July 17, 1739

1739 At the advice of Tomochichi, James Oglethorpe set out with only a small escort to meet Creek Indian chiefs at Coweta Town on the Chattahoochee River 250 miles inland. His purpose was to prevent the Creeks from allying with the Spanish as hostilities between Britain and Spain moved ever closer.

July 17, 1864

1864 Gen. William Sherman crossed the Chattahoochee River into Fulton County and set up his headquarters on Powers Ferry Road near the river.

July 17, 1864

1864 In face of the continuing Union advance on Atlanta, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Secretary of War James Seddon decided to replace Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, commander of Confederate forces defending Atlanta. Around 10 p.m. that night, the following message was delivered to Gen. Johnston at his headquarters north of Atlanta: "Lieut. Gen. J.B. Hood has been commissioned to the temporary rank of general under the late law of Congress. I am directed by the Secretary of War to inform you that as you have failed to arrest the advance of the enemy to the vicinity of Atlanta, far in the interior of Georgia, and express no confidence that you can defeat or repel him, you are hereby relieved from the command of the Army and Department of Tennessee, which you will immediately turn over to General Hood." An hour later, Gen. John Bell Hood received the following telegram from the Confederate Secretary of War: "You are charged with a great trust. You will, I know, test to the utmost your capacities to discharge it. Be wary, no less than bold. It may yet be practicable to cut the communication of the enemy or find or make an opportunity of equal encounter whether he moves east or west. God be with you."

July 17, 1961

1961 At age 74, baseball immortal Ty Cobb died of cancer in Atlanta. Known as one of the best hitters ever to play professional baseball, the "Georgia Peach" played the game with great intensity, never hitting under .320. A strong believer in himself, Cobb once described his philosophy of life as: "I’ve got to be first all the time -- in everything."

July 17, 2007

2007 Paul Broun defeated Jim Whitehead in a special election runoff for Georgia’s tenth United States Congressional district seat vacated by the death of Charlie Norwood.