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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

On April 27, 1805, Presley Neville O’Bannon became the 1st person to raise a U.S. flag over foreign soil during war.  The Marine and future Russellville resident served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate from 1824 to 1826.

On April 27, 1818, Kentucky’s 3rd governor, Christopher Greenup, passed over.  He also served in the 1st Kentucky Senate, the U.S. House, and as Kentucky’s 9th Secretary of State.  Accusations marred Greenup’s gubernatorial term that he participated in the Burr Conspiracy.

April 27, 1867, Isaac Hamilton challenged Noah Alexander, both of Paris, with pistols at ten paces.  They met on an island in the South Licking River at Townsend Bridge between the Bourbon and Harrison County’s lines.  On the 5th round, Hanson’s hip received a severe wound.  Said the local press, “They both shook hands afterward and laughed as if they had been to a corn-shucking or attending a circus.”  Famous Kentucky Duels by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 146

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Carter County native Mary Elliott Flanary, born in 1867.  She began her career as a journalist for the Ashland Daily Independent newspaper in 1904.  Her column, “Impressions of Kentucky’s Legislature,” allowed her to advocate for social reform, particularly women’s right to vote.  After women gained suffrage, Mary ran as a Democratic for Kentucky’s House and won by a 250-vote margin.  She became Kentucky’s 1st female legislator and the 1st female legislator elected south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Russellville native Alice Allison Dunnigan, born in 1906.  The 1st African-American female correspondent to receive White House Press Credentials was also the 1st black female member of the Congress Press Galleries.

April 27, 1907, Lexington native Thomas Satterwhite Noble passed away.  Over 70 exhibits have displayed his work, both during his life and after.  Most of his well-known works are historical presentations painted to make vital political and moral commentary.

Margaret Garner/The Modern Medea

April 27, 1919, Deputy Sheriff Timothy McQuinn, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, died by gunshot while attempting to arrest two men at Poplar Signboard near Torrent.

April 27, 1929, the Kentucky and Tennessee Thoroughbred Association purchased the famous Old Mile Track at Guthrie.  Willoughby Park would be the new name of the remolded track and fairgrounds in memory of Willoughby St. Clair Williams.  The planned community enterprise included four counties, including one in Tennessee.

On April 27, 1931, coal miners striking the Black Mountain Coal Company started shooting at nonunion workers in Harlan County near Evarts.

On April 27, 1945, the U.S. Navy released the names of 14 more Kentuckians who died in WWII action.  They also released the names of three missing men, 94 wounded, and 12 prisoners of war four months before the official end.

Kentucky Trivia:  The U.S. Navy’s final report stated 1,113 Kentuckians died in WWII.  Combat deaths included 1,090, 23 died in prison camps, and 17 men went missing.  The war lasted from September 1939-45. 

April 27, 1953, Army PVT Prentice S. Chandler from Bath County died in the Korean War.

On April 27, 1955, Kentucky decided to continue vaccinating children with the Salk Vaccine against polio.  Earlier in the month, children in five Western states received the Cutter polio vaccine.  Within days, there were reports of paralysis, and within a month, the government abandoned the first mass vaccination program against the crippling viral disease.

April 27, 1962, the Kentucky Derby Festival crowned Miss Jane Helm, a radiant 19-year-old who “loves the races.”  She declined to divulge any Kentucky Derby tips.

April 27, 1965, Air Force SSGT, George H. Kirby Jr. from Lynch in Harlan County died in the Vietnam War.

April 27, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson flew to Pikeville and dedicated Fishtrap Dam.  He returned to D.C. after the 3:00 p.m. ceremony.

April 27, 1969, Army 1LT Jimmy D. Johnson from Ashland in Boyd County died in the Vietnam War.

April 27, 1970, Army PFC Randall W. Love from Cecilia in Hardin County died in the Vietnam War.

April 27, 1974, Officer Armond VanCleave, Shively Police Department, died in an automobile accident riding with a heart attack victim in an ambulance while going to the hospital.  A vehicle struck the ambulance broadside.

On April 27, 1978, click to see Alydar, with Jorge Valasquez up, in the Bluegrass Stakes winning by 13 lengths.  Nine days later, in Louisville, he finished second to Affirmed, who had prepped in the Hollywood Derby.

On April 27, 1983, the Bank of Lexington’s board of directors chose James Rose of London (Laurel County) over Lexington native Tracey Farmer.  Rose offered $16.01 for each stock, while Farmer offered $17. However, Farmer’s deal included too many asterisks.  Rose paid $12.9 million for the small bank and later sold it to a Louisville firm.

