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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

February 28, 1807, President Thomas Jefferson nominated Frankfort native Thomas Todd to the U.S. Supreme Court.  He served 18 years, nine months, and three days.

February 28, 1835, locals incorporated Frankfort.  The town likely received its name from a skirmish in 1780 when Native Americans attacked a group of settlers making salt on the Kentucky River.  Pioneer Stephen Frank died.  The locals called the crossing “Frank’s Ford,” later edited it to Frankfort.

February 28, 1838, Fayette County native Rev. Joseph J. Bullock, appointed by Governor J. Clark and the Senate, became Kentucky’s 1st Superintendent of Public Instruction.

February 28, 1848, the Western Kentucky Lunatic Asylum, Kentucky’s 2nd state-supported mental facility, opened in Hopkinsville.

February 28, 1854, an earthquake shook Paris, Lexington, Richmond, Barboursville, and other points; the 2nd earthquake of the month.

February 28, 1865, legislators consolidated Transylvania University with Kentucky University @ Harrodsburg, which John Bowman built among the ruins of Bacon College.  They began classes on Transy’s campus in October.  The Squire’s Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. pg: 52

February 28, 1867, Kentucky created Bell County from Knox County and Harlan County and named it in honor of Joshua Fry Bell, Kentucky legislator.  Pineville is the county seat.  Other localities include Middlesboro, Arjay, Beverly, Black Snake, Blackmont, Colmar, Cubage, Field, Fonde, Fourmile, Frakes, Harbell, Hutch, Ingram, Jaybel, Keenox, Kettle Island, Laurel Ford, Meldrum, Miracle, Mocking Bird Branch, Noetown, Oaks, Olcott, Ponza, Premier, Pruden, Red Oak, Rella, Stoney Fork, Stony Fork Junction, Sugar Run, Tejay, Timsley, Tuggleville, Varilla, Wallsend, and Wasioto.  The 112th county, Bell County, covers 361 square miles.

By David Benbennick

February 28, 1869, City Marshal John T. Thompson, Covington Police Department, died from a gunshot in front of the tollhouse of the Cincinnati and Covington Suspension Bridge three weeks earlier.  No one caught the murderer.

February 28, 1885, Harrodsburg native Beriah Magoffin, Kentucky’s 21st governor, passed over.

February 28, 1887, after four years of construction, Frankfort’s U.S. Post Office & Courthouse opened.  The post office moved in 1965, and the building housed the Paul Sawyier Public Library.

February 28, 1890, in feeble health, Louisville Times reporter Charles Kincaid fatally shot former Congressman William Taulbee inside the Frankfort Capitol.  The two men had a volatile history, which began in 1887 when Kincaid wrote one story implicating Taulbee in an extramarital affair.  Both remained in Frankfort politics and after many mean-spirited encounters, Kincaid snapped.

Kentucky Trivia:  The shooting caught the Nation’s attention.  “For the first time in the memory of man a gunshot was heard in the National Capitol today, and the marble steps of the staircase leading from the House floor to the restaurant below were stained with human blood.”  Taulbee died 12 days later.  A jury later acquitted Kincaid on the grounds of self-defense.

February 28, 1914, State University, Lexington (UK), coached by Alpha Brumage, hosted and defeated Marietta, winning 19-17 in Woodlawn Auditorium.  Ashland native Karl Zerfoss was the high-scorer with eight points.

February 28, 1918, UK, coached by S. Boles, defeated Cumberland College in Gatliff Gymnasium in Williamsburg, 42-21.  Kentucky enjoyed a 3-1 record inside Gatliff.  Maysville native Ben Marsh scored 14 points.

February 28, 1920, Coach George C. Buchheit’s Cats played Tennessee for the 4th time in the same season.  They finally won this game in Knoxville, 34-26.  Paris native Basil Hayden earned high-scoring honors with 18.

February 28, 1921, President-Elect Warren G. Harding stopped at the Southern Station in Lexington on his way to his inauguration.  The eight-minute visit started at 6:30 p.m. and included a short, upbeat statement from the caboose; Mrs. Harding stood beside him.

On February 28, 1924, the U.S. invaded Honduras.

February 28, 1933, Kentucky won the 1st Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament Championship by defeating Mississippi State, 46-27, in Atlanta.  Lawrenceburg (Anderson County) native Forest Sale scored 16 for Coach Rupp in his 4th year.

On February 28, 1956, the General Assembly approved “an act relating to educational benefits for the children of certain deceased veterans.”  The act provided that the children of Kentucky veterans killed while serving in the armed forces shall be granted a free education anywhere in the U.S.

On February 28, 1957, Johnny Longden became the 1st jockey to win 5,000 races.  In 1956, he became thoroughbred racing’s winningest rider, breaking the record of 4,870 wins by British jockey Sir Gordon Richards (1904-88).  Longden called “The Pumper” for his riding style, rode many of the day’s great thoroughbreds.  In 1943, he captured the U.S. Triple Crown aboard Count Fleet.  Longden’s sculptured bust, along with busts of fellow jockeys William Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay, has been placed in the paddock area at Santa Anita Racetrack.  

