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.
Aug. 21, 1861: Confederate troops under General John B. Floyd crossed the Gauley River at Carnifex Ferry, Nicholas County, and began to entrench their position. It was the beginning of what became known as the Battle of Keslers Cross Lanes.
Aug. 21, 1915: Singer Ann Baker was born in Pennsylvania. She later operated a popular Charleston nightclub, The Shalamar, and became known as “Charleston’s First Lady of Jazz.”
Aug. 22, 1872: Following the Constitutional Convention of 1872, the West Virginia electorate ratified a new state constitution by a vote of 42,344 to 37,777. In the same election, voters rejected a controversial convention proposition that would have prohibited Black citizens from holding public office.
Aug. 23, 1965: Sylvia Mathews Burwell was born in Hinton. She was U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2014-17) under President Obama before serving as American University’s first woman president (2017-24).
Aug. 23, 1970: The Mormon Church established its first “stake,” or congregation, in West Virginia. The stake was organized in Charleston with a membership of nearly 4,000 people.
Aug. 24, 1918: Louis Bennett Jr. died of injuries sustained when his plane was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. Bennett, with 12 combat kills, was West Virginia’s only World War I fighter ace.
Aug. 24, 1947: Joe Manchin III was born in Fairmont. He served in both houses of the legislature and as secretary of state before becoming the 34th governor in 2005. In 2010, he ran successfully for the late Robert C. Byrd’s U.S. Senate seat and stepped down as governor. In 2023, he announced he would retire from the Senate at the end of his term in 2025.
August 25, 1903: Soprano Susanne Fisher was born in Sutton.Fisher was the first West Virginian to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.
Aug. 25, 1921: Miners began to arrive at Blair Mountain near the border of Logan and Boone counties. Sheriff Don Chafin, a hated symbol of anti-unionism in southern West Virginia, met them with a combined force of deputies, mine guards, civilian volunteers and others.
Aug. 25, 2000: The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope was dedicated. It is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.
Aug. 26, 1863: Union and Confederate forces collided in what became known as the Battle of White Sulphur Springs. The next morning, with ammunition nearly depleted, Union General William Averell retreated to his base without accomplishing any of his objectives.
Aug. 26, 1918: Mathematician Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs. For 33 years, Johnson worked for NASA, making calculations for manned space flights, including the Apollo 11 moon landing. In 2015, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Aug. 27, 1902: Mary McClain was born Mary Smith in Huntington. McClain was a blues legend who performed at Carnegie Hall, the White House, the Apollo Theatre, and the Cotton Club.
