16 August 1977
On this date in 1977…
Elvis Presley died at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42.
Other Years:
1691 – Yorktown, Virginia was founded.
1692 – Spanish soldier Diego de Vargas began his Reconquista of New Mexico.
1780 - British forces defeated Americans at Camden, South Carolina
1861 - US President Abraham Lincoln prohibited Union states from trading with Confederate states
1864 – The Confederate raider C.S.S. Tallahassee captured 5 yankee merchant ships off the coast of New England.
1920 - Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman of Beaver Dam, Kentucky was hit in the head by NY Yankees pitcher Carl Mays and died the next day
1938 – Legendary blues musician Robert Leroy Johnson was murdered by poisoned whiskey at the age of 27, near Greenwood, Mississippi.
1953 - KTAL TV channel 6 in Shreveport-Texarkana, LA-AR began broadcasting
1960 – During a balloon test of the first U.S. space suit, Joseph Kittinger of Tampa, Florida set the free-fall world record when he fell more than 16 miles before opening his parachute over New Mexico.
2016 - The documentary “When the Levees Broke,” directed by Spike Lee about Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans premiered at New Orleans Arena
Read ‘Why Know Southern History?’
There’s Plenty More to See At Our Sister Site ‘Southern Nation News’ for the best Southern News from Dixie Drudge
Copyright 2025, KnowSouthernHistory.Org
I WAS IN MEMPHIS THAT DAY - A VERY SAD DAY IT WAS.