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.
Oct. 30, 1825: Randolph McCoy was born in Logan County. In 1878, McCoy’s accusation against a cousin of Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield for stealing a hog set off a deadly series of events in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud.
Oct. 31, 1877: Herman Guy Kump was born in Capon Springs, Hampshire County. He was the 19th governor of West Virginia, serving from 1933 to 1937.
Oct. 31, 1940: Gale Catlett, West Virginia University basketball player and coach, was born in Hedgesville. Catlett coached WVU to 13 20-win seasons before he retired in 2002.
Oct. 31, 1946: Labor leader Cecil Edward Roberts Jr. was born on Cabin Creek, Kanawha County. A sixth-generation coal miner and a fiery orator, Roberts has served as president of the United Mine Workers of America since 1995.
Oct. 31, 1951: Football coach Nick Saban was born in Fairmont. As a quarterback, he led Monongah High School to a 1968 state championship. He went on to coach Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama to seven national championships (six with Alabama), the most of any coach in history.
Nov. 1, 1688: Morgan Morgan was born in Wales. Traditionally, Morgan was considered the first White settler of West Virginia, but others were likely here first. He settled in the Bunker Hill area in 1731, building a log house that still remains.
Nov. 1, 1848: Israel Charles White was born in Monongalia County. White was West Virginia’s first state geologist, appointed in 1897 and serving until his death in 1927, working without pay for all but two of those years.
Nov. 1, 1961: The first non-commercial radio station in West Virginia, WMUL-FM at Marshall University, began broadcasting.
Nov. 2, 1859: John Brown was convicted of murder, treason and insurrection in the Jefferson County Courthouse at Charles Town. Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry galvanized the nation, further alienating North and South and drastically reducing any possible middle ground for compromise to avert the Civil War.
Nov. 2, 1952: Tri-State Airport in Wayne County was dedicated, with the first official landing made at 11 a.m. by Piedmont Airlines.
Nov. 2, 1996: Baseball player Toni Stone died. Born in Bluefield, she joined the Negro American League in 1953, becoming the first woman to play pro baseball in a previously all-male major league.
Nov. 3, 1947: Kanawha Airport (now Yeager International Airport) was dedicated.World War I ace Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker was among the dignitaries present.
Nov. 4-5, 1985: Heavy rains led to devastating floods in parts of West Virginia. Forty-seven people were killed, and several towns were severely damaged.
Nov. 5, 1891:Alfred Earle “Greasy” Neale was born in Parkersburg. He was one of West Virginia’s greatest all-around athletes.
Nov. 5, 1922: Cecil Underwood was born at Josephs Mills in Tyler County. Underwood, West Virginia’s 25th and 32nd governor, served as the state’s youngest and oldest chief executive.
Nov. 5, 1927: Musician “Ellie” Mannette was born in Trinidad and helped popularize steel drum music worldwide. In 1992, he became an artist-in-residence at WVU, coordinating the school’s steel drum program. In 1999, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, the nation’s highest arts honor.
