Charleston WV – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
Dec. 3, 1787: James Rumsey demonstrated the steam engine he invented on the Potomac River near Shepherdstown. This was 20 years before Robert Fulton’s boat, though the Fulton design was more practical, and it is Fulton who is honored today as the inventor of the steamboat.
Dec. 3, 1871: Statesman Newton Diehl Baker was born in Martinsburg. Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson, Baker served as secretary of war from 1916 to 1921. Baker oversaw U.S. involvement in World War I.
Dec. 3, 1921: Operatic soprano Phyllis (Smith) Curtin was born in Clarksburg. She made her debut with the New York City Opera in 1953, where she sang both classical and modern repertoire.
Dec. 3, 1949: WSAZ-TV provided the first telecast of a Marshall College (now University) basketball game. The television station, the 72nd in the nation and the first in West Virginia, was an affiliate of WSAZ radio station.
Dec. 4, 1876: The state capitol was dedicated in Wheeling—the second and last building in that city to hold that distinction.
Dec. 4, 1883: Social reformer Stella Fuller was born Stella Lawrence Cremeans in Point Pleasant. In the 1940s, Fuller opened a relief operation on Huntington’s Washington Avenue. Eventually, the Stella Fuller Settlement expanded into the area’s largest haven for the disadvantaged and homeless.
Dec. 4, 1901: Construction of the present Cabell County Courthouse was completed. An extensive remodeling was completed in 1940.
Dec. 5, 1916: A patent was issued for the Gravely Motor Plow, and by 1922 Gravely had started his own business.
Dec. 6, 1814: Tyler County was formed. The county was named for John Tyler, governor of Virginia (1808-11) and father of President John Tyler.
Dec. 6, 1865: Artist Annie Virginia Latham Bartlett was born in Grafton. Her clay sculptures included conventional busts as well as figurines interpreting West Virginia’s historic and cultural past, with such titles as The Moonshiner.
Dec. 6, 1907: The deadliest coal mine disaster in U.S. history occurred at Monongah, Marion County. At least 361 miners were killed, although the exact number was likely much higher. Many of the victims were recent immigrants, particularly Italians, Hungarians, and Russians.
Dec. 7, 1941: The USS West Virginia was badly damaged on Battleship Row during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, marking the United States’ entry into World War II. At least 27 West Virginians are known to have died in the attack.
Dec. 9, 1829: West Virginia’s fourth governor, John Jeremiah Jacob, was born in Hampshire County. He was the first governor born within the area that became West Virginia and the first Democratic governor of the state.
Dec. 9, 1932: Songwriter, musician, playwright, humorist and poet Billy Edd Wheeler was born in Whitesville.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
