news. It was at first a trickle. Then it was a deluge. At many churches prayers were held. They were, in some instances, the first news the congregations had of the disaster. At a dozen or more churches relatives and close friends were assisted, weeping, from the sanctuary to be taken home to comfort or be comforted. . . . It is an awesome thing to be confronted with the ancient truth that in the midst of life we are in death. It is a difficult enough fact to accept when it is an isolated, personal one. When it occurs in the mass, as in a battle, the loss of a Titanic at sea, the wrenching crash of steel trains, or the explosive, flame-wrapped smash of an aircraft, the shock is one which makes a community grow silent and put its mind to the business of trying to understand the swift transition of more than 100 men, women, and children from life to death. . . ."

Source: Atlanta Constitution, June 4, 1962.