April 28, 1816, the 1st commercial steamboat to ply the Kentucky River set sail from the mouth of Hickman Creek in Jessamine County. Bosworth & West built the small steamboat using a model created in 1793 by Lexington inventor and silversmith Edward West. Only four and a half years earlier, the 1st steamboat in the West had set sail.
April 28, 1879, Carter Henry Harrison Sr., born on a plantation near Lexington, began his 1st term as Chicago’s mayor . Harrison served four consecutive two-year terms (in 1879, 1881, 1883, and 1885). After he campaigned in 1879 with a pet eagle, he became affectionately nicknamed “The Eagle.” A disgruntled office-seeker assassinated him a few months into his 5th term.
April 28, 1894, Marshal John B. Silcox, Shelby City Police Department , died from a gunshot while arresting a drunk man who caused a disturbance at his home in Shelby City.
April 28, 1898, Deputy Sheriff Henry M. Coots, Leslie County Sheriff’s Office , died from a gunshot while arresting an escapee from the county jail. A posse returned the murderer to jail.
April 28, 1930, Kentucky’s Director of State Parks, Mrs. Emma Cromwell, visited Harrodsburg to appoint Mrs. B.F. Norfleet as Hostess at Old Fort Harrod in Pioneer Memorial Park. The state cut the position’s salary substantially, but still, 150 applicants applied for the job; the two previous hostesses quit within weeks.
April 28, 1940, Breathitt County Deputy Jailer Benton Sizemore died while responding to the scene of a shooting involving the county jailer. The county jailer and his wife were visiting relatives when a truck full of assailants pulled up and opened fire on them .
On April 28, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Fort Knox during his second wartime inspection tour.
April 28, 1953, actress Judy Garland, second from right, arrived at Lexington’s Union Station to perform at Memorial Coliseum as part of Blue Grass Festival pre-Derby attractions . While in Lexington, Garland, described by Fred Astaire as “the greatest entertainer who ever lived,” visited children at Shriners Hospital.
On April 28, 1955, Fayette County Judge Flower said police would buy their 1st breathalyzer to combat drunk driving for $500.
April 28, 1959, Conservation Officer James Brady McClain, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources , died in a vehicle crash on U.S. 68 one mile west of Gracey in Christian County.
On April 28, 1960, someone dumped a mysterious detergent into Beargrass Creek, causing foam to rise 6 feet, killing fish by the hundreds . The substance apparently emptied into the Ohio River without affecting the local drinking water.
April 28, 1961, judges crowned Miss Dillard Marr, an 18-year-old UK freshman the Kentucky Derby Festival Queen . Dillard lived on a horse farm in Lexington and enjoyed riding and caring for her herd.
April 28, 1967, Cassius Marcellus Clay did not step forward when the Army called his name, thus refusing initiation into the U.S. military . Clay, in a statement distributed a few minutes after the announcement of his refusal, said, “I have searched my conscience and I find I cannot be true to my belief in my religion by accepting such a call.” He has maintained throughout recent unsuccessful civil litigation that he was entitled to draft exemption as an appointed minister of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, the so-called Black Muslin sect.
April 28, 1968, Army SP4 Fredrick E. Bauerle III from Dayton in Campbell County , Army SP5 Jordan Belcher from Dorton in Pike County and Army CPL Roger Nester from Mt. Sterling in Montgomery County , died in the Vietnam War.
April 28, 1973, the 1st Great Kentucky Derby Festival Balloon Race created a magnificent picture in the sky as 11 balloons drifted southeast over the Louisville sky, starting at Iroquois Park. Although one balloon touched a 12,000-volt wire, the only fatality was a calf who got frightened when a balloon landed in his field.
On April 28, 1975, Wallace Jones sued Bantam Books for $15 million after they connected him to UK’s 1950 basketball scandals of point shaving. Wah-Wah was among the few who made the All-American team in basketball and football. The suit didn’t last long.
April 28, 1976, the Kentucky Colonels professional basketball team played their final game , losing to the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the ABA Semi-Finals Championship. The ABA merged with the NBA the same year. The Colonels, like the ABA as a whole, had an overall winning record against the NBA throughout their existence.
On April 28, 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that governments can fine corporations for violating child labor laws. Justice T. Marshall and peers overruled a U.S. District Court decision for Lexington’s Jerrico. The chain owned 40 Jerry’s and/or Long John Silvers in five states, and the government wanted $103,000 form them.
April 28, 1983, Rastie Andrew from Jamestown caught a state record Sauger in the Cumberland River Lake Cumberland Tailwaters weighing 7.44 pounds.
April 28, 1989, Racing Hall of Famer Julie Krone became the 1st female jockey to win a Keeneland graded stake race when she rode Gaily Gaily in the 1 1/8M $82,850 GIII Bewitch Stakes by a neck.
April 28, 1990, Officer Donald Lee Ferguson, Albany Police Department died when a drunk driver evaded a sobriety check point and struck him at a high rate of speed. Locals sentenced him to ten years in prison but officials released him after three years.
April 28, 1998, the annual Kentucky Derby Trainers Dinner took place at $100 a seat . The dinner seemed to ring out the jokes, many at the expense of D. Wayne Lukas. Without a horse in the field, the legendary trainer did not attend.
April 28, 2001, James Still passed away. The Appalachian poet, novelist, and folklorist lived most of his life in a log house along the Dead Mare Branch of Little Carr Creek in Knott County . He is best known for River of Earth , a novel which depicted the struggles of Eastern Kentucky coal mining.
April 28, 2002, an early morning tornado hit Providence in Webster County that destroyed 50 homes and left another 160 inhabitable. No deaths occurred; however, 25 people sought medical attention in nearby Madisonville.
April 28, 2003, Dr. David Proctor from Ashland pleaded guilty to three felony charges of prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose. He made an average of $4,000 to $5,000 a day pushing drugs but also took sex as payment.
April 28, 2018, Woodbine ran the GIII $100,102 Whimsical Stakes for fillies and mares four-years-old and upward. A Keeneland graduate won $58,538 in 1st prize money.
April 28, 2021, Churchill Downs canceled the Derby Day red carpet for the 2nd consecutive year . Also, The Barnstable Brown, Unbridled Eve and Trifecta galas canceled their good times for a 2nd year in a row also.
On April 28, 2022, the government proposed banning menthol cigarettes but not plastic waste . Meanwhile, inflation made Treasury Secretary Yellen defend President Biden’s 2021 $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which she championed. It was the last of six coronavirus relief packages. President Trump signed five and Biden one, from March 2020 to March 2021, totaling close to $6 trillion.
On April 28, 2023, Governor A. Beshear had the privilege of handing out another Big Check. He also recognized how the thoroughbred industry changes lives for those looking for a second or third chance.
On April 28, 2024, T. Massie reacted to the latest swamp decision. Watch the Ukraine Flag, the newest logo for America’s endless wars, waved proudly by defense contractors inside the U.S. Capitol after Mitch and President Biden joined forces. The MIC has enough flags for everyone. Today, President Trump has failed in his most important campaign promise, to end the war first thing. Three days ago he called his campaign promise an “exaggeration.”