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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Governor James Garrard, born in 1749, the 2nd governor and the 1st elected by the popular vote.  During Garrard’s two terms, he signed legislation creating 26 Kentucky counties, including his namesake county of Garrard.  Governor Garrard was so popular that the 2nd constitution’s drafters made a provision that allowed him to serve a 2nd consecutive term; the next governor to do so would be Paul Patton.

January 14, 1815, Kentucky created Daviess County from Ohio County and named it in honor of Joseph Hamilton Daviess, a 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, and Yelvington.  The 58th county created, Daviess County covers 477 square miles.

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1280px Map of Kentucky highlighting Daviess County.svg
By David Benbennick

January 14, 1850, the Western Military Institute moved to Blue Licks Spring in Nicholas County with 275 students after two years in Georgetown.  Then, in 1851, the school moved to Drennon Springs in Henry County due to inadequate housing.  Finally, in 1854 the institution moved to Tennessee and merged with the University of Nashville.

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

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640px Map of Kentucky highlighting Lyon County.svg
By David Benbennick

Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Raywick native Governor James Proctor Knott, who married his cousin Sarah R. McElroy in 1858.  The 29th governor’s 1st wife died during the birth of their 1st child.

On January 14, 1861, Sharpsburg native Henry Smith Lane became Indiana’s 13th governor.  He held office for two days by design.  If his party took control of the Indiana General Assembly, they would elect him to the U.S. Senate, which they did.

January 14, 1861, Illinois inaugurated Warsaw native Richard Yates as their 13th governor.  Nicknamed the “Soldiers’ Friend,” he helped organize the Illinois contingent of Union soldiers, including commissioning Ulysses S. Grant as a colonel for an Illinois regiment.

January 14, 1878, Fleming County native Richard M. Bishop became Ohio’s 34th governor.  As Cincinnati mayor, the Prince of Wales accepted his invitation to visit the city, and, despite being a Democrat, Bishop made the welcoming address to President A. Lincoln as he passed through on the way to his inauguration.

January 14, 1889, Missouri inaugurated Richmond native David Rowland Francis as their the 27th governor.  His impressive resume also included U.S. Ambassador to Russia, President of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, 20th U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and 26th Mayor of St. Louis.

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.

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

On 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.  They captured one, but two got away.

January 14, 1923, Ohio County native George Humphrey Tichenor died.  The doctor introduced antiseptic surgery while serving in the Confederate Army.  He bottled his formula in private practice in Mississippi and named it Dr. Tichenor’s Antiseptic.  By 1905, his company began mass production in New Orleans.  You may still purchase it today.

January 14, 1942, Constable Hiram Smith, Breathitt County Constable’s Office, died from a gunshot while questioning a man suspected of stealing an automobile.  They located the suspect at a local rooming house.  However, he claimed he was not the man they were looking for and shot the officers after accompanying the man to his room to locate his identification.

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 and Raider Rodger Bird fumbled a punt to the Green Bay Packers late in the first half.  The Packers then kicked a 43-yard field goal on the final play before halftime to increase their lead to 16-7.  The Raiders lost 33-14 in Vince Lombardi’s final game coaching the Packers.

January 14, 1983, the Atlanta Falcons fired Leeman Bennett, former UK QB and Paducah native as head coach.  Tampa Bay later hired him as head coach in 1985.

January 14, 1997, Pitino’s #5 Cats traveled to Stegeman Coliseum in Athens to play Tubby Smith’s #21 Bulldogs.  Kentucky won 86 to 65, Derek Anderson scored 24, and Tubby’s son G.G. scored seven.

January 14, 2002, at exactly 2:47 a.m., UFO’s met a train hauling coal and freight through Paintsville according to several individuals.

January 14, 2003, citing the effects of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, Keeneland placed the July Selected Yearling Sale on hiatus.  Scientists later revealed the Eastern Tent Caterpillars caused the mysterious deaths.

January 14, 2013, Vicco in Perry and Knott Counties approved the state’s 1st LGBT anti-discrimination fairness ordinance in a decade.  The measure prohibited discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.  Vicco joined three other cities with anti-discrimination Fairness protections: Covington, which passed an ordinance in 2003, Lexington, and Louisville, which both approved laws in 1999.

January 14, 2014, a judge sentenced Richie Farmer to 27 months in prison for misusing state resources 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 Agriculture Department.

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, 2017, a Kentucky bred and Keeneland graduate won Gulfstream’s 60th Ft. Lauderdale Stakes.  The GII $200,000 edition ran for four-year-olds and upward.

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

January 14, 2019, President D. Trump treated the National Football Champions Clemson Tigers to a McDonalds spread in the State Dining Room, costing $5,500.

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The White House 45 Archived

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

January 14, 2021, the top three headlines in the Lexington Herald-Leader:  “State Virus Deaths Top 3,000; Drive-thru Shots Planned” – “National Guard To Assist With Security in Frankfort” – “Blackjewel’s lack of reclamation concerns strip-mine neighbors.”  Locals were on edge.

January 14, 2022, to the delight of teachers and staff, Fayette County Schools stopped contact tracing and quarantines for people exposed at school.  Meanwhile in Frankfort, ex-President M. Christopher Brown and Kentucky State University decided to sue each other over severance pay.

On January 14, 2022, first lady Jill Biden visited Bowling Green to see 1st hand the devastation left by the December 2021 tornadoes.  Governor A. Beshear, first lady Britainy Beshear, and several other local officials also toured the destruction.