May 24, 1738

1738 Former Georgia Anglican minister John Wesley underwent a religious conversion at Aldersgate Chapel in London initiating what would become known as the Methodist Church.

May 24, 1744

1744 In London, Britain’s War Office requested the convening of a board of general officers to consider charges made by Lt. Col. William Cooke against Gen. James Oglethorpe. While in London on a 12-month leave to recover his health, Cooke had begun making charges that Oglethorpe had charged the men of his Regiment for provisions. The War Office asked Oglethorpe to respond to Cooke’s charges.

May 24, 1850

1850 Journalist Henry Grady was born in Athens, Ga. He began his journalistic career in Rome, Ga., where he eventually purchased his own newspaper and earned a respected reputation as an editor. In 1872 he purchased one-third of the Atlanta Daily Herald, bringing him closer to the world of Georgia politics and business. A political moderate, Grady was an editorialist on the future of the South -- envisioning a region with developed industry and more diversified agriculture, united in harmony with the North. In a March 1874 editorial he first used the term "New South" to describe his vision. When his newspaper folded financially, Grady was hired, after several brief stints with other newspapers, by the Atlanta Constitution. While it was little noticed at the time, Grady was responsible for the Constitution hiring a shy storyteller from Eatonton, Ga. -- Joel Chandler Harris. It was also at the Constitution that Grady became nationally renowned for his coverage of the Tilden-Hayes presidential debates and the growth of southern railroads. But it was his "New South" speech delivered in New York on December 22, 1886 that catapulted Grady into the public spotlight, to the point where he was actually considered a possible running mate for Grover Cleveland in 1888. But Grady was not interested in holding political office. Back in Atlanta he stayed busy helping the city become the center of his "New South," organizing expositions, supporting progressive legislation, and calling for ever improving city services. His eloquence made him a popular speaker, both in Georgia and nationally. In December of 1889 he spoke on "The Race Problem in the South" at the meeting of the Boston Merchants’ Association. Tragically, he caught pneumonia during the trip and died from complications at his home in Atlanta at the young age of thirty-nine. In 1905, the General Assembly named a new county in recognition of his achievements. In 1921, the University of Georgia College of Journalism was named in his honor.

May 24, 1865

1865 In Lincoln County, Ga., unknown persons robbed two wagon trains filled with gold from the remnants of the Confederate treasury as well as gold coins from Virginia banks.

May 24, 1927

1927 - Frankin D. Roosevelt arrived in Warm Springs, Ga. for his seventh visit to the state that was becoming his "second home."

May 24, 1954

1954 Georgia Lt. Gov. Marvin Griffin announced his candidacy for governor and immediately blasted the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision issued one week earlier.

May 24, 1981

1981 The body of Nathaniel Cater was discovered downstream from a bridge where police had heard a splash two day earlier. The man who had been drving the car that left the bridge after the splash was Wayne Williams, who would soon be arrested for the last two of the Atlanta Child Murders.

May 24, 1993

1993 Five years later, she would win an Academy Award for best supporting actress. However, today, was not such a bright day for Athens, Georgia’s Kim Basinger -- she was forced to file for bankruptcy to avoid paying $7.4 million settlement.