Saturday, February 29, 1896, two Louisville judges ruled Mayor Todd could not remove two members of the board of Public Safety and Public Works . Meanwhile, in Frankfort, a dramatic scene played out when the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator withdrew his name minutes before the legislators voted.
The Monday, February 29, 1904, edition of the Lexington Leader ran a “special” article bashing lobbyist in Frankfort and calling them grifters to be watched.
Saturday, February 29, 1908, the General Assembly elected Kentucky’s newest U.S. Senator , followed by some extraordinary and dramatic scenes seldom seen in the Capitol. Reporters claimed the tension of excitement became so great in the chamber that several men collapsed when the Speaker announced the winner. In a seven-week battle that pitted Beckham vs. Bradley, both ex-governors, Bradley won the 6-year term to be Kentucky’s 27th Class III U.S. Senator.
On Thursday night, February 29, 1912, Lexington Mayor J.E. Cassidy called for a special meeting to pass regulations to control the “saloon interests” that seemed to be plaguing the city. The previous night’s meeting failed to do so.
Tuesday, February 29, 1916, State University (UK) defeated Centre College inside Woodlawn Auditorium 38-15. Pisgah native Derrill Hart scored a high 15. The team Captain LaGrange stud Robert Ireland knocked down 14. The UK girl’s team defeated Wesleyan 13-10 in the opener.
On Sunday, February 29, 1912, the Louisville Kiwanis Club President voiced his anger at the city for censoring crime reports. He told the Police Chief they would meet soon to discuss the issue.
February 29, 1924, North Carolina crushed Kentucky in the Southern Conference Tournament in Atlanta 41-20. “Kentucky, which had a fine team of ex-prep stars who would probably have set back any other team in the tournament, but the smooth-running Tar Heel machine outwitted the Derby boys.” Excerpt by Frank Kopf,” Spalding Official 1924-25 Basketball Guide .
Friday, February 29, 1928, the murder trial began for Marie Fraizer for the murder of 3-year-old May Magdalene Pitts . The event drew over 3,000 onlookers where peddlers hawked novelties, and Vanceburg took on the appearance of the county fair. Fraizer, the housekeeper, punished her to death, over a long period, with the father’s knowledge.
Monday, February 29, 1932, the bold headlines read, “CITY AUDIT SHOWS IRREGUALITIES. ” Hence, Lexington announced they would replace the loose accounting system with better methods of tracking. Days earlier, the city’s cashier, C.R. Hansen, got handed two indictments of forgery.
Saturday, February 29, 1936, TN defeated Kentucky in the SEC Tournament 39-28 in Knoxville. Ralph Carlisle scored 17 for Coach Rupp. The 2nd round games attracted 3,000 fans.
Thursday, February 29, 1940, Rupp’s Wildcats defeated Buford’s Commodores 44-34 in the SEC Tournament hosted by Knoxville. Berea native Marion Cluggish scored a Cat high 13. Attendance was 1,500 for 1st round action.
Tuesday, February 29, 1944, American Bombers attack outskirts of Rome for 2nd day while U.S. Navy shot down 14 Japanese planes around the Mariana Islands.
Friday, February 29, 1952, UK defeated Tulane 85-61 in the Cats 2nd game of the SEC Tournament inside Louisville’s Jefferson County Armory. Ramsey scored 21, C. Haggin knocked down 20, and another Owensboro native, Bobby Watson, knocked down 12 for Coach Rupp.
February 29, 1956, Ike tossed his hat into the ring, RJ Reynolds coveted 282 acres in southern Lexington , while UK bought 202 acres nearby. Victor Dodge, who manufactured cars in Lexington, died. The 83-year-old V.P. of Lafayette Hotel Company was also president of the Lexington Audubon Society.
Saturday, February 29, 1964, the Wildcats defeated Mears’s Vols 42-38 inside the UT Armory Fieldhouse with 7,000 on-lookers. One of Rupp’s Runts, Tommy Kron, scored a game high 17.
