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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

April 2, 1775, Fort Boonesborough begun and foundations of Transylvania Colony laid.  Kentucky in Retrospect 1792-1967 by Kentucky Historical Society. pg: 9

April 2, 1780, Joice Craig Falconer, with her family and others, moved from the Lexington Fort to establish Francis McConnell’s Station only 1 1/4 miles away.  Lexington, 1779 Pioneer Kentucky As Described by Early Settlers by Bettye Lee Martin pg: 24

April 2, 1780, Native Americans killed a man named “White.”  Attacks became so prevalent in Central Kentucky that Levi Todd abandoned his station for the Lexington Fort.  Lexington, 1779 Pioneer Kentucky As Described by Early Settlers by Bettye Lee Martin pg: 27

April 2, 1792, knowing that Kentucky would soon be a Union state, delegates to the 10th statehood convention convened in Danville.  They met until April 18 to draft a constitution that included a twenty-six-point bill of rights.  There is little or no documentation describing the actual process of adding these sections or identifying their origins.  Without question, however, George Nicholas was the predominant drafter.

April 2, 1855, Lexington, running against time, ran four miles in 7.19:75, bettering Lecomte’s 7.23:25.  It was as if Lexington had been stewing over his loss a year before and was determined to reclaim his supremacy; he annihilated the record.  Now the rubber match with Lecomte would happen.  Lexington’s race against time on this day came a year after the two battled twice in April of 1854, the 1st one being The Great States Post Stakes.  All the great state rivalry races occurred at the Metairie Course in LA.

April 2, 1865, Bracken County native SGT Francis M. McMillen captured a Confederate flag and received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Petersburg.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Allen County native Mordecai Fowler Ham, Jr., born in 1877.  The famous revival preacher converted Billy Graham in November 1934 in North Carolina.

April 2, 1879, Lexington held a grand celebration marking 100 years of community.  Locals ushered in the day with a 100-gun salute from brass six-pounders belonging to the volunteer artillery company.  Citizens dressed as Natives, pioneers, soldiers, and historical figures.  Downtown Lexington had never been so crowded.  The Squires Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. Pg: 59

April 2, 1905, jockey Otto Wonderly died in a hospital due to head injuries sustained in a racing accident at Montgomery Park Racetrack in Memphis, TN.  A highlight of Wonderly’s career came on June 14, 1902, at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Brooklyn, NY, when he won the most prestigious race in the U.S. for horses of all ages.  Wonderly captured the famous Suburban Handicap aboard Gold Heels in record time, on an off track, with 50,000 spectators.

April 2, 1907, Chief of Police Jon C. Tarpy, Winchester Police Department, succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained one week earlier when he and several officers attempted to arrest a burglar.  

April 2, 1921, Governor E.P. Morrow appealed to Kentuckians to help purchase My Old Home Kentucky Home.  The Courier-Journal printed the “proclamation” or “letter” on their front page.  Supporters who lived outside of Kentucky already paid the $10,000 option price.  The governor tried to raise the remaining $60,000 needed.

April 2, 1923, Deputy Sheriff William H. Monhollon, Whitley County Sheriff’s Office, died while attempting to collect taxes.  Governor Fields pardoned the murderer in 1927.

On April 2, 1933, Constable Beverly “Bev” Scott, Floyd County Constable’s Office, died from a gunshot while investigating three men drinking and shooting guns in Lackey.  

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Scottsville native Jim McDaniels born in 1948, in Allen County.

April 2, 1966, Army CPT Donald F. McMillan from Hopkinsville in Christian County died in the Vietnam War.

April 2, 1970, Army SP4 Carl L. Fruechtenicht and Army SP4 Michael F. Thomas, both from Louisville, both died in the Vietnam War.

April 2, 1973, Georgetown’s Branham House received admission to the National Register of Historic Places.

April 2 Branham House Scott County Kentucky
Picture Sydney Poore

April 2, 1980, Minerva native Stanley Forman Reed passed over.  The U.S. Solicitor General from 1935-38 also served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957.

Kentucky Trivia:  Judge Reed is the last person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice without possessing a law degree.

Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to ex-Governor Edward Thompson “Ned” Breathitt Jr. and Lucy Alexander Winchester, who wed in 1988.  Lucy worked as a social secretary to First Lady Pat Nixon and was also a cousin to Libby Jones, wife of future Kentucky Governor B. Jones.

On April 2, 1996, a history buff, John Leech from Lexington, bought 300 Laurel County acres for $95,000.  The land hosted the 1861 Battle of the Wildcat.  Members of the Camp Wildcat Preservation Foundation welcomed the new owners who wanted to preserve the land.