On February 28, 1958, a Floyd County school bus plunged into the Big Sandy River, taking 27 people’s lives.  Forty-eight elementary and high school students traveled to school in Prestonsburg after heavy rains and a thaw on a cold and cloudy morning.  On U.S. Route 23, the bus struck the rear of a wrecker truck.  It fell down an embankment into the swollen waters of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy and became submerged. 

Twenty-two children escaped the bus in the 1st few minutes as it became fully immersed in the raging floodstage waters.  However, 26 other children and the bus driver drowned.  Navy divers found the bus and removed it from the river 53 hours later.  The Sandy River and Carrollton (’88) bus crashes both took 27 lives.  In both crashes, the victims were all thought to have survived the initial collisions. 

February 28, 1967, Army SP4 Charles Combs from Hazard, Marine Corps CPL Donatus J. Geilen from Covington, Army CPL Ralph D. McNew from Lily in Laurel County, died in the Vietnam War.

February 28, 1968, Marine Corps CPL Charles A. Smith from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

February 28, 1970, Dan Issel became the 1st UK player to score 2,000 career points as the #1 Wildcats avenged their only loss of the season beating Vanderbilt 90-86.

February 28, 1983, millions gathered around their television sets to watch the last episode of M.A.S.H.  “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” the series finale, lasted 2½-hours on CBS, ending the series’ original run.

February 28, 1986, Governor M.L. Collins signed a final agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation, pledging the Commonwealth would spend $35 million to buy and improve the 1,600-acre site in Scott County and then turn it over to the Japanese Automaker.

On February 28, 1991, the violent invasion of Iraq ended.  The 30-year Middle East wars had just begun.  President George. H. W. Bush, the ex-leader of the CIA, and Pentagon Chief Dick Cheney helped lay the foundation for endless wars.  There are numerous names the government and legacy media tagged the 30-week military invasion, and they changed over time.  Wikipedia says August 2, 1990, through February 28, 1991, started as the “Gulf War” and is now known as the “First Iraqi War.”  The source also calls the “conflict” the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, or Iraq War.

February 28, 2001, the UK basketball program retired the jerseys of Lexington native Burgess Carey #56 and Kenny Walker #34 during the Auburn game at Rupp Arena on Senior Game Day.  Saul Smith scored two points, the only senior.

February 28, 2005, America’s life expectancy reached an all-time high, 77.6 years.  Women had an expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men.  In 2019, Kentucky’s life expectancy ranked 45th at 75.8 years.

February 28, 2013, Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo stated Ashley Judd would be a formidable candidate to run against Senator M. McConnell.

February 28, 2013, Coach Matthew Mitchell (2007-13) tied Terry Hall (1980-87) to be the all-time winningest coach for the UK women’s basketball program.  The win over Ole Miss also guaranteed a 1st round bye in the SEC tournament.

On February 28, 2018, Attorney General A. Beshear told lawmakers that a proposal to overhaul Kentucky’s ailing public pension systems contained “multiple legal violations.”  Steve and Andy wanted to expand gambling instead.

Thursday, February 28, 2019, Kentucky teachers returned to class after a “sick out.”  They traveled to Frankfort to protest a bill that restructured the Teachers’ Retirement System a day earlier.  They returned to work disappointed after the House voted along party lines to go forward with the change.

On February 28, 2020, the 1st U.S. death associated with coronavirus occurred.  However, a few months later, officials declared it happened on February 6—the first “misunderstanding” of many regarding the flu strain.  Meanwhile, the World Health Organization advised hand hygiene, not face masks, to prevent the spread.

February 28, 2020, Jackson native Sturgill Simpson and Paintsville native Tyler Childers performed at Rupp Arena.

February 28, 2021, for the 7th straight week, Kentucky reported a declining number of new coronavirus cases.  “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the direction we are headed is good, but we can’t quit till the job is done.” Governor A. Beshear.  The question arises, “When is the job done in an endemic virus?

February 28, 2021, flood waters creeped into Clay City, a Red River Community, during a 4 to 50-year flood while rescuers still dug for residents from a Florida Condominium five days after it collapsed.

February 28, 2022, in a national poll, Americans stated they were less worried about the coronavirus as the omicron variant spread.  Meanwhile, the CDC relaxed their mask guidelines.

February 28, 2022, AppHarvest recorded a $166 million loss in 2021.  They harvested their 1st tomatoes in January 2021.  In 2022 they planned to open a 15-acre Berea salad green facility, 60-acre Richmond tomato facility, and a 30-acre Somerset berry facility.  They filed for bankruptcy in August 2023.

A Tweet from from Andy Beshear and Thomas Massie for February 28, 2023.

On February 28, 2024, U.S. Senate Republican leader and Alabama native M. McConnell stepped down from his leadership role, leaving a power vacuum atop the party he has piloted for nearly 17 years, more than any other party leader in the chamber’s history.  “I turned 82 last week.  The end of my contributions are closer than I prefer.  Father Time remains undefeated.  It’s time for the next generation of leadership,” his voice broke with emotion.  Close to a year later, he finally told everyone he would not run again.