On this day in 1964, sculptors began taking a third crack at the Confederate Memorial Carving on Stone Mountain, first proposed 50 years earlier by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Renowned sculptor Gutzon Borglum envisioned seven central figures leading an army of thousands. But World War I and funding problems delayed work. Artistic disagreements […]
An ambulance driver, a lawyer and the first woman elected to Congress from Georgia* — all stops along the way for Helen Douglas Mankin. Mankin was the daughter of two lawyers. She drove an ambulance in France during World War I, and then graduated from Atlanta Law School, which her father helped found. She and […]
He would serve under the Stars and Stripes and the Stars and Bars in major wars. Born in Augusta, Joseph Wheeler graduated near the bottom of his class at West Point. He earned the nickname “Fighting Joe” in the U.S. Army on the western frontier. But his courage and skill as a Confederate cavalry commander […]
When the hit song, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” went to number one on the charts in 1968, the artist who wrote and sang it had been dead for four months. Otis Redding became one of the most influential and popular soul musicians of all time. He was born in Dawson. When his […]
Horace King, one of the most renowned bridge builders in Georgia and American history, was born a slave in Chesterfield, South Carolina. His owner, John Godwin, brought him to the Columbus area in 1830 and together they built the first bridge across the Chattahoochee River connecting Georgia and Alabama. Godwin recognized King’s talents as both […]
One of the world’s greatest women golfers, Mae Louise Suggs, was born in Atlanta. Comedian Bob Hope nicknamed her “Miss Sluggs.” Golfer Ben Hogan called her the “sweet–swinging Georgia Miss.” Louise Suggs grew up in a sporting family. She began playing golf at age 10 and won eight championships during her amateur career. In the […]
It was touted as one of the finest hotels between New York and Miami, but its owner refused to rent rooms to black patrons. The Heart of Atlanta Motel, which opened on this day in 1956, would figure into the heart of a landmark civil rights case. Located at 255 Courtland Street, the motel was […]
When you think Georgia Bulldogs, you probably think Vince Dooley. The legendary football coach’s long shadow didn’t just touch the University of Georgia, but collegiate athletics across the country. Dooley played football for coach Shug Jordan at Auburn University. He also earned a degree in business and a master’s in history there. After his Marine […]
Viruses and bacteria are two very different things. We know that now thanks to a pioneering scientist born in Jonesboro. Known as the father of modern virology, Thomas Milton Rivers also had a hand in the development of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine. Rivers graduated from Emory College and went on to Johns Hopkins Medical School. […]
He was called "Zig–Zag" for a reason. As a politician, Zell Miller has always been flexible. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to see the lifelong Democrat address the Republican National Convention on this date in 2004. The man who served Georgians as mayor, state senator, lieutenant governor, governor and U.S. senator was born […]
