Showing posts with label georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label georgia. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

The Murder of a Toddler on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: One-year-old Antonio Santiago was murdered on this day in 2013, during an attempted robbery in Brunswick, Georgia. As Santiago and his mother, Sherry West, were returning home from the post office, they were confronted by two youths, 15-year-old Dominique Lang and 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins. Elkins, who had previously shot another victim he tried to rob, pointed a gun at West and demanded money. When she did not comply he fired two .22-caliber bullets, one of which grazed her head, and the other of which went through her leg. He then shot Santiago in the face, killing him. The murder received national as well as international attention due to the victim's young age.

Lang pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery, and was sentenced to eight years of probation. Elkins was tried and convicted in August 2013 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He did not receive the death penalty because he was under 18 at the time of the crime. Several of Elkins's relatives were also convicted of, and pleaded guilty to, charges related to covering up the crime.


Saturday, February 12, 2022

The State of Georgia on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The colony of Georgia was founded on this day in 1733 by James Oglethorpe, making this both Georgia Day and Oglethorpe Day. Georgia was started to serve as a buffer between the Carolinas and Spanish Florida, and Oglethorpe wanted to use Georgia as a penal colony for prisoners who couldn't pay their debts. Georgia was named after King George II who was king at the time.

Did you know?: Georgia has more soil types than any other state.

Roswell Georgia had the first telephone service in 1901. 

Sandy Springs GA is home to more Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies per capita than any other city in the nation. Some of the global leaders located here are UPS, First Data, Focus Brands, Newell Rubbermaid, Centene and Axiall, Mercedes Benz, Cox Communications, and CBS.

Georgia is the largest of the state east of the Mississippi River.

The cotton gin was invented in Georgia by Eli Whitney in 1793.

The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is one of the largest in the world.

Coca Cola was invented in Atlanta in 1886.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world. Hartsfield-Jackson is located on an abandoned racetrack once known as the Atlanta Speedway.

Georgia has 159 counties, the most in the US behind Texas.

Carrying an ice cream cone in your pocket on Sundays in Georgia is illegal.

There are at least 50 streets in Atlanta all with "Peachtree" in their name.

Gainesville, Georgia is the chicken capital of the world, however, it is illegal to eat chicken with a fork there.

In Columbus, Georgia, it is illegal to set one price for two beers. It is also illegal to carve your initials on a tree in Columbus.