7:40 p.m., April 2, 1996, Governor P. Patton, UK’s President Wethington, UK’s A.D. Newton, and close to 23,000 fans welcomed The Untouchables back home to Rupp Arena a day after winning the National Championship.

April 2, 2003, Lexington native Austin Kearns launched the 1st Reds home run in the Great American Ball Park.

April 2, 2004, Governor E. Fletcher, of native heritage descent, signed House Bill 167 into law.  The Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission (KNAHC) became a permanent part of the governor’s cabinet to promote awareness of Indigenous influences within Kentucky.

April 2, 2004, Dr. Fauci told C-Span that the best vaccination is to get infected yourself.  When the video resurfaced in 2020, pharmaceutical company supporters believed covid-19 was more dangerous than the flu and a vaccine was essential.  Big pharma skeptics agreed with Dr. Fauci’s 2004 statement about natural immunity.

April 2, 2007, Constable Ronnie K. Jones, Barren County District Two Constable’s Office, died when a tractor trailer struck his patrol car on US 31E, near Glasgow.

April 2, 2010, Keeneland’s 15-day Spring Meet opened along with the new 50-cent Pick-3 wager.  The season ranked among the top five in track history, establishing record attendance marks for a Spring Meet opening day (24,734) and Toyota Blue Grass Day (33,727).  Total attendance of 238,282 was the 4th-highest in Keeneland history.

April 2, 2012, Kentucky completed one of the more dominating NCAA Tournament runs in the proud program’s history by beating Kansas 67-59 to claim its 8th national championship and John Calipari’s 1st and only NCAA title.

April 2, 2014, the Obama Administration convicted Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former federal contract employee, to 13 months in prison for exposing truths about the military’s dirty ways.  President B. Obama convicted more whistle-blowers than any other president.

April 2, 2014, Deputy Sheriff Ernest T. Franklin, Barren County Sheriff’s Office, died in an automobile crash on Kentucky 90, just west of Glasgow.

April 2, 2016, Gulfstream Park’s GI $2,000,000 Florida Derby had seven Keeneland graduates from a field of ten and ended with a Keeneland grad exacta.

On April 2, 2018, thousands of public school teachers marched on the Capitol to protest changes to their pensions and education cuts.

April 2, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced 100 new coronavirus cases and 11 new deaths, bringing the totals to 770 positives and 30 deaths.  The governor asked school superintendents to expand distance learning and keep schools closed till May 1.  He then singled out a church in Dawson Springs in Hopkins County for spreading the virus at their revivals.

By April 2, 2020, the pandemic had sickened more than one million people in 171 countries across six continents, killing at least 51,000.  In just a few weeks, the pandemic put nearly 10 million Americans out of work, including a staggering 6.6 million people who applied for unemployment benefits in the last week of March.  The speed and scale of the job losses were without precedent: Until March, the worst week for unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.

April 2, 2020, Kentucky Bio-Processing, a biopharmaceutical company in Owensboro joined the coronavirus vaccine race, using tobacco as their main ingredient.

April 2, 2021, Police Officer Hassan Falah Hassan, Louisville Metro Police Department, suffered a fatal medical event shortly after responding to a shooting call on Taylor Blvd. a week earlier.

On April 2, 2021, Keeneland, on its opening day, let in some limited fans.  They canceled the 2020 Spring Meet, and postponed, shortened, and closed the 2020 Fall Meet to spectators.  Meanwhile, the CDC eased travel restrictions for getting tested for coronavirus and self-quarantining after citizens return home after traveling abroad.

April 2, 2022, the Kentucky baseball program reached the historic milestone of 2,000 wins by defeating #10 Ole Miss 9-2 at home in Proud Park.  The top three programs in college baseball history are Fordham (4,557), Texas (3,596), and Michigan (3,010).

March 2, 2022, Spendthrift Farm bred the winner of Turfway Park’s 51st edition of the GIII $600,000 Jeff Ruby Stakes Stakes.

Kentucky Trivia:  Turfway Park’s Jeff Ruby Stakes originated as the Latonia Spiral Stakes in 1972.  In 1982, Jim Beam acquired naming rights for 17 years under two names; Jim Beam Spiral Stakes and then the Jim Beam Stakes.  In 1988, Turfway increased the distance to 1 1⁄8 miles, and Lane’s End Farm took over sponsorship of the event in 2003 for eight years.  In 2013, the Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati became the sponsor.