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.
July 23, 1863: Financier and industrialist Isaac Thomas Mann was born in Greenbrier County. As president of the Bank of Bramwell and the Pocahontas Fuel Company for three decades, “Ike” Mann held vast holdings in coal, timber and especially financial institutions.
July 23, 1900: Author Julia Davis was born in Clarksburg, the daughter of future presidential candidate John W. Davis. She achieved acclaim writing for youth and adults, fiction and nonfiction. She died in Ranson, near her Jefferson County home in 1993.
July 23, 1919: Novelist Davis Grubb was born in Moundsville. His renown came with his first novel, The Night of the Hunter (1953), a gripping suspense story adapted into a classic film in 1955 and for TV in 1991.
July 24, 1823: Arthur Boreman, West Virginia’s first governor, was born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Middlebourne, Tyler County, when he was still an infant.
July 24, 1919: Sam Taylor of Mercer County became the first West Virginia State Police trooper. During his tenure, Taylor tracked moonshiners and bootleggers, and helped set up new state police detachments.
July 24, 1929: Cornelius Charlton was born in East Gulf, Raleigh County. Charlton was killed in battle during the Korean War, and he was honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor.
July 24, 1942: Actor Chris Sarandon was born in Beckley. A film, stage and television performer, some of his credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Princess Bride and an Oscar nomination for Dog Day Afternoon.
July 24, 1983: Kansas City Royals player and Glen Dale native George Brett was involved in the “Pine-Tar Bat Incident.” After hitting a game-winning home run against the New York Yankees, the umpires ruled that Brett’s bat contained too much pine tar and called him out. The ensuing melee at home plate is classic baseball lore.
July 25, 1864: A colony of eight Catholic nuns set out from Washington, D.C., and Frederick, Maryland, for Parkersburg. The sisters, who created a monastery there and named it DeSales Heights, ran a boarding school for young women for 75 years.
July 26, 1922: Country music producer and recording label executive Jim Foglesong was born in Lundale, Logan County. In Nashville, he found success working with Roy Clark, Donna Fargo, Hank Thompson, Barbara Mandrell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Don Williams and many other artists.
July 26, 1942: Camp Washington-Carver was dedicated and opened to the public. The camp, located at Clifftop, Fayette County, was the first statewide 4-H camp for African Americans in the country. The camp’s Great Chestnut Lodge is West Virginia’s largest log structure.
July 27, 1895: Singer, instrumentalist and educator Revella Hughes was born in Huntington. After becoming a star of the Harlem Renaissance, she returned home to care for her ailing mother and lead the music department of Cabell County’s segregated Black school system.
July 27, 1896: Clark Kessinger was born near Charleston. He was among the most prolific and influential fiddlers of the 20th century, and one of West Virginia’s most important traditional musicians.
July 27, 1909: Coach “Dyke” Raese was born in Davis, Tucker County. He directed West Virginia University to its first major sports national championship, winning the 1942 National Invitation Tournament in basketball.
July 28, 1836: Nathan Cook Brackett was born in Maine. In 1867, he founded and became the first president of Storer College in Harpers Ferry. For 24 years, it was the only Black college in West Virginia.
July 28, 1915: Frankie Yankovic was born in Davis, Tucker County. Yankovic did more to popularize polka music than any other performer.
July 29, 1873: Malcolm Malachi “Mack” Day was born. As sheriff of McDowell County, he claimed that God had called him to enforce Prohibition, even arresting an uncle and his own son.
July 29-31, 1915: Camp Good Luck, believed to be the world’s first 4-H club encampment, was held at Elkwater in southern Randolph County.
July 29, 1918: Novelist Mary Lee Settle was born in Charleston. Her literary reputation rests on the “Beulah Quintet,” a sequence of five historical novels spanning four centuries.
