On December 30, 1824, The Lafayette Ball was held at Talbott's Tavern (where the City Hotel was later built in the first block of West Patrick Street). A mid-day fete for the Revolutionary War hero at John McPherson's home on Council Street (now known as The Ross House) was also held. On December 30, 1842, James McSherry, who became chief judge of the Frederick County Court and The Maryland Court of Appeals, was born in Frederick. On December 30, 1907, Dr. Edward Oliver Belt, who was born in Frederick on May 19, 1861, was killed in a train wreck on the B&O line just outside Washington at Terra Cotta. Dr. Belt was the founder of Episcopal Eye, Ear and Throat Charity Hospital in Washington, and a professor at Howard University. On December 30, 1990, Bernard A. Adams, former news director at WFMD and WFRE, and the public relations director at Frederick Community College, died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 37. If anyone can add information to these History Moments, or would like to suggest an item for another calendar day, please contact me privately. John W. Ashbury [email protected]