Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets
May 12, 1886, Cynthiana native Caleb Walton West began his 2nd term as governor of the Utah Territory.
May 12, 1888, Officer Thomas Donlon, Lexington Police Department, died from a gunshot while attempting to arrest a drunk man in a stable on North Mill Street.
Wednesday, May 12, 1897, Typhoon II beat five others to win the 23rd Kentucky Derby. For the 2nd year, Churchill used the classic 1 ¼ miles. This year, the field went in 2:12 ½ on a heavy track. Julius C. Cahn owned and trained the colt with Fred Garner up to win $4,850. Typhoon II was the last of three Derby winners bred in Tennessee.
May 12, 1908, the U.S. granted Nathan B. Stubblefield a patent for his “Wireless Telephone” (there was no word for radio at the time).
On Wednesday, May 12, 1909, the Preakness returned to Pimlico and has stayed ever since. Effendi won with Willie Doyle up. Pimlico made it a one-mile race, used once before in 1910. Several traditions enjoyed today came from the spontaneity of the 1909 Preakness renewal. For example, the musical rendering of Maryland My Maryland began when a bugler, moved by the day’s spirit, began playing Maryland’s historic state song. Inspired by the music, the rest of the band joined in, and the crowd reacted enthusiastically. This Preakness also inaugurated the “painting of the colors” atop the weather vane to honor the winning horse.
Monday, May 12, 1924, Nellie Morse won the 49th Preakness Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. From 1911 to 1924, the 1/8 distance determined the winner. In 1925, the distance would change to 1 3/16 miles, the distance today; however, Pimlico would still experiment with other distances in the coming years.
On May 12, 1932, authorities found Charles Lindbergh’s baby dead close to his estate in NJ. America’s search for the child began on March 1.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Newport native Jerry Trimble, born in 1963. Jerry is an actor, stuntman, youth motivational speaker, and former world kickboxing champion.
May 12, 1953, Louisville proposed an ordinance that would ban the honking of a car horn unless in emergencies. The fine for such an offense would range from $5 to $25.
On May 12, 1954, Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington opened its door to the 1st patients. It took six years to build the new hospital due to fundraising efforts. The H-shaped facility began with 173 beds and 25 bassinets.
May 12, 1967, Air Force A1C Lawrence E. Lewis from Ashland in Boyd County died in the Vietnam War.
May 12, 1968, Army PFC James R. Lee from Louisville and Army SGT Robert M. Fletcher from Lynn from Greenup County died in the Vietnam War.
May 12, 1969, Marine Corps PFC Charles W. Ford from Louisville and Marine Corps PFC Marion D. Powell from Vine Grove from Hardin County died in the Vietnam War.
May 12, 1970, Army PFC Ronald E. Campbell from Richmond died in the Vietnam War.
May 12, 1973, the Kentucky Colonels lost the ABA Finals in Game 7 to the Indiana Pacers 88-81.
May 12, 1979, Patrolman Albert Berry Sallee, Jr., Louisville Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident. All of the motorcycle officers had just been instructed to return to the station to pick up automobiles because of rain.
May 12, 1982, Harlan County Sherriff Paul Browning claimed a sniper shot him. His deputy claimed he shot himself. The shooting happened when Browning was on trial for plotting to kill two Harlan County officials. Fast forward to 2008, Browning died from a gunshot wound to the head; his murderer then burned his body.
On May 12, 1987, candidate Wallace Wilkerson asked Steve Beshear and John Y. Brown, also running for governor, to stop the negative ads about gambling and cocaine during a primary debate; neither committed. Brown attempted to regain his governorship, but Steve Beshear attacked him relentlessly. Wally distinguished himself from the field by advocating for a state lottery and, with a late surge, defeated Brown, his closest competitor, by a margin of 58,000 votes.
May 12, 1994, Easy Goer, winner of the Gotham, Travers, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Wood Memorial, Whitney, Woodward, and Belmont, passed away.
May 12, 1997, UK’s director of athletics, C.M. Newton, introduced Orlando “Tubby” Smith as head coach.
On May 12, 2001, a group representing 30 water utilities serving 2.7 million people up and down the 981 miles of Ohio River urged tighter controls on pollutants, including ammonia and some pathogens.
May 12, 2007, Lexington native Austin Kearns in a home game against the Florida Marlins, hit a bases-empty inside-the-park home run, the 1st-ever for a Washington National player.
May 12, 2011, former Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge admitted in federal court that he was involved in numerous illegal activities during his tenure as sheriff, including conspiracy to commit extortion, distribute oxycodone, and money laundering.
On May 12, 2016, ex-President Bill Clinton popped in on Thursday Night Live in Lexington. He campaigned in the Commonwealth twice in one week for his wife’s May 17 primary race. President Clinton repealed the Glass Steagall Act in 1999, enabling Wall Street to gamble on new-found bank money. Now the taxpayers bail them out every ten years, which some people call socialism.
On May 12, 2017, the Kentucky Court of Appeals, 2-1, sided with a clothing company that refused to print gay pride 2012 t-shirts because the owner had religious objections to “pride in being gay.” Meanwhile, a judge admitted he accepted $609,000 in bribes from convicted lawyer Eric Conn to approve requests for disability benefits.
On May 12, 2021, many Kentuckians went into panic mode and bought all the gasoline they could find after a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline. State Transportation Secretary Jim Gray declared a state of emergency to speed up gas delivery to Kentucky. The order waived restrictions on how long a truck driver could drive. Meanwhile President Biden and Senator McConnell met for the 1st time since Biden took office. The two have worked together for 35 years and both men are accountable to the same donors.
May 12, 2022, a day after AG Daniel Cameron announced his campaign for governor, his rival party filed an ethics complaint with the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. They claimed Cameron violated the law by investigating the current governor in his role as attorney general. Through a spokesman, Cameron said the complaint was a “joke,” and Beshear was acting “desperate.”
