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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

January 11, 1815, Kentucky created Allen County from Barren County and Warren County and named it in honor of John Allen, hero of the Battle of Frenchtown in the War of 1812.  Scottsville is the county seat.  Other cities and towns include Adolphus, Amos, Halifax, Halfway, Holland, Meador, New Roe, and Petroleum.  The 57th county created, Allen County, covers 352 square miles.

KY 1815
640px Map of Kentucky highlighting Allen County.svg 1
By David Benbennick

January 11, 1849, Dr. John Croghan passed away.  The good doctor helped establish the U.S. Marine Hospital of Louisville and organized experimental tuberculosis treatments inside Mammoth Cave from 1839 to 1849.

January 11, 1862, Carlisle County hosted the Battle of Lucas Bend.  The Union ironclads Essex and St. Louis, transporting troops down the Mississippi River in fog, engaged the Confederate cotton-clad warships General Polk, Ivy, and Jackson.

Essex at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 1862

January 11, 1865, Frankfort native and artist Joseph H. Bush died eight months after he finished his last self-portrait at his brother’s house in Lexington.  His family buried him in the Lexington Cemetery.

January 11, 1869, Eagle Creek native John McAuley Palmer became the 15th Illinois governor.  Many in the National Democratic Party wanted him to run for president.  He promoted the gold standard, free trade, and limited government.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Alice Hegan Rice or Alice Caldwell Hegan, born in Shelbyville in 1870.  Her 1901 novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch became a play and four films.

January 11, 1901, Bracken County native John Gregg Fee, abolitionist, minister, educator, and founder of Berea and Berea College, passed away.  During the American Civil War, Fee taught and preached at Camp Nelson while the newly freed men became soldiers.

January 11, 1926, John W. Langley, Floyd County, resigned as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky’s 10th district.  Also known as “Pork Barrel John,” he had to relinquish his office after being convicted of illegally selling alcohol.  Langley deposited $115,000 in his bank account over three years despite earning only $7,500 a year as a congressman.  His wife, Katherine, won a special election for his seat, resolving to clear his name.  President C. Coolidge granted Langley a pardon in 1928 with a stipulation he never run for office again.

January 11, 1929, Deputy Sheriff George W. Clemons, Breathitt County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot while serving an arrest warrant on his brother-in-law’s adult son.  He and several other deputies had gone to the man’s home on Spring Fork where the suspect became upset and opened fire on the deputies.

January 11, 1929, Night Policeman William Lee Johnson, Walton Police Department, died from gunshots when he surprised three burglars attempting to enter the Kroger Store.  Police captured all three men a short time later.

January 11, 1930, Berlin native John Marshall Robsion became Kentucky’s 28th Class II Senator.  He resigned from the U.S. House a day before.  Governor Flem D. Sampson appointed Robsion after Senator Sackett resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to Germany.

January 11, 1936, Chief of Police Samuel John Murphy, Weeksbury Police Department, died from a gunshot by the brother of a man he had arrested earlier in the day for being drunk in public.  The arrestee’s brother kicked in the door of the city jail and shot Chief Murphy in the chest with a rifle.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Garrard County native Jody Payne, born in 1936.  Jody is best known as a longtime guitarist in Willie Nelson’s band, The Family.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Ashland native Naomi Judd, born Diana Ellen Judd in 1946.

On January 11, 1950, Citation won in his 1st race in exactly 13 months, taking an allowance race by 1 ½ lengths to extend his winning streak to a record 16 races.

January 11, 1956, three of the stars of the movie Glory, John Lupton, left, Margaret O’Brien, and Byron Palmer, attend the world premiere at the Kentucky Theatre.  The movie tells the story of a young woman who raised a filly named Glory to become a Kentucky Derby champion.  Directors filmed part of the movie at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Calumet Farm.

January 11, 1967, Marine Corps CPL Ernest H. Wilson from Corinth in Grant County died in the Vietnam War.

