July 2, 1735

1735 In London, the Trustees decided on the name for the new town they had directed be built at the mouth of the Altamaha River in Georgia. In honor of Prince Frederick, son of King George II, the town would be named Frederica.

July 2, 1776

1776 Delegates at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted a series of resolutions proposed by Richard Henry Lee that declared "That these United States are and of right ought to be free and independent States," called for a formal declaration of independence from Great Britain, urged signing alliances with foreign countries, and proposed the formation of a confederation. After voting for independence, delegates continued to refine the declaration.

July 2, 1810

1810 Robert Toombs was born in Wilkes County, Georgia. At age 20, he would open a law practice in Washington, Georgia. After six years in the Georgia House, he was elected to the U.S. House (1846-1851) and to the U.S. Senate (1851-1861). A strong proponent of Georgia’s secession in January 1861, he was named Confederate Secretary of State--a post he soon resigned. In July 1861, he was named general of a Confederate regiment -- but proved temperamental. At the end of the war, he fled to Europe. Returning two years later, the "unreconstructed rebel" refused to apply for a pardon. During Reconstruction, he fouoght Republican control of Georgia and proved to be the most influential member of Georgia’s Redeemer constitutional convention in 1877.

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July 2, 1826

1826 Commissioners from Georgia and Alabama met at Fort Mitchell, Alabama (near present day Columbus, Ga.) to begin surveying the land to establish the Georgia-Alabama border where the line left the Chattahoochee River. Alabama commissioners soon abandoned the work; the Georgia team completed the survey. While there was some minor dispute over the surveying and validity of the line, Alabama finally ratified it in 1840.

July 2, 1863

1863 Georgia Confederate Brig. Gen. Paul J. Semmes, commander of Semmes Brigade in Gen. James Longstreet’s First Army Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia, was killed in vicious fighting on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

July 2, 1873

1873 Telemon Cuyler was born in Rome, Georgia. He later became a lawyer, writer, and lover of Georgia history. He traveled to Europe extensively, where he searched for historical books, tracts, maps, and other documents related to Georgia. After his death in 1951, Cuyler’s extensive Georgiana collection was willed to the University of Georgia Library, where today it is available to students of Georgia history.

July 2, 1898

1898 According to Georgia’s accounting of the origin of "Brunswick Stew," the first pot of this famous concoction was made on St. Simons Island on this day.

July 2, 1908

1908 Eatonton-born author Joel Chandler Harris died in Atlanta, Georgia. Although best remembered for his Uncle Remus stories, Harris will publish over 30 books, including a series of vignettes of Georgia.

July 2, 1911

1911 Former Confederate general and historian Clement Evans died in Atlanta. [See Feb. 25 entry for biographical information on Evans.]

July 2, 1964

1964 Martin Luther King, Jr. was invited to the Oval Office of the White House for President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King stood immediately behind the president during the ceremony.

July 2, 1999

1999 In the largest shutout win in team history since moving to Atlanta, the Braves beat the New York Mets at Shea Stadium by a score of 16-0. This tied 16-0 shutout margins previously set by the Boston Braves in 1918 and 1952 (though falling two runs short of the all-time Braves shutout margin of 18-0 over Buffalo in 1885). Playing before a sellout crowd, it was not a good game for Mets, who used 36 players and managed only three hits (two off winning pitcher Greg Maddux) during the game. In the top of the ninth inning, John Franco -- the sixth pitcher used by the Mets -- injured his pitching hand. In a strange call, the Mets manager moved third-baseman Matt Franco (no relation to John) to the mound to finish the inning, while sending a starting pitcher off the bench to play outfield. Matt Franco gave up a home run and triple before striking out Andruw Jones to end the inning (and probably his last pitching performance).