On March 9, 1828, Maysville felt three earthquakes between midnight and two in the morning, the 2nd strongest quake since 1812.
March 9, 1859, Breckinridge County native Joseph Holt became the 18th Postmaster General. Holt worked for Presidents Buchanan and Lincoln. His most famous role came in the Lincoln assassination trials.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Thomas Clay McDowell, born in 1866 on Henry Clay’s Ashland estate. Henry Clay’s great-grandson, Thomas, bred, owned, and trained the 1902 Kentucky Derby winner, Alan-A-dale.
By UnknownMarch 9, 1869, John C. Breckinridge, America’s youngest V.P., returned home to Lexington after eight years of exile. While avoiding capture, Breckinridge toured the world, even meeting with Pope Pius IX in Rome. From Rome, he waited in Canada for assurance President Johnson would issue him a pardon. He resided in Lexington for the rest of his life.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Covington native Haven Gillespie and Corene Parker, who wed in 1909. He had $15 in his pocket and she had just $1 given to her by her mother. Gillespie soon landed a job as a typesetter for the Cincinnati Times-Star, ultimately maintaining his membership in the International Typographic Union until his death.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Hickman native Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr., born in 1916. The Rhodes Scholar, became president of Indiana University and the University of West Virginia. In between, he served as the 6th U.S. Secretary of the Army.
March 9, 1918, Centre defeated UK 24-12 in Louisville’s St. Xavier Gymnasium for the State Championship game.
March 9, 1930, Transylvania College boasted that 26 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and China represented the student body, including its College of the Bible. The school year included 416 students. In 2021, 970 students went to Transy.
March 9, 1945, four Women’s Army Corps (WAC) members went on strike against the U.S. Army for better work assignments for African American WACs at a hospital. The military court-martialed them ten days later and sentenced them to one year of hard labor, including Anna B. Collins from Richmond. The Black press first covered the strike and conviction. The legacy media then picked it up to be one of the most publicized military trials during World War II.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Daniel John “Danny” Sullivan III, born in 1950. He earned 17 wins in the CART Indy Car World Series, including the 1985 Indianapolis 500.
March 9, 1951, Army MSG Robert E. Conant from Pulaski County, Army MSG John Fultz from Rowan County and Army CPL Carlis E. Johnson from Warren County, all died in the Korean War.
March 9, 1961, two-hundred young African-American protestors took to the Louisville streets for a 2nd time to peacefully march and sing about racial integration. The Courier-Journal headline read: Negroes March and Sing.
On March 9, 1962, Muhammad Ali received an A-1 classification from the Army, a group he did not want to join.
March 9, 1965, in Selma, AL., Dr. M.L. King told President Johnson he had no right to ask black demonstrators to halt their planned march to Montgomery, AL. Simultaneously, Selma recovered from an intense 2,500-participant right-to-vote march that turned violent the day before.
March 9, 1967, Army PFC Ronnie R. Pittman from Calvin in Bell County died in the Vietnam War.
March 9, 1969, Army PFC Arthur D. Lindsey from Paducah in McCracken County and Army SP4 Leon Beard from Marion in Crittenden County, both died in the Vietnam War.
March 9, 1970, about 100 strip mine opponents held what they called the Capitol’s 1st “environmental demonstration.” Ten speakers railed the troops.
March 9, 1971, Muhammad Ali, a day after he lost the Heavyweight Crown to Frazier, realized that he could only keep $375,000 from his $2.5 million paycheck; Uncle Sam had to be paid. He also learned that he had a hematoma of the masseter muscle, the muscle that lets one chew.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Kentucky bred John Henry, born in 1975. John Callaway named the yearling after he bought him for $1,100 at the Keeneland January Mixed Sale.
March 9, 1981, six thousand miners marched on Washington D.C. streets over changes to the black-lung fund benefits program. Locals from Mortons Gap in Hopkins County took buses to the nation’s capital to show their support.
March 9, 1986, while 20,000 people applied for 3,000 jobs at the Toyota Georgetown plant, divers found the space shuttle Challenger’s crew compartment 40 days after the vessel exploded over the Atlantic Ocean.
March 9, 1987, a Lexington jury found a 23 and 28-year-old, both female, guilty of murdering five people. Locals found the victims between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. within five miles of each other. Originally, the 23-year-old received a death sentence; however, since 1991, she has served life without parole.
On March 9, 1992, Alliant Health System cut 275 jobs from its three Louisville-based hospitals to save $14 million. The corporation said it had two choices: cut jobs or raise prices. Time proved that they did both.
March 9, 2001, Louisville native Greg Page fought Dale Crowe at Peel’s Palace in Erlanger for $1,500. Page appeared to be holding his own until the tenth round. Crowe said, “The timekeeper smacked the mat with his hand toward the end of the fight to indicate ten seconds remaining, and that’s when I went after Greg with one last flurry.” Crowe hit Page with a flush left to the chin and then pushed him back. Page fell against the ropes, slid down, and the referee counted to ten.
March 9, 2004, the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “Americans’ sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits were poised to takeover cigarette smoking as the nation’s leading cause of preventable deaths.”
March 9, 2007, about 150 people gathered at the Kentucky Horse Park to sing Happy Birthday to 32-year-old John Henry. The superstar would pass in October. As a colt, he had a habit of tearing steel water, feeding buckets off stall walls, and stomping them flat.
March 9, 2011, Governor S. Beshear announced his intentions to call a Special Session to deal with the state’s Medicaid budget shortfall, blaming Senate President David Williams for the impasse.
On March 9, 2016, Humana reported that president and chief executive Bruce Broussard earned $10.3 million in 2015, a slight boost from his 2014 salary of $10.1 million. There is no word if he donated to any Americans who went bankrupt after they got sick.
March 9, 2017, Muhammad Ali’s son and 2nd wife told members of Congress to help end racial and religious profiling. The detainment of Muhammad Ali, Jr. and Khalilah Camacho-Ali coming back into the U.S. from Jamaica a month earlier sparked the conversation.
March 9, 2019, Aqueduct ran their GIII $300,900 Gotham Stakes for three-year-olds. A Kentucky bred takes top prize.
On March 9, 2021, Kentucky’s coronavirus positivity rate fell below 4% for the 1st time since September 2020. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth got excited about the $5 billion from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package expected to pass within days.
On March 9, 2022, Governor A. Beshear signed legislation that allowed student-athletes to make money by letting businesses use their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Last year, Andy became the 1st governor to sign an executive order allowing such compensation.
Thursday, March 9, 2023, Mitch, 81, fell, hit his head, received a concussion, and went to the hospital for an overnight stay. He fell at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington, DC, formerly the Trump International Hotel. The Alabama native was doing what he does best: collecting money from Super PACs.