Newt Gingrich

4 January 1995 

On this date in 1995...

Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich became the 58th Speaker of the US House of Representatives.  This prompted one yankee news anchor to complain that with a Southern president, vice-president, Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House in place, the "Southern-isation" of the U.S. was now complete.  (Obviously, he erred.)

Other Years:

• 1818 - Forces under Andrew Jackson occupied the Red Stick Creek village of Fowltown, on the Flint River in Georgia. Jackson’s troops destroyed the village to keep the Red Sticks from returning.
• 1861 - Alabama state troops seized the federal arsenal at Mt. Vernon, Alabama.
• 1923 - The Barn Dance Show was first broadcast on WBAP from Fort Worth, Texas.
• 1928 - NBC Radio debuted "The Dodge Victory Hour" which starred Will Rogers and singer Al Jolson. 
• 1953 - Tufted plastic carpeting was introduced by Barwick Mills of Georgia. 
• 1965 - In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed the building of his "Great Society."
• 1968 – A Texas duck hunter accidentally shot an endangered whooping crane.

Read: Why Know Southern History?

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