On February 27, 1847, the General Assembly passed an act to protect Morse’s Magnetic Telegraph lines on Kentucky roads and across any public waters . In addition, the act imposed heavy penalties for tampering. Samuel Morse sent the 1st telegraphic message in May 1844, and Kentucky sent its 1st message in March 1848.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to the twice-widowed John J. Crittenden and twice-widowed Elizabeth Moss, who wed in 1853. Moss was Crittenden’s wife until his death.
February 27, 1860, President A. Lincoln delivered the Cooper Union Speech . Many historians felt the speech, the greatest of his political career, won him the Republican nomination and, remarkably, the presidency. Lincoln elaborated his views on slavery by affirming it should not be in the western territories. He claimed that the Founding Fathers would have agreed.
February 27, 1862, after seizing control of Nashville, the Union forces of General Don Carlos Buell moved into far Western Kentucky and pushed out the strong confederate hold in Columbus. The blue uniforms had just won the Battle of Fort Donelsonon on the KY/TN border. It Happened in Kentucky by Robert A. Powell, pg: 24.
February 27, 1888, Hickman County lynched Samuel Price, a white male and Bill Reams, a black male , for murder.
On February 27, 1898, William M. Singerly, a wealthy banker in Philadelphia, passed away . Belle Brezing read the news the next day in the Lexington Herald and must have felt great sorrow. The two were good friends, and Belle benefited financially and emotionally from the friendship. Madam Belle Brezing by Buddy Thompson pg: 89
February 27, 1911, State University, Lexington (UK), coached by Harold J. Iddings, defeated Kentucky University (Transy) 22-19. K.U. hosted in the Kentucky University Gymnasium. Bagdad native W. C. Harrison scored ten for State.
February 27, 1915, UofL hosted and defeated State University, Lexington (UK) 26-15 . Alpha Brumage coached the State Five. UofL coached themselves. The YMCA Arena in Louisville hosted. Covington native Ralph Morgan scored nine for State.
February 27, 1919, UK defeated UT 30-14 in the Buell Armory Gymnasium . The Lexington Herald , “Kentucky fans were delighted to see their team outplaying the visitors in any part of the floor and in every part of the game. Every Wildcat was in top form and the old jinx that has been pushing Wildcat balls out of the basket was not in attendance.” Henderson native Anthony Dishman (UK) earned top scoring honors with 10.
February 27, 1924, Special Deputy Sheriff Thurman L. Jenkins, Trimble County Sheriff’s Office , succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained three days earlier while arresting a man who had just assaulted another deputy.
February 27, 1925, Coach Clarence Applegran’s quartet of blue-clad youths (UK) defeated Mississippi 31-26 in the 1st round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Atlanta, GA . Lovell Underwood from Lexington had a game-high nine points. UK would lose in the 2nd round.
February 27, 1932, “Scarface” Al Capone’s eleven-year sentence for income tax invasion was upheld by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
February 27, 1933, Governor R. Laffoon issued a proclamation extending the deadline to pay property taxes for one month.
February 27, 1935, Paducah’s Irvin S. Cobb hosted the 7th Academy Awards at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel. It happened One Night swept the top five Oscars.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Possum Trot native Robert Howard Grubbs , born in 1942. Robert received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry as a co-recipient for his work on olefin metathesis. Possum Trot is in Marshall County.
On February 27, 1948, the General Assembly created the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) . The body maintains a legislative reference room and working library to collect information for the General Assembly to perform their duties. They can be followed on Twitter/X.
On February 27, 1950, Governor E.C. Clements and his legislative advisers agreed to increase cigarette and beer taxes to fund Kentucky education.
On February 27, 1951, the U.S. added the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution when the requisite 36 of 48 states ratified it (Alaska nor Hawaii not yet states). Presidents would only be able to serve up to two consecutive terms. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment/prohibition.
February 27, 1956, Lowell Allen Williams, 49, of Carlisle County, became the Poet Laureate for Kentucky . He published his 1st poem at 17, and at 54, he released Across the Wide, Green Valley: Poems of America . In between, he wrote Home is My Kentucky , published in 1956.
February 27-28, 1964, the 1st Governor’s Conference on Forestry occurred . Forest Supervisor Bob Collins represented the Cumberland National Forest and submitted a paper entitled, The Relation of Forest Management to the Wildlife Resource. The report emphasized the wildlife resource potential for recreation and economic return through sound silviculture.
February 27, 1967, Army SP4 George Rowland, Jr. from Hustonville in Lincoln County died in the Vietnam War.
February 27, 1970, Army SP4 Donald Hall from Printer in Floyd County died in the Vietnam War.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Harrodsburg native Jason Adam Dunn, born in 1973. The EKU Colonel scored 11 TDs in the NFL.
February 27, 1975, hungry Central Kentuckians lined up in the cold to buy cheap cheese and potatoes from the National Famers Organization . Potatoes sold for $3.00 per 50 lb bag, in stores they went for $1.59 for ten lbs. Cheese sold for $1.25 a pound, and they moved over 40,000 lbs.
February 27, 1982, at 11:30 p.m., someone sniped Andrew C. Thornton II at the Merrick Inn, firing two bullets. The former Lexington narcotics officer wore a bulletproof vest and walked away. A year later his parachute failed to open and he died because too many pounds of cocaine were strapped to his body.
February 27, 1993, Jamal Mashburn, with his mother in the audience, had an emotional good-bye to Rupp Arena before beating Auburn 80-78.
February 27, 2003, almost 5,000 troops from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell and 140 soldiers from Fort Knox left for the Middle East , a move that one analyst called a sign that war was imminent.
February 27, 2016, a Keeneland graduate exacta won Gulfstream Park’s GII $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes . The Kentucky bred won $245,5200.
February 27, 2019, while students told Frankfort lawmakers about vaping in schools , other lawmakers pushed a bill allowing people to carry guns without a permit, despite the pleas of many parents.
February 27, 2020, President D. Trump complained about a top CDC official’s public coronavirus warning . The President claimed she scared the stock markets and threatened to fire her. He then predicted that U.S. coronavirus cases should be “close to zero” in a couple of days. Meanwhile, a CDC administrator told legislators he was displeased that people were buying masks because they “do not affect the virus.”
On February 27, 2022, legacy media focused on America’s proxy war on Russia’s border. Meanwhile, half of the free, 500 million coronavirus tests went unused because people stopped asking for them. By 2022 people knew the COVID-19 flu strain would be endemic.
