“Wrong Way” Corrigan - Today in Southern History

18 July 1938

18 July 1938

On this day in 1938…

Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan of Galveston, TX arrived in Ireland after a 28-hour flight, supposedly leaving New York flying for California after being denied permission to cross the Atlantic. Corrigan claimed a navigational error, caused by heavy cloud cover that obscured landmarks and by misreading his compass in low-light conditions. However, he was a skilled aviator and aircraft mechanic, having helped construct Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis. He had also made several modifications to his own plane, preparing it for transatlantic flight. Despite breaking many laws, Corrigan received only the mild punishment of his pilot’s certificate suspended for 14 days.

More people attended his Broadway ticker-tape parade than had honored Lindbergh after his crossing and he later met with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Other Years:

• 1759 – British Indian representative Edmund Atkins signed a treaty with the Choctaw to establish trade and mutual aid in war angering the Choctaw’s former French allies.

• 1863 - Federals launched a second unsuccessful assault at the Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina

• 1895 – American gangster and public enemy George “Machine Gun” Kelly was born Georgio Barnes, in Memphis, Tennessee

• 1902 – Actor and singer Theodore Childress “Chill “Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas.

• 1927 – Ty Cobb of Narrows, Georgia set a major league baseball record with his 4,000th career hit.

• 1937 – Author and “Gonzo Journalist” Hunter S. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky.

• 1947 – US President Harry Truman of Missouri signed the Presidential Succession Act

• 1953 – Elvis Presley paid $3.98 to make his first demo at Sun Studio in Memphis, TN recording “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” and gave the record to his mother as a belated birthday present.

• 1970 – San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays of Westfield, AL became 10th baseball player in history to get 3,000 hits

• 1995 – ‘Dreaming of You’ by Texas artist Selena was released posthumously and became the best-selling Latin album in U.S. history.

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