January 11, 1971, Fayette Circuit Judge N. Mitchell Meade, citing reports of possible “syndicate” connections, charged a grand jury to investigate illegal gambling in Lexington.  Meade also asked the jury to examine reports of “alleged bribery” and “payoffs” to Lexington’s elected officials.

January 11, 1971, the Associated Press named UK Quarterback George Blanda, the “Ageless Marvel” of Oakland Raiders, Athlete of the Year.  The 43-year-old grey QB and kicking specialist gave new light to middle-aged men.

January 11, 1972, Army SGT Leonard H. Mantooth, Jr. from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

January 11, 1980, in a move to end the widespread “milk war” that spread across Kentucky, the state obtained a court order to force A&P Food Stores to raise their milk prices from 12 to 32 cents a gallon.  A&P wanted to help their customers with inflation and fought the court order.  The judge followed a controversial law prohibiting retailers from selling milk below cost.

On January 11, 1995, federal agents searched every Brown & Williamson Tobacco office at the corporation’s downtown Louisville headquarters.  Agents seized boxes of documents, computer files, and snatched pictures off walls as they videotaped the different scenes.

January 11, 2000, Scott County schools wanted to avoid a lawsuit, so they voted to delete the words “Trust in God” from a list of virtues the school district would post.  Meanwhile, in Louisville, officials began behind-the-scenes talks to rid downtown of the blue light district, an entire downtown city block that stood for 30 years.

January 11, 2008, Louisville banned smoking in public places.

January 11, 2010, Bell County native Leonard Lawson who made a fortune in blacktop and whose campaign donations gave him access to governors, began trial on charges of bribing state officials for inside information.  Bill Nighbert, former Transportation cabinet secretary during Fletcher’s term, stood beside him as a co-defendant.

January 11, 2010, Louisville lost their 1st game in a fan white-out Coach Pitno requested.  The white-out had worked in its previous three games.  The Cardinals lost to #4 Villanova in Freedom Hall.

January 11, 2014, a headline discussed on this day discussed the rewards (convenience) and risks (tracking) smartphone shopping apps offered customers.  In 1979, scientists invented the earliest version of electronic shopping.  In 1982, a company launched a website for people to buy computers.  In 1995, Amazon came into play, followed by PayPal in 1998.  Finally, in 2010, U.S. online sales topped $1 billion for the 1st time on Cyber Monday.

January 11, 2016, representative Cam Barker of Campbellsville wanted to make it illegal to post pictures of wrecks within an hour after the incident.  In an act of compassion, the lawmaker wanted to prevent families from hearing about their loved one’s death online.  The lawmaker also stated he wanted to start the discussion.  The Assembly addressed the bill again in 2018, but the 1st amendment reigned supreme.

Saturday, January 11, 2020, in a sign of the times, customers could only view the Saturday Lexington Herald-Leader edition online.

January 11, 2020, China reported is 1st death due to the new coronavirus.

January 11, 2020, to oversee Kentucky’s troubled nursing home industry, Governor A. Beshear chose executive Adam Mather from Signature Healthcare.  This Louisville-based corporation owned more than two dozen low-rated nursing homes in the state.

January 11, 2020, once again, the Ditch Mitch Fund came into the public discussion after the Senator won another reelection.  The unsuccessful group, which formed in 2018, collected over $75,000 in small donations in their 1st week.

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True For Both Sides of The Aisle

January 11, 2021, a vandal spray painted “COVID is PCR Fraud” on the state’s #1 health official’s home mail box.  Dr. Steven Stack called the Lexington police.  PCR is a standard test the state uses for COVID-19.

January 11, 2022, Kentucky hospitals requested citizens go elsewhere for routine coronavirus testing due to the omicron variant placing stress on their facilities.  Meanwhile, U.S. hospitals cared for 145,982 coronavirus patients, a new record, during falling staff levels.

January 11, 2022, the 2nd heated exchange between Senator Rand Paul and Dr. Fauci took place.  During this committee hearing, the senator accused the doctor of lying to Congress about the National Institutes of Health funding the “gain of function” research in Wuhan, China.