TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

January 20, 1815, Captain Matthew Harris Jouett of the Army’s 3^rd Mounted Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers resigned. Jouett-Bush-Frazer Early Kentucky Artist by William Barrow Floyd pg: 12

January 20, 1828, Elizabethtown native Sarah Lincoln Grigsby passed away less than a month before her 21^st birthday. The older sister of Abraham Lincoln cared for him after their mother died as children.

On January 20, 1911, Transylvania University played State University, Lexington (UK) for the 1^st time using the Transylvania name, Transy won 23-18. The schools played each other from 1903-1908 when Transy was named Kentucky University. The two teams played each other three times in 1911 and the series stopped. They next met 100 years later in Rupp Arena.

January 20, 1914, dignitaries held a formal reception at the new Governor’s Mansion. Governor James B. McCreary sent invitations to view his new home and the future governor’s home for decades to come.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Packard native Patricia Neal, born in 1926 in Whitley County. She played the World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), and the worn-out housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud (1963), where she won an Academy Award for best actress.

^{Packard, Kentucky – 1 of 2 Known Photographs}

January 20, 1937, in the 1^st January U.S. presidential inauguration, Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes swore in Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his 2^nd term.

January 20, 1941, Deputy Sheriff Fred Damron, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, died while attempting to arrest a man threatening another man with a gun. Deputy Damron had disarmed the suspect, but the man returned with another gun and shot him five times.

January 20, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt started his 3^rd term to remain the 32^nd president after Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone swore him in, marking the 39^th inauguration ceremony for a U.S. president.

On January 20, 1945, for the 2^nd time, Chief Justice Stone swore in Franklin D. Roosevelt to begin his 4^th term. This marked the 40^th U.S. inaugural ceremony. Roosevelt served two months and 23 days before he died in office.

January 20, 1949, in the 41^st inaugural ceremony, Kentuckian and Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson swore in Harry S. Truman for his 2^nd term in the 1^st nationally televised inauguration. The “S” did not stand for any name but was a compromise between the names of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.

January 20, 1949, Lowes native Alben W. Barkley became the oldest vice president at 71 and Garrett L. Withers replaced him as Kentucky’s 32^nd Class III U.S. Senator. Alben, who loved telling stories, frequently poked fun at himself and his office. He often told a story of a mother who had two sons; one went to sea, the other became vice president, and neither was heard from again.

January 20, 1951, Army PFC Harold C. Minyard from Jefferson County and Army SGT James D. Parrent from Lyon County died in the Korean War.

January 20, 1953, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, from Louisa, swore in Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower as the 34^th president. Although he spent 35 years in the military and served during both world wars, Eisenhower never saw a single day of active combat. The 42^nd ceremony would be Vinson’s 2^nd and last president he swore into office.

Sunday, January 20, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower took his 2^nd oath in private from Chief Justice Earl Warren,

January 20, 1961, Chief Justice Earl Warren swore in the 35^th president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. In the 44^th inaugural ceremony, JFK became the last president to wear a hat, although he took it off during the oath.

^{JFK and Jackie On Way To Inauguration}

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Danville native John Michael Montgomery, born in 1965.

January 20, 1965, the Lexington-Herald Leader charged $21.00 for their “Inaugural Special.” The package included a round-trip ticket to the 45^th presidential inaugural ceremony to watch Earl Warren swear in Lyndon B. Johnson. Two hundred Kentuckians boarded the Chesapeake & Ohio Co. train to Washington, D.C.

January 20, 1968, Army SGT David A. Jameson from Providence in Webster County died in the Vietnam War.

Monday, January 20, 1969, Richard Milhous Nixon became the 37^th president, the last presidential oath administered by Chief Justice Warren.

January 20, 1970, eleven horses perished in a Jonabell Farm fire.

January 20, 1973, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger swore in President Richard M. Nixon during the 47^th inaugural ceremony. Nixon’s 2^nd term lasted 18 months and 20 days.

Thursday, January 20, 1977, Chief Justice Burger swore in President James Earl Carter, Jr. as the 39^th president. This was the 48^th inauguration and the last inauguration held on the East Portico of the Capitol building. Exactly forty years later, Carter attended the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, becoming the 1^st U.S. president to mark the 40^th anniversary of his inauguration.

January 20, 1978, La Grange in Oldham County, measured 31 inches of snow, the Kentucky record for snow depth. Three days earlier, 18 inches of fresh snow fell on top of seven inches. Another five-plus arrived on January 20, setting the record. The winter of 1977-1978 was very different from previous winters in Kentucky. It was the last time the Ohio River froze over this far south. Kentucky Weather By Jerry Hill; pg: 63

January 20, 1981, Iranian hostages are freed minutes after Warren E. Burger swore in President Ronald Wilson Reagan in the 1^st inauguration on the building’s west side. Reagan assumed office as the oldest president at 69 and 349 days old. Trump would break this record, and President Biden would top Trump’s old age record.

January 20, 1981, in a unanimous yet reluctant move, the Kentucky Board of Elementary and Secondary Education agreed with the Kentucky attorney general’s opinion to remove the Ten Commandments from public schools. Several schools refused to take the advice.

