July 8, 1894: Walter Aegerter was born in Helvetia. An amateur photographer, Aegerter built both a studio and a darkroom on his farm and photographed portraits, families, celebrations and everyday scenes of the German Swiss settlement. The glass plate negatives survive today in several archived collections.
July 8, 1924: Rock ’n’ roll pioneer Johnnie Johnson was born in Fairmont.Johnson collaborated with Chuck Berry on songs such as “Roll Over, Beethoven.” Berry’s hit “Johnny B. Goode” was supposedly written as a tribute to Johnson.
July 8, 1961: Sutton Dam was dedicated by Governor Wally Barron. The Army Corps of Engineers operates the dam for purposes of flood control, low-flow augmentation and recreation.
July 9, 1923: Singer Molly O’Day was born in Pike County, Kentucky. After becoming a child star on radio stations in Charleston, Williamson, and Bluefield, she helped pioneer solo female singing in country music. Later, she and her husband, Lynn Davis, dedicated their careers solely to sacred music.
July 9, 1942: An explosion at the Pursglove No. 2 Mine at Scotts Run near Morgantown killed 20 men. It was one of three fatal accidents at the mining operation in an eight-month period.
July 9, 1989: Treasurer A. James Manchin resigned after being impeached. With a stock market downturn in 1987, Manchin bore much of the blame when the state lost nearly $300 million in investments for which he was responsible.
July 10, 1769: Physician Jesse Bennet was born. He performed the first successful caesarian section in America in 1794, on his own wife and without proper equipment and with no antiseptics. He later established a large practice in Mason County and served as an Army surgeon in the War of 1812.
July 10, 1889: Author and historian Boyd B. Stutler was born in Gilmer County. He served as managing editor of the national American Legion magazine for 18 years and became one of the leading historians on West Virginia in the Civil War and John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry.
July 10, 1936: The temperature in Martinsburg reached 112 degrees. It tied the record for the state’s hottest recorded temperature, which had been set August 4, 1930, at Moorefield.
July 11, 1861: The Battle of Rich Mountain was fought in Randolph County. Union troops under Gen. George McClellan defeated Confederate forces, helping to secure northwestern Virginia (now West Virginia) for the North.
July 11, 1867: John Jacob Cornwell was born on a farm in Ritchie County. He served as the 15th governor of West Virginia.
July 11, 1976: Gov. Arch Moore dedicated the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston. The facility was built to showcase the Mountain State’s artistic, cultural and historic heritage.
July 12, 2003: The Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences in downtown Charleston opened to the public. It combines a modern performing arts center with a visual arts museum and an interactive science center.
July 13, 1861: The Battle of Corricks Ford took place in Tucker County. Confederate Gen. Robert S. Garnett was killed. He was the first Confederate general killed in the Civil War.
July 14, 1861: Union troops under Gen. Jacob Cox drove Confederate militia and cavalry out of town during the Battle of Barboursville. Union forces remained in control of Barboursville for the remainder of the war.
July 14, 1900: Gangster William George “Big Bill” Lias was born in either Wheeling or Greece. From the 1920s until his death in 1970, he was recognized as the leading organized crime figure in Wheeling.