Today in History: November 16

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On this day in 1891, Bahamian Alfred Francis Adderley was born in Nassau. Adderley was a church and community leader, lawyer, politician and statesman.

In the King’s Birthday Honours in 1951, he was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Throughout his public career he was a strong advocate of social legislation. In his profession, Adderley was regarded as the colony’s most outstanding trial lawyer and one of the most able advocates in the Caribbean. He held the distinction of having acted as counsel for the defense in more murder cases than any other Bahamian lawyer of his day.

He was the Crown Prosecutor in the Sir Harry Oakes murder case in which Marigny, the accused, was acquitted. The A.F. Adderley Jr. High School on Baillou Hill Road was named after Adderley to acknowledge his contribution to Bahamian society.

In 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound Of Music” premiered in New York, starring Mary Martin. A 1965 film adaptation went on to receive the Academy Award for best picture and best director.

In 1960, American film actor Clark Gable, best known for his portrayal of Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind” died at 59.

The year 2001, saw Miss Nigeria Agbani Darego become the first Black African woman to take the Miss World title.

2010 saw the auction of an imperial bottle of 1947 Chateau Cheval-Blanc which set a world record for the highest single wine bottle auction sale with a price tag of over $304,000.

The same year Britain’s Prince William and fiancée Kate Middleton took official engagement photos at St. James’s Palace in London.

Actress Angelina Jolie received the Jean Hersh-Olt Humanitarian Award. The Tomb Raider and Disney’s Maleficent actress has traveled the world assisting refugees and raising money to fight global poverty.