March 26, 1866, with the formal duel well into decline and strict Kentucky laws forbidding the practice, Joseph Desha (32) and Alexander Kimbrough (27) met at the familiar dueling grounds on the Fayette/Scott border a little before 6:00 a.m., to settle their differences.  Both men were childhood classmates in Harrison County who never cared for each other.  Both came from respected families; both men were wounded Civil War Veterans, Desha, a Confederate, and Kimbrough, a Union man.

One of the pistols used once belonged to Henry Clay.  In the 1^st round, both men missed.  In the 2^nd round, Kimbrough fell to the ground bleeding from the hip; Desha narrowly missed a bullet as it went through his coat.  This was the last important affair of honor fought in Kentucky under the strict code of the duello.  Desha and his second traveled to Canada for several years until granted a pardon by an ex-Confederate, then-current Kentucky Governor James B. McCreary.  Kimbrough recovered at his parents’ Harrison County farm and eventually moved west.  He walked with a severe limp his entire life.  Famous Kentucky Duels by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 123

March 26, 1932, a group of Columbia University students from NYC set out on a bus ride to Bell and Hardin Counties to the scene of fatal clashes between coal miners and officers.  Kentucky’s “border patrol” stopped their 1^st attempt to enter the state.  Meanwhile, America hunted for the Lindbergh baby kidnappers.

March 26, 1932, members of the Iroquois Hunt Club held their semi-final Fox Hunt for the 1931-32 calendar year in the wet, cold rain in the Boonsboro section of Fayette County.

March 26, 1992, Henryk de Kwiatkowski arrived in his private plane at Bluegrass airport a half an hour before the “absolute auction” of Calumet Farm.  He offered $17 million for Calumet’s 760 acres and their horses and became the owner of America’s most famous horse farm.  The bidding started at $10 million and came down to Henryk and Issam Fares, who owned the adjacent farm about half the size of Calumet.  They bid against each other for about 20 minutes.

Kentucky Trivia:  Calumet was initially based in Libertyville, Illinois, as a Standardbred breeding operation.  This was at a time in American history when harness racing was the most popular type of horse racing.  In 1931, the farm’s trotter “Calumet Butler” won the most prestigious event of the day, the Hambletonian.

March 26, 1983, in the 1^st meeting between the schools in 24 years, Louisville defeated UK 80-68 in overtime to earn a trip to the Final Four.

Kentucky Trivia:  Between 1960 and 1982 Kentucky and Louisville did not play basketball.  In 1959 the two teams met in Evanston, IL, for the NCAA Mideast Regional Semifinals.  In 1983 they met in Knoxville for the NCAA Mideast Regional Finals.  Kentucky lost them both.

Thursday morning, March 26, 2020, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie hinted to local radio station 55 KRC Radio, he might object to a voice vote when the House voted on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  Later in the day, the Senate passed it, the largest economic recovery package in U.S. history.  The legislation provided direct payments to Americans, small businesses, corporations, cities, states, and other entities.  The next day, in dramatic fashion, CARES would become law.

March 26, 2020, the House prepared to vote on the CARES Act by voice the next day, Friday.  A voice vote meant members did not have to be present, they only needed to say “aye” or “nay.”  However, only one lawmaker needs to ask for a recorded vote, which requires members to be present.  Rep. Massie wanted to discuss where the money would go, “This stimulus should go straight to the people rather than being funneled through banks and corporations like this bill is doing.”  Many angry lawmakers rushed back to D.C.