Skip to content

TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Tweets

December 31, 1832, 406 steamboats and 421 flat and keel boats with 76,323 tons passed through the Louisville and Portland canal since January 1, 1832, paying $12,750 in tolls.

December 31, 1833, 453 steamboats and 179 flat and keel boats with 70,109 tons passed through the Louisville and Portland canal since January 1, 1833, paying $25,756 in tolls.

December 31, 1845, 1,585 steamboats and 394 flat and keel boats with 318,741 tons passed through the Louisville and Portland canal since January 1, 1845, paying $138,391 in tolls.

December 31, 1835, the Newport Rifles of Kentucky, a 52-man company of volunteers, left Kentucky for Texas aboard the steamer Augusta.  Before their departure, the unit received a flag from the ladies of Newport.  This is the only existing flag carried by the Texan army at the Battle of San Jacinto to remain in Texas.

Dec 31 Flag
Newport Rifles Company Battle Flag

December 31, 1847, locals began erecting lines for telegraph messaging in Maysville.  They ended in Nashville, TN.  The lines would travel through Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, Bardstown, and Bowling Green.  The cables also went from Maysville to Cincinnati.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Newport native General John T. Thompson, born in 1860.  During the Spanish-American War, Thompson dedicated himself to correcting the sorry state of American military small arms.  He was the 1st Army Ordnance Dept. officer to recognize the merits of automatic pistols and rifles.  In WWI, Thompson studied several designs and was impressed with a delayed-blowback breech system designed by John Blish.  With Blish as a partner, Thompson developed the Thompson submachine gun.  When the U.S. finally entered the war in 1917, Thompson became a brigadier general and later received the Distinguished Service Medal.  After the war, he retired and went back to work perfecting the “Tommy Gun,” a machine gun that would be unlike anything the world had ever seen.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Minerva native Stanley Forman Reed, born in 1884 in Mason County.  Judge Reed served as U.S. Solicitor General from 1935 to 1938 and as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957.

December 31, 1887, Sheriff Henry Harrison Winters, Hickman County Sheriff’s Office, died serving a warrant.  Sheriff Winters had learned the man was at his mother’s home in the county and summoned a posse to assist him.

December 31, 1898, Town Marshal Tom Roach, Barbourville Police Department, died while disarming a county deputy who had gotten into a personal argument with a store clerk.  The store owner ordered the deputy to leave the store before stepping outside himself.  When the store owner left, the deputy pulled out his gun and attempted to search the clerk.  Marshal Roach put himself between the two.

December 31, 1936, Keeneland’s financial statement for the year reveals a net loss of $3.47.

December 31, 1937, Keeneland’s had a net profit of $8,286.41 for the year.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Barrier native Hal Dallas Rogers, born in 1937 in Wayne County.

December 31, 1950, Army PVT John W. Moore from Todd County died in the Korean War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Bardstown native William Paul Durbin Jr., born in 1953.  Mr. Durbin is a martial artist and Baptist minister, known for founding Kiyojute Ryu Kempo Bugei (気楊柔手流拳法武芸, Kiyōjūte-ryū Kenpō Bugei), meaning “spiritually positive gentle person system of martial arts”, a form of Kempo.  It is a Gendai Budō martial art in the James Mitose lineage intended to provide for all aspects of self-defense.  The Hombu Dojo, or headquarters, is located in Frankfort.

December 31, 1961, Sheriff Sam L. Green, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, died serving a warrant due to a domestic disturbance.

December 31, 1968, Army SGT Harlan Secress from Hebron in Boone County and Army SP4 Johnnie D. Knight from Grant County died in the Vietnam War.

December 31, 1970, Army SP4 Pete E. Williamson from River in Johnson County died in the Vietnam War.

December 31, 1974, Maker’s Mark joined the National Register of Historic Places.

December 31, 1976, Fran Curci’s Wildcats shutout the Tar Heels 21-0 in the Peach Bowl in front of 57, 507 spectators.  Kentucky outgained North Carolina 334 yards to 109 thanks to All-American’s Warren Bryant and Derrick Ramsey.  The defense, led by Art Still, held the Tar Heels to a total of five 1st downs and forced five turnovers.

