On August 22, 1914, Country Music Association founder Connie Barriot Gay was born in Lizard Lick in rural Wake County.
Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On August 21, 1831, enslaved man named Nat Turner led a rebellion against white slave owners in Southampton County, Va., about 20 miles from the border with North Carolina. The governor called out the militia to end the rebellion but word of the attacks began to spread across the South. In North Carolina's northern border counties, a panic ensued among the residents.
On August 21, 1987, the blockbuster movie Dirty Dancing was released in theaters across the country.
On August 21, 1918, British forces began attacking German positions along a 10-mile stretch of the Western Front in northwest France. The assault was part of the World War I action now known as the Somme Offensive.
On August 20, 1917, North Carolina governor and U.S. Senator Terry Sanford was born in Laurinburg. As governor, he advocated for civil rights and education, led efforts to consolidate the UNC system and helped create a statewide community college system.
On August 20, 1775, the Third Provincial Congress, formed to replace the Colonial Assembly dissolved by Royal Governor Josiah Martin the previous April, convened in Hillsborough.
On August 19, 1956, the first Grandfather Mountain Highland Games were held near Linville.
On August 19, 1933, Black Mountain College was established in Buncombe County by disgruntled faculty from Rollins College in Florida.