On April 27, 1983, Kala Stroup became the 1st woman to head a state University in Kentucky when Murray State named its seventh president.  She oversaw the opening of the National Boy Scouts Museum of America on Murray’s campus.  Ms. Stroup left in 1989.

April 27, 1984, fried chicken magnate John Young Brown, Jr. withdrew his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat six weeks after joining the race.  He cited a severe illness and surgery from the previous year.

April 27, 1984, the Whitney M. Young birthplace and boyhood home in Simpsonville (Shelby County) became a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

April 27, 1991, the 19th annual Kentucky Derby Festival Great Balloon Race took off.  Contestants included a penguin, clown, paint can, chicken, battery, champagne, sneaker, 1/5 of bourbon, and 39 other conventional balloons.  Around 35,000 people gathered at the Kentucky Fair and Exhibition Center to watch them inflate and take off.

April 27, 1991, Mark Wilson from Louisville caught a state record Hybrid Bass in the Barren River Lake tail waters weighing 20 lbs., 8 ozs.

On April 27, 1994, one of Kentucky’s worst serial killers, suspected of killing seven people, received a second death sentence for killing Somerset brothers Lynn, 30, and Rodney Vaughn, 39.  He shot them because he thought one of them had reported him to his parole officer.  Some of his other victims included Kimberly Bowersock, Lillian Contino, Jerry McMillen, and Calvin Reynolds.

April 27, 1995, the federal government announced four of Kentucky’s eight public universities, including UK, made so little progress on desegregation goals in 1994 that they wouldn’t be allowed to start new degree programs during 1995.  The other schools were Morehead, Western, and Kentucky State.

April 27, 2001, the state’s top environmental official blocked a coal company’s controversial plan to open a surface mine near the historic Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County.

April 27, 2004, Kentucky’s 1st smoke-free law began.  The law prohibited smoking in most public places, including, but not limited to, restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, bingo halls, convenience stores, and laundromats.

Joseph Daniel “Dan” Chandler, 70, of Camden Avenue, Versailles, died on April 27, 2004, at his residence of congestive heart failure.  His parents were the late Albert Benjamin “Happy” and Mildred Watkins Chandler.  A UK graduate, he was on Rupp’s 1953 national championship basketball team and then served in the U.S. Army.  Dan became a well-known casino executive in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, running with a fun crowd.

April 27, 2009, Louisville native and World Boxing Association (WBA) Heavyweight World Champion Greg Page died at his Kentucky home.

Kentucky Trivia:  Louisville is the hometown of four heavyweight World Boxing Champions; Marvin Hart in 1905, Muhammad Ali in 1964, Jimmy Ellis in 1968, and Greg Page in 1984.

April 27, 2013, Air Force SGT Daniel N. Fannin 30, of Morehead, died in a plane crash in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

April 27, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Kentucky and several other states defend their decisions to ban same-sex marriages.  Two months later, the high court established same-sex marriage throughout the U.S. and its territories.

April 27, 2016, former Governor S. Beshear held a news conference to address allegations made by Governor M. Bevin and claimed the sitting governor had declared war on himself and the Beshear family.  Meanwhile, on a lighter note, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event opened at the Kentucky Horse Park.

On April 27, 2017, the Association of Lincoln Presenters dedicated to portraying Abraham and Mary Lincoln through presentations, education, and historical interpretation, held its annual conference at the Mary Todd Lincoln House.  The group visited Frankfort, and various places in Central Kentucky.   

On April 27, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted two men of South American heritage for smuggling 40 pounds of meth and 80 pounds of cocaine on their private jet at the Lexington Airport.  They got to their BMW and drove away when the feds pulled them over.

April 27, 2021, the governor announced 716 new cases and 17 virus-related deaths.  Seven of those deaths came from an ongoing audit looking for previously unaccounted Kentuckians who may have died from coronavirus in recent months.  Over 1,000 Fayette County High School students received vaccination shots in the cities six major schools.

April 27, 2022, SOC Investment Group, a shareholder of Yum Brands, told other shareholders to vote against a pay package for the KFC top executives.  CEO David Gibbs earned $27,578,659 for 2021; the company had an embarrassing median workers-to-CEO pay ratio of 2,108:1.  The median wage for an employee was $13,082.  They are currently moving to Plano, TX; “sayonara.”

On April 27, 2023, James Comer invited his staff to watch baseball and eat some pizza.  Today, you can read his book about missing a slam dunk titled All the President’s Money.

On April 27, 2024, the Kentucky Historical Society thanked their volunteers.