May 9, 1798, the Lexington census as reported by the town trustees consisted of males above 12: 462 , females: 307, whites under 12: 346, negros: 360. The Squire’s Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 24
On May 9, 1826, Robert Trimble began his job as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court . At three years old, Robert’s family migrated to Fort Boonesborough.
May 9, 1829, Transylvania University’s main building, situated in the middle of Gratz Park, burned to the ground in less than two hours. For decades the cause of the fire remained a mystery until former student Cassius Marcellus Clay admitted that “My black servant stuck a tallow candle to the steps when he blacked my boots, went to sleep, and the flames went up like powder.”
On May 9, 1888, Tony “Icebox” Chamberlin became the 1st and only switch pitcher to win a game in professional baseball using both hands . Icebox threw the last innings right-handed to secure a Louisville Colonels victory over Kansas City 18-6. Baseball In Louisville by Anne Jewell
Thursday, May 9, 1889, Spokane won the 15th Kentucky Derby for Noah Armstrong, trainer John Rodegap, and jockey Thomas Kiley. The mile and half in 2:34.50 earned $4,880. Spokane is the only horse foaled and trained in Montana ever to win the Derby, doing it the same year Montana became a state.
May 9, 1893, Cynthiana native Caleb Walton West began his 1st term as governor of Utah Territory.
May 9, 1896, U.S. Secretary of Treasury John G. Carlisle of Kenton County gave his infamous hometown speech . The once remarkably popular political figure became so disliked due to the financial panic of 1893 that he left the stage due to a barrage of abuse and rotten eggs thrown at him. Feeling rejected, he retired from public life, sold his house in Covington, and remained in New York until his death.
On May 9, 1911, the Black Patch Tobacco War finally ended when the Supreme Court ruled in the U.S. v. American Tobacco Co. case that Duke Trust did create a monopoly and violated the 1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The Duke Trust bought all the coveted black patch tobacco, which caused death and destruction to many Western Kentuckians. The violence had long ended by the court’s decision.
Sunday, May 9, 1915, the day after Regret won the Derby, the Daily Racing Form quoted Harry Payne Whitney as saying, “I do not care if Regret never wins another race, nor if she never starts in another race, she has won the greatest race in America and I am satisfied.” Suddenly, the Kentucky Derby was on the rise again.
May 9, 1920, Deputy Sheriff Oliver Slaven, McCreary County Sheriff’s Office , died from a gunshot while attempting to arrest an escaped prisoner.
May 9, 1925, Patrolman Lon Castle, Ashland Police Department , died from a gunshot as he pursued a burglary suspect thorough a lumber yard.
Friday, May 9, 1930, Gallant Fox, owned by Belair Stud, won the 55th Preakness Stakes , going the one mile and three-sixteenths in 2:00 3/5 to win 51,925. He won the 56th Kentucky Derby eight days later and the 24th Belmont three weeks after the Derby. Gallant Fox won the 2nd Triple Crown.
On Saturday, May 9, 1931, the 56th Preakness Stakes ran, and from this day forward, it will always run on Saturdays . Maryland had run it every day except Sunday. Mate won the 5th race going 1 3/16 mile in 2:00.60, and earned $48,225. For the 2nd year in a row, the Derby ran after the Preakness, this time with seven days rest. Mate finished 3rd in Kentucky.
On May 9, 1933, at 8:30 pm, a tornado struck Kentucky and killed 36 people and injured 87. The twister devasted Tompkinsville, Monroe County, and killed 18 locals. Russell Springs suffered 14 deaths.
On May 9, 1936, Bold Venture won the 61st Preakness Stakes and earned $27,325 . They went to post at 5:18 p.m. and went the 1 and 3/16 miles in 1:38. He also won the Derby seven days earlier. Undefeated in his three-year-old season, and with two legs of the Triple Crown won, Bold Venture bowed a tendon and retired.
May 9, 1942, Patrol Officer J. Leslie Ward, Morehead Police Department , died from a gunshot after stopping a man for a hit-and-run accident.