December 31, 1988, Kentucky visited #14 Louisville in Freedom Hall and got handed a 75-97 beating by Coach Crum’s Cardinals.  Pervis Ellison pulled down seven rebounds and 20 points.  Derrick Miller scored 34 points for Coach Sutton.

December 31, 1993, in Coach Bill Curry’s only bowl game, #24-ranked Clemson defeated the Wildcats 13-14 in the 26th annual Peach Bowl in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.  Kentucky took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to the Clemson two-yard line.  What appeared to be a QB Pookie Jones-to-WB Alfonzo Browning TD was instead a turnover when Browning fumbled the ball attempting to extend it over the goal line.

December 31, 1996, Coach Crum got upset at a call during the #16 Louisville’s 74-54 loss to #3 Kentucky at Freedom Hall.  The legendary coach of the Cardinals guided Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a 675–295 record with two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Final Fours.  During his 30-year career, Crum was 7-13 against Kentucky.

December 31, 1999, locals dedicated the Newport World Peace Bell, one of many Peace Bells around the world.  It was the largest swinging bell in the world, weighing 66,000 pounds when 1st swung in 2000.  The bell features an inscription commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and important events from the past 1,000 years.

December 31, 2001, Louisville defeated BYU 28-10 in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis for Coach John Smith’s 1st bowl win in four attempts.  Dave Ragone threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns, and the defense came up with five sacks and three interceptions.  They improved to 11-2 for the most victories in a season, topping the 1990 mark of 10-1-1, their only other year with double-digit wins.  Coach Smith would be gone in 2002.

On December 31, 2001, a private midnight unveiling of the $400,000 clock in Lexington’s downtown public library’s entrance took place.  Lucille Caudill Little donated the clock and a 70-foot Foucault pendulum that hangs from the dome, which moves from the Earth’s rotation.

December 31, 2004, Bobby Petrino’s Cardinals defeated Boise State 44-40 in the Liberty Bowl with the help of Michael Bush.  This was the last Conference USA game for Louisville, who entered the Big East the following year.

December 31, 2007, Army PFC Brian L. Gorham, 21, of Woodburn, died at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds sustained in Afghanistan fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.

December 31, 2007, in Coach Brook’s 2nd bowl game of four, the Cats defeated Florida State 35-28 in the 10th Music City Bowl in Nashville.  In the 1st quarter, Kentucky scored 1st on a 14-yard André Woodson touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Tamme; André earned MVP honors.  The 68,661 attendance set a new record for the Music City Bowl.

December 31, 2010, the KFC Yum! Center hosted their first UK/UofL game with 22,803 in attendance.  #11 Kentucky beat #22 Louisville 78-63.  UK’s Josh Harrellson scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.  Coach Cal was now 2-0 against Coach Pitino; both games played in 2010.

December 31, 2011, #3 Kentucky defeated #4 Louisville 69-62 in an ugly game for both teams.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Cats with a monster double-double of 24 points and 19 rebounds.  Coach Cal now had a 3-0 record over Pitino.

December 31, 2015, Lamar Jackson ran for a career-high and Music City Bowl-record 226 yards and two touchdowns and threw for two more scores to help Louisville beat Texas A&M 27-21.  Louisville (8-5) won its 3rd bowl in their past four trips and first since 2013.

On December 31, 2016, Mark Stoops coached his 1st bowl game for Kentucky in a losing effort.  Georgia Tech defeated the Cats 33-18 in Jacksonville, FL.  QB Steven Johnson picked up MVP honors for Kentucky.  Coach Stoops would lose his 2nd bowl appearance the following year and finally win his 3rd bowl game, the Citrus Bowl, on January 1, 2019.

December 31, 2019, Kentucky defeated Virginia Tech 37-30 in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte with a TD pass from star Lynn Bowden.  Lynn’s 233 yard performance topped Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel’s 219 yards in 2013 for the most yards gained in Belk Bowl history.  With both WKU & UofL winning their bowl games, the state of Kentucky improved to 3-0 on the season.

December 31, 2019: Wuhan, China officials confirmed they treated dozens of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause.

December 31, 2019, Lawrenceburg native and Paintsville High School graduate Tyler Childers visited the Floyd County Animal shelter.  According to the shelter’s manager Jackie Brown, the visit helped increase adoption and bring awareness to the facility.