May 11, 1729

1729 In London, James Oglethorpe’s House of Commons’ Gaols [Jails] Committee released its third and final report on abuses in London’s prisons. This report focused on extortion and cruelty at King’s Bench Prison.

May 11, 1738

1738 Col. James Oglethorpe and his regiment of 700 soldiers left London for a five-day trip Southampton. Here, he would review the troops and then go on to Portsmouth, where a flotilla of seven ships was waiting to sail for Georgia. Bad weather, however, would delay their departure until June 26.

May 11, 1740

1740 Oglethorpe’s invasion force of Florida approached Fort Diego, which opened fire (though without any damage).

May 11, 1803

1803 Gov. John Milledge signed Georgia’s first land lottery act.

May 11, 1803

1803 A joint session of the General Assembly appointed a commission to select a site at the head of navigation of the Oconee River which would be suitable for a permanent capital to be named Milledgeville.

May 11, 1803

1803 Gov. John Milledge signed legislation creating Wayne, Wilkinson, and Baldwin counties as Georgia’s 27th, 28th, and 29th counties. All three were created from lands ceded by the Creeks in 1802. Wayne County and Wilkinson County respectively were named for Revolutionary War generals "Mad" Anthony Wayne and James Wilkinson. Baldwin County was named for Georgia signer of the U.S. Constitution Abraham Baldwin.

May 11, 1864

1864 Sherman pulled most of his Union forces back from the attacks on Mill Creek Gap and Dug Gap and hurriedly marched them southward.If he could reach Resaca before Johnston realized what was happening, Sherman could defeat the smaller Confederate force defending Resaca. More importantly, the bulk of Sherman’s Union army would now be south of Johnston’s forces, which would make an Atlanta an easy prize to take.

May 11, 1865

1865 Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederate States of America, was arrested.

May 11, 1913

1913 Officials of the National Pencil Factory told Pinkerton detectives to find the murderer of Mary Phagan, no matter who it might be -- this despite the fact that NPF supervisor Leo Frank had first brought in a Pinkerton detective. In a Marietta grocery store, a mysterious "girl in red" was rumored to have said that she was with Phagan on the day of the murder. After scouring the neighborhood and not finding the girl, detectives concluded the story was a hoax.

May 11, 1935

1935 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7037 creating the Rural Electrification Administration, an action prompted by Roosevelt’s frequent visits to the Little White House at Warm Springs, Georgia. On his drives through the countryside, Roosevelt saw life in rural Georgia without electricity. Of course, he had electricity at his residence -- but his electric power rate was almost four times what he paid back at Hyde Park, New York. As a result, Roosevelt later noted, "So it can be said that a little cottage at Warm Springs, Georgia, was the birthplace of the Rural Electrification Administration."

May 11, 1970

1970 Following the beating death of a 16-year-old mentally retarded black youth in the Richmond County jail by two other black inmates, black leaders in Augusta held a meeting with the chairman of the Richmond County Commission over the handling of juvenile offenders in the jail. On the afternoon of May 11th, a peaceful demonstration was held in front of the Municipal Building. At some point during or after the demonstration, a group of young black protesters hauled down a Georgia state flag from a flagpole and burned it. They then began breaking windows and looting stores along Broad St. But the real violence came with darkness. Fires were started and wholesale looting began. At some point several snipers shot at police and firefighters responding to the downtown fires, and Augusta police began shooting at black looters. Some white residents driving through black areas of Augusta were stopped and beaten, with their cars overturned. Before the night was over, six blacks had been killed by police gunfire, while many others -- both black and white -- were wounded or injured.In the midst of the worst race riot in Augusta history, mayor Millard Beckum called on Gov. Lester Maddox to mobilize the National Guard to help restore order.