TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

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Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to James Garrard, born in 1749. James was the second Governor of Kentucky and the first elected by the popular vote. During Garrard’s two terms, he signed legislation creating 26 Kentucky counties, including his namesake county of Garrard. Garrard was the only person before Paul Patton to serve two consecutive four-year terms as governor. Governor Garrard was so popular that the second constitution’s drafters made a provision that allowed him to serve a second term.

January 14, 1815, Daviess County was created from Ohio County. The county was named in honor of Joseph Hamilton Daviess, lawyer killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Owensboro is the county seat. Other cities and towns located in the county include: Whitesville, Maceo, Masonville, Utica, Birk City, Browns Valley, Curdsville, Delaware, Moseleyville,Panther, Pettit, Rome, Saint Joseph, Sorgho, Stanley, Sutherland, Tuck, West Louisville, Dermont, Ensor, Gatewood, Habit, Knottsville, Philpot, Scythia, Spice Knob, Thruston, Yelvington. Daviess County was the 58th county created and covers 477 square miles.

January 14, 1854, Lyon County was created from Caldwell County and was named in honor of Chittenden Lyon, United States Representative from Kentucky. The county seat is Eddyville and Kuttawa is another community within Lyon. Lyon County was the 102nd county created and covers 257 square miles.

Localtonians wishes a Happy Anniversary to Raywick native Governor James Proctor Knott who married his cousin Sarah R. McElroy in 1858. The 29^th Governor’s first wife died during the birth of their first child.

January 14, 1861, Sharpsburg native Henry Smith Lane became the 13th Governor of Indiana for two days. By design, he was the shortest-serving Governor of Indiana, having made plans to resign the office should his party take control of the Indiana General Assembly and elect him to the United States Senate, which they did.

January 14, 1861, Warsaw native Richard Yates became the 13^th Governor of Illinois.

January 14, 1889, Richmond native David Rowland Francis became the 27^th Governor of Missouri. This was the first of many remarkable accomplishments.

January 14, 1909, Constable James I. G. Hamons, Clinton County Constable’s Office, succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day while attempting to serve a summons on a man who had refused to appear as a witness before a grand jury. Constable Hamons located the man at a store and informed him of the summons and was told he would not obey the summons; a struggle ensued in which both men were shot. Constable Hamons succumbed to his wound the following day.

January 14, 1919, Martin Van Buren Bates, known as the “Giant of Letcher County,” passed away. Martin was average size at birth but grew into a man 7’11”, and for years his weight was 525 pounds. Although of peace-loving nature, he was a courageous and fearless officer in the Confederate Army, earning the rank of Captain. In 1865 Bates began to use his size for monetary gain by touring in exhibition but never toured with Barnum and rarely traveled with tent circuses, preferring instead to hold receptions where he and his wife could meet with guests. Captain Bates toured much of the U.S., Canada, England, and Europe, meeting President Garfield, was a personal friend of President McKinley and was received by Queen Victoria on multiple occasions. Martin married Anna Hanen Swan, the “Giantess of Novia Scotia,” one inch taller than he. They had two children, both of whom died at birth.

January 14, 1921, detectives and a posse of citizens engaged in an all-day chase and exchanged over 300 shots with three thieves who robbed a store in Paducah. One was captured but two others got away.

January 14, 1923, Ohio County native George Humphrey Tichenor died. The doctor introduced antiseptic surgery while in the service of the Confederate States of America. After that, in private practice in Canton in Mississippi, he developed the formula that became “Dr. Tichenor’s Antiseptic.” By 1905, Dr. G. H. Tichenor Antiseptic Co. began in New Orleans. The bottled antiseptic is still sold in drug stores to treat ailments ranging from cuts to sore throats.

Horse Racing Trivia: January 14, 1932, Eddie Arcaro, on his 251st try, rode his first winner at Agua Caliente in Mexico. The next year he was the leading apprentice jockey at New Orleans, but he missed three months of riding that year with a fractured skull and punctured lung suffered during a fall in Chicago. Arcaro, known as “The Master,” rode a record 17 winners in Triple Crown races and became the only jockey aboard two Triple Crown champions. (Whirlaway and Citation)

January 14, 1942, Constable Hiram Smith, Breathitt County Constable’s Office, was shot and killed as he and the Jackson police chief questioned a man suspected of stealing an automobile. The suspect was located at a local rooming house but claimed he was not the man they were looking for. The suspect insisted he had papers in his room that would identify him. The officers were both shot after accompanying the man to his room to locate the papers.

January 14, 1951, Army PVT William Frederick from Bell County died in the Korean War.

January 14, 1952, Navy PO3 Leroy McMurray from Louisville died in the Korean War.

January 14, 1964, Air Force MAJ Carl B. Mitchell from Mt. Sterling died in the Vietnam War.

January 14, 1968, in Super Bowl II, Corbin native Rodger Bird fumbled a punt by the Green Bay Packers late in the first half. The Packers recovered, allowing Don Chandler to kick a 43-yard field goal on the final play before halftime to increase Green Bay’s lead to 16-7. The Raiders lost 33-14 in Vince Lombardi’s final game coaching the Packers.

January 14, 1983, Leeman Bennett, former UK QB and Paducah native, was fired by the Atlanta Falcons as head coach. Leeman was also head coach at Tampa Bay.

Kentucky Trivia: Fresh out of the Air Force and with $43 dollars in his pocket, Joe Bowen, from Bowen, rode his bicycle from California home to Eastern Kentucky in 1967. Rather than taking the direct route, he decided to discover America. His 14,000-mile odyssey earned him many friends, much publicity, and the legacy as the first person recognized to extensively tour the United States by bicycle.

January 14, 2002, exactly 2:47 a.m., a train hauling coal and freight through Paintsville were met by UFO’s according to several individuals. Click the link or watch the video if you believe or keep scrolling.

January 14, 2013, the Fairness Coalition joined the Appalachian town of Vicco, Kentucky as, they approved the state’s first lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) anti-discrimination Fairness ordinance in a decade. The measure, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, received support from three of the city’s four-member commission and Mayor Johnny Cummings.

January 14, 2014, former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer received 27 months in prison for misusing state resources during his tenure as Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner. U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ordered Farmer to pay $120,500 in restitution, with $105,500 going to the state and $15,000 going to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

January 14, 2015, the Nationals traded Lexington native Tyler Lee Clippard to the Oakland Athletics for Yunel Escobar. Clippard and the Athletics agreed on an $8.3 million salary for the 2015 season.

January 14, 2018, the University of Kentucky cheerleading squad executed a near flawless routine and brought home their 23^rd national title from the Universal Cheerleaders Association College National Competition.

On January 14, 2020, Butler County native Nathan Andrew Jones signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds.