Thank You For Visiting

January 4, 1810, Henry Clay is appointed to the U.S. Senate.  This is his second term as Senator, this time as a Class II Senator.  He was elected by his peers in his first term.  He is still a Democratic-Republican.  Buckner Thurston, also a Democratic-Republican, resigns to become a judge for the U.S. Circuit Court.  He would only serve 1 year, one month and twenty-four days.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Governor William Justus Goebel, the 34th Governor and the only Governor to be assassinated, born in 1856.  As a lawyer, he took on large corporations, specifically the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the largest rail network in Kentucky.  He became known as the “the railroad lawyer,” the “poor man’s lawyer,” and the “champion of the common man.”

January 4, 1865, the courthouse at Owensboro in Daviess County, occupied by Union troops was burned by guerrillas.  All county records were saved. 
Roadside History: A Guide to Kentucky Highway Markers edited by Melba Porter Hay, Dianne Wells, Thomas H. Appleton, Jr., Thomas H. Appleton; pg: 11

January 4, 1871, Frankfort native Benjamin Gratz Brown became the 20^th Governor of Missouri.  He was a founding member of the Liberal Republican Party.

January 4, 1897, Robert Burns Smith was sworn in as Montana’s 3rd Governor.  Smith was born on a farm in Hickman County and was educated in the local schools.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Bellevue native Harlan Hubbard born in 1900.  Hubbard saw the industrial development in America as a threat to the natural world and came to reject consumer culture.  He was an artist and author, known for his simple lifestyle.

January 4, 1929, Policeman Grant Smith, Evarts Police Department, was killed from ambush by two men whom he had previously arrested for violating liquor laws.  The men had been released on bond the previous day.  He was walking home through a schoolyard when he was shot in the back by a blast from a shotgun.  The two men and two accomplices were arrested and charged with his murder.

January 4, 1942, Constable Russell Ward, Johnson County Constable’s Office, was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two men for drunk and disorderly conduct.  The subject who murdered him was sentenced to six years in prison.  Constable Ward has served as constable for only two months.

January 4, 1943, the greatest home-court winning streak in college basketball, and all sports for that matter, began when Kentucky beat Fort Knox 64-30.  The streak ended in 1955 and during that time the Cats won three NCAA titles.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Pikeville native Patty Loveless born in 1957. 

January 4, 1968, Army SP4 Lowell Johnson from Melvin in Floyd County died in the Vietnam War.

January 4, 1969, Army 1LT Lawrence Beattys from Louisville and Army CPL Frank E. Brawner from Frankfort, died in the Vietnam War.

January 4, 1980, Lexingtonian Bradley F. Bryant was arrested in Philadelphia at the Sheraton Airport Inn with a cache of semi-automatic weapons, a sophisticated silencer, daggers, ski masks, and a variety of documents-such as one entitled “Top-secret Radio Frequencies of the United States Government.”  The hotel staff called the police because Bradley forgot to pay his bill.  Some would say it was the beginning of the end for the Bluegrass Conspiracy players.

January 4, 1983, Deputy Sheriff Alex Eversole, Perry County Sheriff’s Office, was shot and killed while serving a warrant with two state troopers.  As soon as the officers were in the house the suspect opened fire, killing Deputy Eversole and wounding both troopers, leaving one of them paralyzed.  The suspect and a child in the house were also killed.

January 4, 1990, the U.S. Post Office raises the price of a stamp to 29 cents.

January 4, 1998, Officer Michael Anthony Partin, Covington Police Department, drowned after falling almost 90 feet through a gap in a bridge into the Ohio River at approximately 2:30 am.  Officer Partin joined a foot chase for a man wanted for DUI, possession of marijuana, and running a red light.  Officers on the scene searched the river by air and boat for Officer Partin’s body but could not locate it until months later, 11 miles downstream.  The suspect was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter connected with Officer Partin’s death and sentenced to six years in prison.

Kentucky Trivia:  Washington, Kentucky is believed that the first town in the United States to be named for America’s first president.  The town was named in 1780.

January 4, 2002, to trim the waterfowl population, officials at the Greenbo Lake State Resort Park in Greenup County allowed hunters to shoot ducks and geese.  In 1989 the park’s beach had to be closed because of high levels of fecal bacteria.

January 4, 2005, Guy Mattison Davenport, Jr. died.  He was one of the great UK faculty members in the institution’s history.  Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda wrote in 1996, “Guy Davenport is the best literary essayist since Randall Jarrell and Cyril Connolly.”  In 1990, he received a MacArthur Foundation grant of $365,000, commonly called a genius grant, while a professor at UK where he was free to teach whatever he wanted; his classes filled up quickly.  Because he never learned to drive, Mr. Davenport lived near the campus and walked to his office.

January 4, 2009, Edgar Sosa had made seven three-pointers all season long, coming into the latest installment of the Commonwealth’s “Dream Game.”  His ninth provided perhaps the most improbable ending in the series’ history.  A 20% three-point shooter, Sosa buried one from 26-feet away at the top of the key with 2.3 seconds left to give #18 Louisville a 74-71 victory in front of 20,078 fans in Freedom Hall.  The closing seconds were befitting of what was expected to be the final game played between the two in the historic building.

January 4, 2012, Carlisle native Louis Gatewood Galbraith passed away.

January 4, 2017, angry union workers packed the halls of Kentucky’s capitol annex as lawmakers pushed anti-union bills that would ban mandatory union dues and repel union protection legislation.

January 4, 2018, Kentucky’s House of Representatives formed a special committee to investigate whether Speaker Jeff Hoover should be expelled after secretly settling a sexual harassment complaint with a member of the legislative staff.  He resigned as Speaker four days later but remained a House Representative for the 83rd District.

Horse Racing Trivia:  January 4, 2020, the Sham Stakes for 2-year-olds at Santa Anita featured a future Kentucky Derby winner.