By Ann Taylor Boutwell
Aug. 1, 1966: The Atlanta Falcons played their first pre-season game at the old Atlanta Stadium. They lost 9-7 to Philadelphia.
Aug. 2, 1926: Sears & Roebuck opens its retail and distribution center on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The massive building would eventually become City Hall East and now Ponce City Market.
Aug. 2, 1854: Concert pianist and composer Alfredo Barili was born in Florence, Italy. After studying and performing at venues around the world, Barili and his wife settled in Atlanta in 1880 to teach at the Female Institute on Peachtree Street. In November 1883, he made his first Atlanta appearance at DeGive’s Opera House. Three years later, he opened the Barili School of Music on Juniper Street. He died unexpectedly at the age of 81 on Nov. 17 while on a walk near his home in Midtown. Barili stumbled into the path of a city bus on Ponce de Leon Avenue and died instantly.
Aug. 6, 1907: An enthusiastic crowd in the Georgia State Capitol sang “Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow” as they watched Gov. Hoke Smith sign the new prohibition bill, which became law on Jan. 1, 1908.
Aug. 17, 1842: Although Julia Carlisle, daughter of Sarah and Willis Carlisle, was credited with being the first female baby born in Terminus (the first name of Atlanta), she was actually born in Marietta.
Aug. 17, 1860: The Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the throwing of water, dirt and trash from windows and doorways.
Aug. 19, 1904: Atlanta Fire Chief Walthall Robertson “Cap” Joyner escorted a caravan of monkeys, parrots, macaws, and swans to the zoo in Grant Park. Thanks to the generosity of the Georgia Railway and Electric Company, the animals shipped from New York City remained there for the rest if their natural lives. The baboon, called Mr. A.B. Boon, perhaps the most interesting newcomer, hailed directly from the Congo.
Aug. 28, 1963: Atlanta’s Martin Luther King Jr. led the March on Washington where he delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial calling for an end to racism during the Civil Rights Movement.
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