8th May 1787
US mayor John Bailhache is born in Jersey
Although John Bailhache was born in Jersey, at St Ouen, he’ll be better remembered as the Mayor of Columbus, after his appointment in 1835.
In 1810, aged 27, he had moved to Ohio with an uncle from Guernsey and taken a position with a local newspaper, of which he eventually bought a considerable share. During his time in journalism, he was appointed a judge in the Court of Common Pleas and, later, elected to the district legislature, then appointed state printer before ascending to the office of Mayor.
An influential character
As outlined in An Illustrated History of Southern California, “he filled a conspicuous place in the early history of Ohio and exerted influence second to none in moulding a pure and correct public sentiment in the then almost unknown and inaccessible Northwest Territory, at a time when society was in its formative condition.”
Bailhache died on 3 September 1857 without ever returning to Jersey.
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Other events that occured in May
Jersey’s open-air swimming pool opens
- The Jersey Times described the outdoor swimming pools opening as “one of the most brilliant functions witnessed in our island for some time”.
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Jersey Royal potato company is taken over
- The Jersey Royal potato is one of the island’s best-known exports. Produce Investments bought the company behind it for £15m in 2014.
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Measles outbreak at the boys’ home
- Measles infected 35 residents of the Jersey home for boys in what came to be described variously as an “epidemic” or “plague”.
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Jersey court fines man three months’ pay for swearing
- The Jersey court fined a man almost three months' pay for uttering a single swear word at his boss in 1891.
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