TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

January 21, 2024January 21, 2024

January 21, 1819, the Kentucky General Assembly approved Centre College.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Roscoe Tarleton Goose, born in 1891. Roscoe rode Donerail to victory in the 1913 Kentucky Derby. He is in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.

January 21, 1894, Whitley County lynched M.G. Gamble, a black male, for alleged rape. One source recorded 135 Kentucky lynchings from 1882 to 1921.

January 21, 1901, Garrard County native Mrs. Carrie Nation smashed two saloons in Wichita; during the next three months, she surprised saloonkeepers in various Kansas towns, leaving a trail of ruined barrooms.

January 21, 1908, State University (UK) met Kentucky University (Transy) for the 1^st time in the season. UK won 20-15 in State College Gymnasium. They played again two weeks later and again the KU Redbirds lost by the same score.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Paris native Edward Fretwell Prichard Jr., born in 1915. From a well-connected political family, the Kentucky press touted him as a “boy wonder.” The nation’s capital banned him because he committed a political crime at his Bourbon County courthouse in a 1948 general election.

January 21, 1922, University of Kentucky (UK), coached by George C. Buchheit, hosted Louisville, coached by John O’Rourke, in the Buell Armory Gymnasium. Kentucky won their 100^th game 29-22.

January 21, 1926, UK hosted Centre in Alumni Gymnasium winning 45-25. From the Courier-Journal post-game report, “Playing listlessly but outclassing their opponents, the UK basketball team tonight easily defeated Centre College’s quintette, 45 to 25. Centre was no match for the smoothly functioning Wildcat five, which while far off on its basket-shooting, never was pushed after the first quarter of the contest.”

January 21, 1935, the 23^rd annual Farm and Home Convention opened at UK’s Agriculture Experiment Station. The exhibits and talks focused on general farmers, AAA cooperators, homemakers, rural pastors, dairy farmers, beekeepers, and veterinarians.

January 21, 1948, Senator William Blanton from Paris introduced a bill to create a 1^st-class medical school at the University of Kentucky. The University of Louisville already had a medical college established.

January 21, 1950, Cliff Hagan scored 27 points to lead defending state champion Owensboro to a 58-39 victory over Manual in Louisville in a regular season game.

Monday, January 21, 1957, approximately 350 Kentuckians railed to Washington D.C. to watch Chief Justice Earl Warren swear in “Ike” Eisenhower for his 2^nd term to remain the 34^th president. He took a private oath the day before. Many in the group found time to visit the two Kentucky senators, Cooper and Morton. Most came back on the train that night after the 43^rd inaugural ceremony.

January 21, 1961, Rupp’s Wildcats crushed Tenessee 83-54 in Memorial Coliseum. Four Mile native Larry Pursiful was the high scorer with 20 points. Four Mile resides in Bell County.

January 21, 1965, Peter, Paul and Mary earned their 4^th straight gold Albulm, In Concert. Louisville native Mary Travers must have been ecstatic.

January 21, 1968, Marine Corps LCPL Thomas H. Retschulte from Covington died in the Vietnam War.

January 21, 1972, U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper, 71, and becoming increasingly deaf, announced to the Kentucky Press Association he would not seek re-election. He had served longer in that body than any other Kentuckian except Alben Barkley. Before his retirement, he tried one more time to end the Vietnam War.

January 21, 1976, Trooper William Francis Pickard, Kentucky State Police, died from a gunshot while assisting the Hodgenville Police Department in serving a warrant.

January 21, 1978, Louisville native William Brent Girdler, 30, a movie director, died in a helicopter crash in the Philippines while scouting for movie locations. His films grossed over $60 million.

January 21, 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court finally decided in favor of Ohio on a long disputed boundary claim. “The boundary between Ohio and Kentucky is the low-water mark on the northerly side of the Ohio River as it existed in 1792 when Kentucky was admitted to the Union, not the current low-water mark on the northerly side of the river.”

January 21, 1985, Berea College student John Harder ended his 15-day 150-mile hike on Sheltowee Trace Trail at Peter’s Mountain in McCreary County. He studied human isolation in the cold; he cried on his last day hiking as it became almost unbearable.

On Monday, January 21, 1985, America publicly celebrated President Reagan’s 2^nd inauguration. However, he canceled the parade the night before after his private swearing-in by Warren E. Burger. Instead, the president moved it to the Capitol rotunda, saying record-cold temperatures “would pose significant risks to the well-being” of participants and spectators. All the gala events took place that evening.

