February 7, 1865, at the end of the war, the Confederate Army named Lexington native John C. Breckinridge its Secretary of War . Following Appomattox, fearing arrest, Breckinridge fled southward to Cuba.
February 7, 1878, suffragist and political activist Mary Jane Warfield Clay obtained a divorce from abolitionist and politician Cassius Marcellus Clay . After 45 years of marriage, Mary Jane claimed abandonment. The agreement stipulated she could not re-marry as long as Cassius lived.
February 7, 1883, Belle Brezing received a pardon from Governor Luke Blackburn for “keeping a bawdy house” only two months after the charge . Madame Belle by Maryjean wall pg: 57
February 7, 1907, Wayne County native Preston Hopkins Leslie, Kentucky’s 26th governor, and Montana’s 9th territorial governor, died.
February 7, 1912, the state legislature appropriated $75,000 to buy land and construct a new governor’s mansion. The act specified the new manor should be “constructed, trimmed, and finished with native stone produced from quarries in Kentucky.” The home opened in 1914.
February 7, 1914, State University, Lexington (UK) hosted and defeated University of Louisville 22-17 in the Buell Armory Auditorium . High-scoring honors went to Inez native R. C. Preston with 12 points.
February 7, 1918, University of Kentucky (UK) broke a two-year losing streak against Tennessee , defeating the Vols 33-26 at home in Buell Armory Gymnasium. Lexington High grad, H.C. Thomas, earned top-scoring honors with 13. From the Lexington Herald , “Wildcats and Volunteers, rivals as old as the unpaid bills of habitually broke good fellows….”
February 7, 1928, Constable Isaac “Bud” Isaacs, Estill County Constable’s Office , died near Blue Banks arresting a suspect who failed to appear in court. The main suspect never went on trial court.
February 7, 1933, the U.S. Senate experienced a wild session when Kentucky Senator M.M. Logan undertook a futile defense of David Berry . David, the Sergeant-at-Arms, enraged Congress by writing a magazine article stating some Senators sold their votes. Peers, for 3 ½ hours, gave angry speeches before they voted 53-15 to fire the whistleblower. Senator Barkley, Kentucky’s other Senator, voted to fire him.
February 7, 1944, Lawrenceburg native Anna Mac Clarke led the 1st Women’s Army Corps (WAC) unit at Douglas Army Air Field in Arizona . The segregated base was one of only four in the U.S. to have African-American soldiers and WAC. She became the 1st African American woman to be a commanding officer of an otherwise all-white regiment. Anna died the same year at age 24.
February 7, 1961, Muhammad Ali (4-0) fought Jimmy Robinson (1-2-0) in Miami Beach Convention Hall . Muhammad was supposed to fight Willie Guelat on the undercard of the light-heavyweight title fight between Harold Johnson and Jesse Bowdry, but Guelat failed to show up. Aki knocked out Guelat’s replacement, Robinson, in 94 seconds.
February 7, 1967, Army SSG Bobby L. Hayes from Bowling Green in Warren County and Army SP4 Dwight D. Jones from Morehead in Rowan County died in the Vietnam War.
February 7, 1968, Marine Corps LCPL Samuel T. Marshall, Jr. from Covington in Kenton County died in the Vietnam War.
February 7, 1969, Navy SN James E. Pierce from Covington died in the Vietnam War.
February 7, 1981, Louisville native Greg Page won the vacant USBA Heavyweight title with a 7th round TKO of Stan Ward.
February 7, 1993, La Grange native Jack Retherford Starkey, better known as Buddy Pepper, who played music with the Hollywood elite, died.
February 7, 2007, UofL named Freedom Hall’s basketball court the “Denny Crum Court.” The KFC Yum! Center retained the name “Denny Crum Court” when the Cardinals moved to the new arena in 2010.
February 7, 2010, conservationists and bird-watchers kept a close eye on eight endangered wild whooping cranes that made Jefferson County their temporary home.
February 7, 2012, the Crabb Family, from Beaver Dam, released a new album, Together Again .
On February 7, 2013, Louisville opened the Big Four Bridge for pedestrian and bicycle traffic . The Big Four Bridge is a six-span former railroad truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The original bridge opened in 1895, updated in 1929, taken out of rail service in 1968, and then converted to use for bicycles and pedestrians.
February 7, 2019, a lawsuit filed in Lexington claimed veterinarians at a prominent practice falsified dates on x-ray images of horses sold at the Keeneland for more than a decade.
February 7, 2021, for the 4th week in a row, Kentucky reported a decrease in new coronavirus cases . It was the 1st time since the pandemic began that there were four straight weeks with a reduction in new positive cases. The declining rate coupled with 1.3 million vaccinations a day in the U.S. helped relieve some tension.
February 7, 2022, international efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis were underway ; however, peace was never an option, U.S. defense contractors made sure of that. Meanwhile, prison job openings cost Kentucky millions in overtime pay. Starting pay for new guards averaged $20,000 annually.
February 7, 2023, legislators returned to Frankfort after a 4-week break . The Lawmakers wanted more parents’ rights to choose their children’s education path while criticizing the education commissioner’s woke ideology. Other high-priority issues included:
The teacher shortage. The troubled juvenile justice system. Untaxed gambling machines in restaurants. Laws to legalize marijuana and sports betting.