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.
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.
Nov. 6, 1863: Confederate troops led by Brig. Gen. John Echols were defeated at Droop
Mountain by a larger federal force led by Brig. Gen. William W. Averell. This was one of the
most important Civil War battles fought on West Virginia soil.
Nov. 6, 1923: A methane gas explosion killed 27 men inside the Glen Rogers coal mine
in Wyoming County. The mine, which opened in 1921, became one of the state’s largest. A total
of 160 fatalities over a 31-year period occurred at the mine before it was closed.
