Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

March 7, 1777, “the Natives attempted to cut off from the Fort a small party of men – a skirmish ensued.  We had four men wounded and some cattle killed.  We killed and scalped one Indian and wounded several,” from George Rogers Clark’s diary.

March 7, 1825, Henry Clay became the 9^th Secretary of State for President J.Q. Adams until March 3, 1829.

On March 7, 1789, the Kentucke Gazette printed its last edition.  The next edition on March 14 would be the Kentucky Gazette.  Also, on this day, the second “e” from Kentucke got replaced by a “y” by the Virginia General Assembly.

March 7, 1807, Deputy Sheriff John A. Gooch, Livingston County Sheriff’s Department, died by a drunk man.  The man who shot him fled the county and was never apprehended; however, locals did convict the shooter’s brother of manslaughter.

March 7, 1862, Woodford County native William Perkins Black fought bravely in the Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas and for his actions, he received the Medal of Honor in 1893.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Nellie Crawford, born in 1873, known as Madame Sul-Te-Wan on stage, in film, and on television.

March 7, 1882, the Howard-Turner Feud “began to start” in Harlan County when Wix Howard killed Bob Turner, son of Democratic county chairman George B. Turner, one day after a poker pot dispute cheating.  They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History by Alessandro Portelli; pg: 59

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Bloomfield native Stith Thompson, born in 1885 in Nelson County.  He is the “Thompson” of the Aarne–Thompson classification system, which indexes certain folktales by their structure and assigns them AT numbers.

March 7, 1893, Kenton County native John Griffin Carlisle became the 41^st Secretary of the Treasury.  President Cleveland appointed him in 1892, at the beginning of the President’s 2^nd term.  Unfortunately, the Panic of 1893 marred Carlisle’s tenure as Secretary and ended his political career.  The once-popular Carlisle became so disliked that he had to leave the stage in the middle of a speech in his hometown due to a barrage of rotten eggs.  John moved to New York City and died there at 75.  He finally rests in Covington’s Linden Grove Cemetery.

March 7, 1908, State University, Lexington (UK) played Central University (Centre) in the state championship game.  Central crushed State 29-10 in the Danville Rink in front of the largest crowd to ever witness a basketball game in Danville.

March 7, 1923, Town Marshal Otis Garnett Thornton, Taylorsville Police Department, succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained two days earlier while escorting a prisoner to jail.  On their way, they passed the man’s home; he broke free from the officers and ran inside.  He emerged from his home with a shotgun and shot Marshal Thornton.

On March 7, 1935, the Harlan County Sherriff appointed 235 deputies, leaving 182 on active duty after many resignations.  The announcement occurred on the 2^nd day of Governor Ruby Laffoon’s commission investigating disputes between the United Mine Workers and Harlan County coal operators.

March 7, 1940, by a 70-8 vote, the House passed a bill to regulate tobacco warehouse sales after eliminating a requirement that said they had to open on the 3^rd Monday in November.  The bill required warehouses to be licensed and bonded.

March 7, 1946, Lexington attorney and former state Sen. Rodman W. Keenon honored Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, Coach Adolph Rupp, and the Kentucky General Assembly members at a dinner at the Lafayette Hotel.  Mr. Keenon urged the state legislature to assist UK’s new athletics program.

March 7, 1951, Army CPL James N. Ramey from Lyon County died in the Korean War.

March 7, 1952, Army PFC Herbert King from Perry County died in the Korean War.

March 7, 1953, Army CPL Raymond L. Hatfield from Harlan County died in the Korean War.

March 7, 1965, the 1^st of three non-violent marches from Selma to Montgomery began.  The day is also known as “Bloody Sunday.”

March 7, 1968, Marine Corps George E. Sweatt from Bowling Green in Warren County died in the Vietnam War.

March 7, 1971, although Kentucky law prohibited Sunday sales of alcohol, restaurants in Kenton and Campbell Counties did it openly and successfully.

March 7, 1973, the U.S. announced that only 8,000 GIs were in Vietnam.  The height of the war saw 500,000 Americans overseas.  The war ended in April 1975.

March 7, 1975, the state court of appeals voted unanimously to permit a 1974 law requiring the surface owner’s consent for strip-mining to remain in effect.  At issue is a law that legislators passed to help end the abuses of the infamous Broad Form Deed Statue.

March 7, 1980, Coal Miner’s Daughter debuted in Nashville and soon became the No. 1 box office hit in the U.S.

March 7, 1985, ex-governor Julian Carroll stated he was not embarrassed when his cabinet secretary got convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud, however he felt the federal prosecutors should be.

March 7, 1992, after the last home game against Tennessee, Kentucky paid tribute to Cawood Ledford.

March 7, 2000, Kentucky legislators caved into corporate America, specifically the bottle industry, and killed Bottle Bill 54-41.  They sided with corporate profits over recycling; therefore, no manufacturing fees to fund cleanup or refundable deposits.

March 7, 2000, Pee Wee King passed over in Louisville.

March 7, 2004, police charged two Lexington men, a medical salesman and a UK senior, with trafficking in muscle-building steroids in a case that used search warrants from both coasts.  In 1991 steroids became illegal.

March 7, 2011, $3.46 per gallon, was the average price of Kentucky gasoline.

March 7, 2015, the Wildcats ended their regular season by beating Florida 67-50.  This team tied the 2012 Championship team for the most wins in men’s Division I history.  The Cats ended the regular season 31-0, followed by their 28^th SEC Tournament.  After that, the Wildcats would post a 38-0 record before losing in the final four to Wisconsin.

March 7, 2017, Kosair Charities and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame announced eight inductees into the Class of 2017 Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame: Mike Battaglia, Howard Beth, Rodger Bird, Rob Bromley, Swag Hartel, Kenny Klein, Dennis Lampley and Marion Miley.

March 7, 2018, teachers gathered in Frankfort for an unsuccessful protest when a Senate committee advanced a controversial plan to overhaul Kentucky’s ailing public pension systems.  Teachers in eight counties planned to protest at their schools the following day.

On March 7, 2021, President Biden marked Bloody Sunday with an executive order to advance civil rights.  UK looked into changing the name “Dead Week” as not to offend a particular group of people.  Prep Week, for finals, was an option.

March 7, 2022, one day after the Women’s basketball team won the SEC tournament, Coach Calipari sent a tweet.  Can you believe it?!? @UKCoachLZ wins an SEC championship in one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen…AND THEN SHE FINDS MY WATCH!! You’re the best, Coach Elzy!!!  Coach Cal made the trip to Nashville to watch the win and cheered so hard he lost his Rolex watch.