He was hailed as a bold new Southern writer in the Southern Gothic tradition, with his books populated by strange characters in a brutal and darkly humorous South. It was a world Harry Crews knew well. Born in Bacon County in 1935 to poor farmers, Crews grew up with a violent and drunken uncle who […]
On this date in 1962, 113 Georgians died at Orly Airport in Paris. It was the worst single airplane crash of that time—and it led to one of Atlanta’s cultural landmarks. The Air France jetliner crash killed 130 people—including 103 members of the Atlanta Art Association. Only the mid-air collision of two planes over New […]
Detractors called it the Chicken Noodle Network, but it revolutionized the way the world gets its news. Ted Turner launched the Cable News Network—CNN—in Atlanta as the world’s first 24-hour all news network. Turner had already revolutionized cable television by beaming Superstation TBS around the globe by satellite. Convinced there was a market for an […]
He was called the “World’s Fastest Human,” and he excelled on and off the track. Ralph Metcalfe was born in Atlanta in 1910 and became one of the fastest track stars in the world. He won a host of national titles and tied the world record in the 100 and 200 meters. Metcalfe competed in […]
She will forever be taking that midnight train to Georgia. Gladys Knight, the “Empress of Soul,” was born in Atlanta in 1944. At age 7, she gained national fame by taking top honors on Ted Mack’s “Original Amateur Hour,” forerunner to “American Idol.” At a 1952 party, Gladys began an impromptu performance with family members. […]
Here’s something for Georgians to look forward to — if you plan on being around 6,000 years from now. In 1936, a new phrase was born — time capsule, thanks to Oglethorpe University president Thornwell Jacobs. Motivated by the opening of the pyramids, Jacobs proposed collecting as much of modern society as possible and sealing […]
He holds the dubious distinction of having been thrown out of more ballgames than anyone in baseball history—but few managers ever won more games. Bobby Cox was born in Oklahoma in 1941 and played two years for the New York Yankees before beginning his managerial career in the minor leagues. The Atlanta Braves hired him […]
She was a Southern icon whose byline appeared in the Atlanta Constitution for 58 years. Celestine Sibley was born in Florida in 1914. She got her first job at the Mobile Press Register before moving to Atlanta and going to work at the Constitution in 1941. The manpower shortage caused by World War II provided […]
Long before the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in Jacksonville, Georgia has always kept an eye on Florida. Georgia founder James Oglethorpe built Fort Frederica and the surrounding town on St. Simons Island in 1736 to defend the three-year-old colony from the Spanish in Florida. The fort at the mouth of the Altamaha honored King […]
George Wallace he most definitely was not. Carl Sanders was born in 1925 in Augusta. He served in the Air Force in World War II, then returned to the University of Georgia for his law degree. He entered politics on the fast track: elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1954, the state Senate […]