May 9, 1954, Deputy Sheriff Clyde Fee, Harlan County Sheriff’s Office , died from a gunshot by a man he had arrested for drunkenness and reckless use of a firearm, two months earlier.
On May 9, 1955, government officials recommended postponing the anti polio-vaccination until all vaccine-making and testing was double-checked for safety. These were SOPs before corporations captured America’s governmental institutions.
At approximately 2:40 a.m. on May 9, 1961, three city detectives burst into room 314 of the Glenn Hotel in Newport, the same building as an illegal gambling casino and strip-tease joint called the Tropicana . The “mob” had given George W. Ratterman, an ex-NFL player, and soon-to-be sheriff, a roofie during a meeting the night before to discuss moving Tropicana out of Campbell County. George regained consciousness in the hotel room as police arrested him for prostitution and disturbing the peace. In Newport’s sensational trial that followed, it became apparent gambling interests worked with law enforcement to discredit Ratterman and the reform movement. As a result, the U.S. Department of Justice found six persons, police officers included, guilty of violating Ratterman’s civil rights. In November 1961, Ratterman and the other reform ticket candidates swept into office. The operators of the casinos and nightclubs left town.
May 9, 1968, Army SP4 Carlos W. Cornett from Flatwoods from Greenup County and Army CPL Boyce R. Dick from Monticello from Wayne County , both died in the Vietnam War.
May 9, 1970, Army CPT Rhonald L. Durham from Somerset , Army SGT Chester G. Hall from Robinson in Harrison County and Army SGT Richard A. Wells from West Van Lear in Johnson County , all died in the Vietnam War.
May 9, 1973, the U.S. National Register of Historic Places accepted the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site .
On May 9, 1985, Timothy Lane watched as “new” Coke came off a production line at the Bluegrass Coca-Cola Bottling Co. plant. The next day, the newly formulated Coke became available to local consumers. Corporate killed New Coke in 2002.
May 9, 1986, Corrections Officer Charles Frederick Cash, Kentucky Department of Corrections , died from a hammer beating by an inmate at the Western Kentucky Farm Center.
May 9, 1989, Ashland native Keith Whitley passed over .
On May 9, 2009, Jeremy Mayfield received his 1st NASCAR suspension after testing positive for methamphetamine. The talented Owensboro native would eventually receive a 2nd and final suspension.
On Thursday, May 9, 2013, an emotional Governor S. Beshear announced that 308,000 state citizens will have healthcare, who did not have it. The governor, “It was the single most important decision of our lifetime, to improve the health of Kentuckians.” Besher red from a UofL study claiming expanding Medicaid could add 17,000 jobs and pump billions into the state’s economy over the next few years.
On May 9, 2018, Ashland native Gina Haskell addressed Congress to convince 50 Senators to confirm her as the 1st female and 1st career operations officer to head the C.I.A . Rand Paul vehemently opposed President Trump’s nominee. During the hearings, she promised not to torture prisoners as she did in George Bush’s administration. Two Elephants voted against Gina, and five Donkeys voted yes to grant the nomination.
May 9, 2021, Churchill Downs suspended Bob Baffert from their property hours after Baffert informed the press that Medina Spirit’s blood sample had an overage of medication.
May 9, 2022, Andy Warhol’s 1964 Shot Sage Blue Marilyn , a forty-by-forty-inch silkscreen portrait of Marilyn Monroe, sold for roughly $195 million at an auction held by Christie’s in New York City, the highest ever paid at auction for a work by an American artist, eclipsing the $110.5 million fetched by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 Untitled in 2017.
On May 9, 2023, the 47-year-old governor reminded his followers that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Kentucky. Meanwhile, Andy Barr, 51, posted a picture of the students who won Carol Barr STEM scholarships named for his wife, who died from Heart Valve Disease.
On May 9, 2024, the Prince of Pork and master of 1,000-page bills to hide the pork in, got in on some Noah praise. It was good to see a rare social post from the Representative who has been on the gravy train for 44 years. Noah is 19 years old.
On May 9, 2024, the Kentucky Lantern reminded us there is more than one way to skin a critter.