January 21, 1991, the war in the Persian Gulf clouded Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Kentucky celebrated MLK Day as a state holiday where government employees had the day off with pay for the 1^st time.

January 21, 1992, Wallace Wilkinson attended his 1^st board meeting as a UK Trustee. He appointed himself to the board in his final days as governor. Wilkinson got into a verbal scuffle with a UK professor. Simultaneously, Governor B. Jones got busy drafting a bill to purge all university governing boards for a clean start.

January 21, 1998, parents claimed that Clay County High School Coach Bobby Keith bit their son during a game and filed charges. The winningest boys’ high school basketball coach in Kentucky denied the charges. After a day-long investigation, the principal stated if it did happen; it was accidental.

On January 21, 1999, Churchill Downs bought Calder Race Course for $86 million to address the declining on-track attendance and casinos. Churchill President Tome Meeker, “If you’re not convinced the thoroughbred industry is on the uptake, you ought to step off the bus right now. There is a new sense of energy in every corner of racing. Instead of doomsday talk, there is a lot of excitement in the industry and in our customer base.”

On January 21, 1999, when it seemed that one of Kentucky’s finest authors had come home for good, he decided to leave again. Rowan County’s Chris Offutt, 40, a “professional wanderer,” received an offer he couldn’t refuse: the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop for the University of Iowa.

January 21, 2002, Kentuckians celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “What set this year apart,” said James H. Lee, chair of the 14^th annual Unity Breakfast, “is that more Hispanics, Asians, Arab Americans, and people from other cultures and races marched alongside each other in Lexington’s Freedom March.”

January 21, 2003, the federal Government announced that Hispanics surpassed blacks as the largest minority group in the U.S.

January 21, 2008, America celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, while the 37^th annual Eclipse Awards occurred at night. Members voted Curlin the 2007 Horse of the Year and the Champion 3-Year-Old Male. The votes declared Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs Champion Breeder for the 4^th year in a row and 5^th overall. Todd Pletcher won the Trainer award, also for the 4^th year in a row.

On January 21, 2010, Governor Steven L. Beshear took the witness stand for 90 minutes in the bid-rigging trial of road contractor Leonard Lawson and former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert. The testimony included the governor’s phone call to Mr. Lawson.

Monday, January 21, 2013, President Obama took his 2^nd oath for the 2^nd time for the 57^th public ceremony at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.

January 21, 2017, a Keeneland graduate won Santa Anita’s GII $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes for fillies and mares four-year-olds and upward.

January 21, 2017, Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL. hosted the 46^th annual Eclipse Awards. Voters named California Chrome Horse of the Year and was the unanimous choice for Champion Older Male. This gave him a total of four Eclipse titles along with Champion 3-year-old Male and Horse of the Year in 2014.

January 21, 2019, Kentuckians celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In Lexington, Freedom Marchers braved 13-degree weather to show their respect for the civil rights leader.

January 21, 2020, Chief Justice Roberts gaveled open President Trump’s 1^st impeachment trial. Senator McConnell eased parliamentary rules at the last minute, giving Democrats more time to call witnesses, infuriating some members of the GOP, and exposing a deep rift.

January 21, 2021, Kentucky reported the deadliest day of coronavirus deaths, with 58 and 3,301 total. Dr. A. Fauci stated in his 1^st press conference under Biden that vaccines “appeared effective against the United Kingdom variant, and if enough people get the shot, we could reach herd immunity by fall.”

On January 21, 2021, the new Biden administration promised a “full-scale wartime effort” on the virus and ordered new requirements for masks, a national testing board, and quarantines for international travelers. Meanwhile, in a bizarre twist, Biden kept President Trump’s F.B.I. Director.

January 21, 2022, the U.S. and Russia held meetings in Switzerland over Ukraine to no avail. The U.S./Ukraine/Russia War began a month later. Meanwhile, the governor addressed the state’s record number of positive coronavirus cases while some citizens realized the virus would not be “defeated” but instead be endemic. The national press continued to call it a pandemic.

January 21, 2023, a Kentucky State Police (KSP) captain and mother filed a discrimination lawsuit against KSP after being passed over for multiple promotions because higher-ups didn’t want to take her away from her family. In 2017, Sandlin became the Hazard post’s 1^st-ever female commander and spent much of her career at Post 9 in Pikeville. Within the KSP, only five women have ever risen above the rank of captain. As of March 2023, the suit was still in court.