TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

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On September 25, 1773, from North Carolina, Boone set out with a party of family and friends for his 1st attempt to settle in the Kentucky territory.  In October, the party turned back at Cumberland Gap due to Native Americans that killed his eldest son James, and others; the Boone Massacre.

September 25, 1775, Transylvania proprietors met in Granville County, NC.  They elected James Hogg to represent them in the Continental Congress, seeking recognition as the 14th colony.  But, as time would tell, the Continental Congress failed to grant Transylvania’s independence.

On September 25, 1837, Isham Talbot passed away in Frankfort.  He was the 8th and 10th Class III Kentucky Senator who lived 40 years after migrating to Kentucky.  He owned 18,000 acres at one time.

On September 25, 1862, a Civil War skirmish in Boone County, at Snow’s Pond, took place, one of two times the North and South fought in the county.  The Confederate forces wanted to slow the Federal troops moving south, so they utilized the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, Morgan’s Men.  The rebels captured about 65 Union prisoners.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Thomas Hunt Morgan, born in 1866.  A zoologist and geneticist, Thomas found fame for his experimental research with the fruit fly that helped establish the chromosome theory of heredity, which played a crucial role in establishing the field of genetics.  He received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1933.

September 25, 1866, Jerome Race Track opened, which marked the return of thoroughbred racing to New York after a Civil War hiatus.  The appointments were lavish, with a large dining room, a magnificent ballroom, and clubhouse accommodations comparable to a luxury hotel.  The grandstand held 2,500 seats and General Ulysses S. Grant once attended.  Management barred gambling and liquor.  However, the new track still received great press.  It rapidly surpassed Saratoga as the most important track in America and became a model for first-class tracks for the next twenty years, including Monmouth, Churchill and the Bay Course in San Francisco.  Jerome Park hosted the Belmont Stakes from 1867 to 1890.

September 25, 1940, Patrolman William Burge, Louisville Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Hopkinsville native Bell Hooks, born in in 1952.  Bell is an author, feminist, and social activist whose real name is Gloria Jean Watkins.  She wrote Ain’t I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism.  She grew up in a working-class family with five sisters and one brother.  Her writing deals with race, capitalism, gender, oppression, and class domination and she has published more than 30 books, appeared in documentary films, and participated in public lectures.  In 2014, she founded the Bell Hooks Institute at Berea College.

September 25, 1966, Army PFC Louis R. Randell, 19, from Covington died in the Vietnam War.

September 25, 1968, Army SGT David Thomas Seaton,20, from Fordsville died in the Vietnam War.

September 25, 1970, Army SP4 Bruce Edward Thomas, 21, from Morehead died in the Vietnam War.

On September 25, 1982, Kentucky tied Kansas 0-0, ending the year 0-10-1 in Jerry Claiborne’s 1st year coaching.  He took over for Fran Curci.

September 25, 1985, thieves broke into the Lincoln County courthouse and stole 35 marijuana plants, ammunition, and a safe filled with guns.

September 25, 1990, Sergeant Robert Palmer, Elsmere Police Department, died during an unprovoked attack by his wife’s ex-husband who had already gunned down the officer’s two and three year-old children.  He returned fire, killing the assailant.

September 25, 1992, Terry Turner left Turner’s gun shop and has not been seen since.  Terry Turner left his gun store that day around 1:30 p.m.  According to an employee at the gun shop Mr. Turner left with someone in a vehicle but the employee could not see the person in the vehicle.  The case is cold.  The London Post of the Kentucky State Police would appreciate your help in solving this cold case.

September 25, 2006, John Ed Pearce from Norton in Jefferson County died on his 89th birthday.  John Ed won a Pulitzer Prize and has been called Kentucky’s best newspaper writer.

Saturday, September 25, 2010, AllTech FEI opened the World Equestrian Games.  The opening ceremonies featured Wynonna Judd, opera star Denyce Graves and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  Muhammad Ali also made a special appearance.  This was the 1st time someone other than Europe hosted and the 1st time the entire event occurred at one site, the Kentucky Horse Park.

September 25, 2014, Kentucky announced jobless rates fell in all 120 Kentucky counties between August 2013 and August 2014.  This was the 1st time this ever happened since Kentucky began keeping unemployment statistics.

On September 25, 2019, while the U.S. press and citizens inflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome get excited about an impeachment, UK basketball fans set up tents to camp out for Midnight Madness tickets.

On September 25, 2020, Justice Ruth Bader became the 1st woman to lay in State in the Capitol.  Kentucky reported 930 new coronavirus cases and 12 new deaths.  “We cannot continue to have days where we have 900-plus cases,” Beshear said in a written statement, asking people to please wear their masks and practice social distancing.  “The lives and the health of the Kentuckians around us depend on it,” he said.

Positives:  930 / 65,066
Deaths:  12 / 1,149 – 1st death 3/16/20
50&over:  1,118 / 49-30: 30 / 29&under: 1