February 29, 1968, Peter, Paul, and Mary lost the Grammy to John Hartford and “Gentle On My Mind.” The trio’s Album 1700 was nominated for Best Folk Performance.
Tuesday, February 29, 1972, 40 Lexington Police cruisers were in the final stages of installing teleprinters . The ability to print out an APB would prove extremely valuable for the force.
Sunday, February 29, 1976, locals practiced for the Floyd’s Fork Canoe Race in May . Floyds Fork is a 62-mile-long tributary of the Salt River in Kentucky, directly south and east of Louisville. It begins in Henry County, near Smithfield Kentucky, flows through eastern Jefferson County and flows into the Salt River near Shepherdsville in Bullitt County.
Friday, February 29, 1980, Coach Hall’s Wildcats defeated Mississippi, 70-67, in the SEC Tournament hosted by Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center with 13,482 spectators. Sam Bowie scored a Cat high 27 points in the semi-final game.
On Wednesday, February 29, 1984, Phillip Morris made an additional 300 million cigarettes at the Louisville plant , Kentucky gained $2 million in taxes, Glenmore bottled an extra 12,000 cases in Owensboro, and Brown-Forman Distillers sold 615,000 bottles of the 750ml wine bottles. The extra day in the leap year also earned Druther’s Restaurant $275,000 in sales.
Monday, February 29, 1988, Egypt supported the U.S. Middle East Peace Plan while Israel, Jordan, and Syria rejected the proposal on how to govern the “Israeli occupied West Bank and Gaza Stripe.” Meanwhile, Governor W. Wilkinson’s front man acknowledged that Wally paid himself interest on a campaign loan he provided his run for governor a year earlier. The State Registry of Election Finance had questions about the creative financing.
On Saturday, February 29, 1992, the drama continued at Western Kentucky University as President Thomas Meredith fought for his job. Some regents wanted Meredith out and replaced with ex-governor M.L. Collins who was a finalist for the job in 1988, a year after being governor. The soap opera started weeks earlier, when the regents “questionably hired” ex-governor L.B. Nunn to audit Meredith’s spending habits. In June 1997, Dr. Meredith left WKU to become chancellor of the University of Alabama System.
Thursday, February 29, 1996, Ashland, Inc. and its workers met with federal mediators, and both said they had the company’s best interest at heart . In Kentucky’s only oil refinery, the issue came down to job definitions. Ashland would not budge from eliminating a host of job classifications. The cutting of the middle class by corporate greed was well underway.
Tuesday, February 29, 2000, #22 Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 73-61 in Starksville ‘s Humphrey Coliseum. Tayshaun Prince and Jamaal Magloire scored 16 for Coach Smith. Around 5,748 attended.
Sunday February 29, 2004, Coach Smith’s #9 Wildcats defeated an unranked LSU team 70-64 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. The Cats only lost the lead for 13 seconds. Gerald Fitch scored 23.
Friday, February 29, 2008, Kentuckians learned that the Commonwealth led the nation in locking up its locals. For the 1st time in America, 1 in every 100 citizens is behind bars; 2.3 million prisoners. Kentucky’s population soared 12% in 2007 to 22,402, which doesn’t include 12,700 county jail inmates. Kentucky’s 16 prisons were over capacity.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012, legislators wrote another bill to stop the pill epidemic plaguing the state . Doctors now had to use KASPER, a software that tried to prevent the pill mills from operating. It did not phase the pharmaceutical drug pushers. Meanwhile, the commissioner of Kentucky’s Department of Travel and Tourism quit after an ad suggested Brits go play “Roadkill Bingo” in Kentucky where dead animal carcasses litter the roads.
On Monday, February 29, 2016, Justice Clarence Thomas broke a decade-long silence and suddenly started asking questions from the Supreme Court bench . His record will stand for a long time. Meanwhile, Louisville was ready to host the world’s largest helicopter show in the Expo Center. Tickets cost $235. Officials expected 18,000 people and $2 billion in expected transactions.
February 29, 2020, a Kentucky bred won Gulfstream’s GI $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes. The colt would only race three more times.