Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

March 27, 1751, Christopher Gist was the one of first to leave a written record of his travels through what is now Hazard.  His notes for this date acknowledged large deposits of coal.

March 27, 1775, possibly the same Native American party who attacked Captain Twitty two days earlier, attacked six of Boone’s men who camped near Boonesborough.  Two more settlers died and three wounded.  Because of this attack and the severe injuries to Captain Twitty, they constructed a temporary log shelter as a protective defensive position for the rest of the party.  Within a few days, Twitty died and they buried him along with Sam, his servant, at the site.  The temporary structure became known as “Twitty’s Fort” or “The Little Fort” and existed for many years.

March 27, 1827, Calvin Smith and Robert Brank, both of Tennessee, fought a duel in Simpson County with pistols at ten paces.  On the first fire, Mr. Brank received a bullet through the body and expired on the spot.  The difference arose from a trial in a county courtroom where both men were lawyers.
Famous Kentucky Duels by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 140

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Anchorage native Patty Smith Hill, born in 1868.  Patty was a teacher at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School who collaborated with her sister Mildred on a song called “Good Morning to All.”  The song became a greeting, teachers would sing to students.  It is unclear how, exactly, the tune morphed into “Happy Birthday to You.”  Still, today, it’s the most recognizable song in the English language.

On March 27, 1890, Louisville got hit by one of the most violent and damaging storms.  The storm hit at 8:30 p.m. and lasted only about five minutes, long enough to sweep over the downtown area.  Ultimately over 100 lives were lost, and many more people were seriously injured.  Yet, the storm’s path was so localized that thousands of locals went to bed that night, totally unaware that disaster had struck the city.  Telegraphs came from all over the world offering help.

March 27, 1912, Frankfort native Albert Fall became a U.S. Senator from New Mexico.  As a Captain in the U.S. Army he supported a military invasion of Mexico in 1916 as a means of ending Pancho Villa’s raids.

March 27, 1948, Kentucky played Louisville in the Old Madison Square Garden and won 91-57 for the quarter-finals of the Olympic Trial Tournament.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Kentucky bred Native Dancer, born in 1950 on Scott’s Farm near Lexington.

1 P.M., Monday, March 27, 1950, WHAS-TV signed on as a CBS affiliate.

March 27, 1951, Army SGT Charles D. Quinn from Greenup County and Army SGT William Stevens from Harlan County, both died in the Korean War.

March 27, 1951, Coach Rupp and the Cats won their 3^rd NCAA title in Minneapolis, the first team to win the title three times.  The Wildcats consisted of only six healthy players.  Cliff Hagan had an infected throat.  The Wildcats hardly looked like championship material as Kansas State broke out to a 20-12 lead.  It was then that Rupp inserted the ailing Hagan, a move that may have proved the difference as the sophomore helped cut the Kansas State lead to 29-27 at the half.  UK outscored Kansas State 41-29 in the second half to complete the come-from-behind victory.  Most Outstanding Player was Bill Spivey, who scored a game-high 22 points.

March 27, 1953, Marine Corps PFC Donald E. Hendricks from Franklin in Simpson County and Marine Corps PFC Theodore R. Irvin from Cawood in Harlan County, both died in the Korean War.

March 27, 1954, Deputy Sheriff Robert Hensley and Sheriff Clarence Taylor from the Owsley County Sheriff’s Office died while investigating a truck stuck in a ditch on the side of a roadway.  One of the three men inside the vehicle opened fire and killed both lawmen.

March 27, 1958, the General Assembly created the State Archives and Records Commission.

March 27, 1969, Army PFC William P. Thompson, Jr. from Shelbyville died in the Vietnam War.

March 27, 1978, Joe B. Hall led the Kentucky Wildcats over Duke to win their 5^th National Championship in St. Louis’s Checkerdome.  Many have said Jack Given’s 41 point game was one of the finest college basketball performances.  The Cats went 30-2 and were the SEC regular season champions.

SEC Trivia:  The SEC did not hold a conference tournament from 1953 to 1978.

March 27, 1979, John Y. Brown, Jr. interrupted his honeymoon with Phyllis George to announce his candidacy for governor of Kentucky.

Kentucky Trivia:  KFC is traditionally eaten on Christmas Day in Japan due to a hugely successful marketing campaign from 1974 called “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii,” which roughly translates into “Kentucky for Christmas!”  Buckets of fried chicken are enjoyed by millions of Japanese families and are so popular that orders are made weeks in advance.

On March 27, 1994, Middletown native Lawrence Winchester Wetherby, Kentucky’s 48^th governor, died.  Lawrence became governor when Governor Clements took the Kentucky U.S. Senate seat.  Wetherby later won a four-year term making him governor for five years and 16 days.

March 27, 1996, the Dubai World Cup ran its inaugural running.  At the time, it was the world’s richest race with a purse of $4 million.  The six-year-old bay colt, Cigar, traveled 6,000 miles for his 14^th straight victory.  Cigar’s most competitive race made Jerry Bailey asks Cigar more than he had ever had to before.  The win left Cigar two victories short of Citation’s record of 16 consecutive victories.

March 27, 1991, Louisville police charged Donnie Wahlberg with first-degree arson for a fire at the Seelbach Hotel.  The New Kids on the Block lead singer posted a $5,000 bond after turning himself.  The 20-year-old then performed at Freedom Hall to a sold-out crowd.

March 27, 2009, UK fired Billy Gillispie.

March 27, 2020, three more Kentuckians died from coronavirus and 54 new positive cases are reported with eight deaths and 302 positives.  It was the 2^nd day that over 50 cases were reported in a single day.  The Kentucky Capitol Dome is lighted green for the first night in remembrance of those who died of the virus.

March 27, 2020, the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, the largest transfer of wealth in U.S. history, passed by the U.S. House at night with most members voting from home.  Just before the vote, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie wanted to discuss the massive aid and requested a roll-call vote rather than a voice vote.  This would have delayed the passing by days and people wanted their money pronto.  Both parties, social media, and President Trump, went after Massie ruthlessly.  Trump’s tweets requested that he be thrown out of the Republican Party.

March 27, 2021, Brazil accounted for ¼ of the world’s coronavirus deaths, far more than any other nation.  The South American country averaged 2,400 deaths a day.   Vaccinated Kentucky seniors begin to emerge from isolation.

March 7, 2021, a Kentucky bred won the GI $770,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.