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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

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, 1862, after seizing control of Nashville, the Union forces of General Don Carlos Buell moved into far Western Kentucky and forced the evacuation of the strong confederate hold in Columbus.  It Happened Today in Kentucky History 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.

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 had been good friends, and Belle benefited financially and emotionally from the friendship over the years.  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 had ten points for high-scoring honors.

February 27, 1915, UofL hosted and defeated State University, Lexington (UK) 26-15.  Alpha Brumage coached the State Five, and UofL coached themselves.  The YMCA Arena in Louisville hosted.  Covington native Ralph Morgan scored nine points to led all players.

February 27, 1919, University of Kentucky (UK) defeated Tennessee 30-14 in the  Buell Armory GymnasiumFrom the sound of the whistle beginning play, the Wildcats started with a rush that could not be checked and continued to stay out in front during the entire contest.

February 27, 1924, Special Deputy Sheriff Thurman L. Jenkins, Trimble County Sheriff’s Office, succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained three days earlier while attempting to arrest 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, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Al “Scarface” Capone’s eleven-year sentence for income tax invasion.

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 Annual Academy Awards at the Los Angles 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).  They maintain a legislative reference room and working library to collect information for the General Assembly to perform their duties.  Localtonians follows them on Twitter.

February 27, 1950, Governor E.C. Clements and his legislative advisers agreed on an increased cigarette and beer taxes to fund Kentucky education. 

February 27, 1956, Lowell Allen Williams of Carlise County became the Poet Laureate for Kentucky.  It Happened Today in Kentucky History by Robert A. Powell pg: 24

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, but they were selling for $1.59 for ten lbs in local stores.  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 Lexington’s Merrick Inn, firing two bullets.  The former Lexington narcotics officer wore a bulletproof vest and walked away.  A year later, he died after he strapped too much cocaine to himself and jumped out of an airplane.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Storm Cat, foaled at Derry Meeting Farm in Pennsylvania in 1983.

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.  A 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 a top CDC official’s public coronavirus warning scared the stock markets, and threatened to fire her.  He publicly remarked that coronavirus cases in the U.S. should be “close to zero” in a couple of days.  Meanwhile, a CDC administrator told legislators he was displeased that people were buying mask because they have no effect on the virus.

The February 27, 2022, Ukraine’s problems, not U.S.A’s, dominated American news and headlines.  Meanwhile, half of the free 500 million coronavirus test went unused because people stopped asking for them.