17 August 1969
On this date in 1969…
Hurricane Camille struck the Gulf coast, killing 259 mainly in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi and causing more than a billion dollars damage. Flooding from the deteriorating storm killed an additional 112 victims in Virginia.
Other Years:
- 1750 – A hurricane wrecked a fleet of four Spanish ships on the outer banks of North Carolina.
- 1786 – David “Davy” Crockett was born in Greene County in the State of Franklin. (now in Tennessee)
- 1862 – The Confederate cruiser C.S.S. Florida was officially designated and became the first foreign-built warship constructed for the Confederate States of America.
- 1863 – Federal batteries and ships bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor.
- 1894 – John Wadsworth of Louisville set a major league record when he gave up 28 base hits in a single game.
- 1977 – FTD reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland since Elvis’s death had surpassed the number for any other event in the company’s history.
- 1996 – Ross Perot was announced to be the Reform Party’s presidential candidate. It was the party’s first-ever candidate.
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