Sunday, January 20, 1985, Warren E. Burger swore in President Reagan for a 2^nd time in a White House televised ceremony. They canceled the planned Monday parade due to winter weather.

Sunday, January 20, 1985, Warren E. Burger swore in President Reagan for a 2^nd time in a White House televised ceremony. They canceled the planned Monday parade due to winter weather. The actor/politician combo took the nation by storm. His dementia appeared to journalist Lesley Stahl during a 1986 visit to the White House, “He didn’t seem to know who I was. He gave me a distant look with those milky eyes and shook my hand weakly.”

January 20, 1986, Kentucky and America celebrated the 1^st Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a Federal Holiday. Hundreds of Kentuckians packed the rotunda in the Capitol to hear speakers and artists pay tribute to King.

January 20, 1989, Chief Justice William Rehnquist swore in George H.W. Bush as the 41^st U.S. President in the 51^st inaugural ceremony. He laid the foundation for his son to lead us into the Middle East endless Wars.

January 20, 1991, Patrolman Gary Elmer Kidwell, Stanford Police Department, died while making a traffic stop. Officer Kidwell knew the suspect had several drinking-related arrests. As Patrolman Kidwell approached the car, the suspect shot him with a .357 caliber handgun.

January 20, 1992, Kentucky and America celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The nation observes the holiday on the 3^rd Monday of each January.

Wednesday, January 20, 1993, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist presided over William Jefferson. Clinton’s 1^st inauguration as the 42^nd president in the 52^nd inauguration ceremony. At 46 years, 154 days of age, Clinton became the 3^rd-youngest person to become Commander-in-Chief and the 1^st from the Baby Boomer generation. In between flying on the Lolita Express 26 times, Clinton nullified the Glass-Steagall Act.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native DeVante Parker, born in 1993.

January 20, 1994, Ron Hansen’s body appeared in a salt marsh near the San Mateo Bridge, not far from where he had left his car three months earlier. Hansen rode more than 3,600 winners, and his horses earned more than $40 million. He mostly rode in California, won five titles at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows, and led all riders in the Los Angeles County Fair meets for four consecutive years. He rode six winners on a card at Golden Gate in 1990, and the same year, Golden Gate ruled him off the track for five weeks during a race-fixing investigation. The California Horse Racing Board reinstated Hansen in time to ride in the 1990 Derby, finishing 4^th. For many, Hansen’s demise at age 33 remains a mystery today as it did when he disappeared in October 1993.

January 20, 1997, William Rehnquist swore in President William J. Clinton for the 2^nd time while the nation and Kentucky celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This was the 1^st inauguration streamed live on the internet.

Saturday, January 20, 2001, William Rehnquist swore in President George Walker Bush as our 43^rd president. Bush became the 1^st president to enter office with a criminal record, which included a DUI and cocaine possession. Capitol Police arrested four protesters during the 54^th inaugural ceremony after Bush’s limousine got hit by tennis balls and eggs. Thousands of demonstrators protested the outcome of the controversial election where he lost the popular vote to V.P. Al Gore.

January 20, 2003, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated in Kentucky. The day is also observed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

January 20, 2004, Kentucky lottery vendors in Guthrie and other vendors on the Tennessee border breathed a sigh of relief. The new Tennessee lottery showed little sign of siphoning off their regular customers.

January 20, 2005, an ailing William Rehnquist swore in his last president when George W. Bush took his 2^nd oath to remain # 43. The 55^th inaugural ceremony was the 1^st since the 9/11 attacks, with tighter than usual security.

On January 20, 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in his 1^st president when Barack Hussein Obama II became the 44^th president. The 56^th inauguration set a record attendance for any event held in the city. Based on combined attendance, television viewership, and internet traffic, it may have been one of the most observed events by a global audience. He would go on to prosecute more whistleblowers and journalists than any president.

January 20, 2009, the Kentucky Court of Appeals told Governor S. Beshear he could not seize online casinos’ internet domain names to keep them from operating in Kentucky. The court also directed the Franklin Circuit Court judge not to hold further hearings on the issue.

Sunday, January 20, 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in President Obama for a 2^nd time. The private ritual took place in the Blue Room. Five presidents have taken the Sunday private oath, beginning with Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877.

On January 20, 2014, Kentucky celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Both MLK and President Obama won Nobel Peace Prizes. King used peace to achieve his goals, while Obama created chaos by attacking eight countries and dropping more bombs than any previous president.

January 17, 2017, federal authorities arrested a Michigan man who distributed “bad” heroin in Kentucky. Jessamine County emergency crews responded to nine overdoses on January 9 and 10. One person did die days earlier. Meanwhile, a detective confirmed in court that a marijuana transaction caused the death of an East Jessamine High School student.

January 20, 2017, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Donald John Trump as the 45^th U.S. president. Trump used a pair of Bibles, his copy, and the Lincoln Bible. Americans became so desperate for hope and change we elected a game show host who conned young people. Trump settled three Trump University lawsuits brought in 2016 for $25 million after he took office.