Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Henry Clay, Sr., born in 1777 in Hanover County, Virginia.  Henry was the 7^th child of nine brothers and sisters.  His father was a Baptist Minister / Farmer who died when Clay was four.  At 15, Clay’s mother and stepfather moved to Versailles, leaving him in Virginia.  In November 1797, Clay moved to Lexington, where he soon became a successful lawyer.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Ohio County native George Humphrey Tichenor, born in 1837.  Tichenor developed his antiseptic formula in Louisiana which consisted of alcohol, oil of peppermint, and arnica.  It was originally marketed as useful medicine for both internal and external use for man and animal.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Green County native Junius George Groves, born in 1859.  He was known as the “Potato King of the World” by 1902.  His vast financial success, analyzed further in Booker T. Washington’s The Negro in Business (1907), was utilized to help combat racism by providing economic opportunities for other black Americans.

April 12, 1860, an “interesting” unveiling ceremony of a beautiful Henry Clay statute, at Richmond, VA, took place with ex-president John Tyler.

April 12, 1861, the Civil War began at 4:30 a.m.

April 12, 1875, Barron County native William L. Day received the Medal of Honor for gallant conduct during campaigns and engagements with Apaches, in the Arizona Territory during the winter of 1872 to 1873.

April 12, 1902, The Celt launched for the first time as a private yacht.  Built in Wilmington, Delaware for J. Rogers Maxwell, a railroad executive, The Celt had a top speed of up to 13 knots and could hold up to 217 tons GRT.  She would later end up in Kentucky abandoned.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Glasgow native Billy Vaughn, born in 1919.  He was sure to be a barber like his father.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Maysville native Betty Clooney, born in 1931.

April 12, 1932, Captain Edward Earl Parr and Detective William Leath Mulligan, Louisville Police Department, were shot and killed when they attempted to arrest two men inside their apartment for burglaries.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Mt. Union native Charles Lewis Napier, born in 1936.  

April 12, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died.  Harry S. Truman was sworn in as the 33^rd President.

April 12, 1950, Henry Clay’s home, owned and operated by the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, opened as a shrine and museum.
The Squire’ Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 26

April 12, 1951, Army PVT Russell K. Lucas from Powell County, Army PFC Richard Phelps from Pulaski County and Army PFC Conly McCoy from Christian County, died in the Korean War.

April 12, 1968, Army CPL Alan J. Hettich from Louisville and Army SGT Huburt E. Waford from Shelbyville, both died in the Vietnam War.

April 12, 1969, Marine Corps PFC Patrick E. Blagg from Newport in Campbell County died in the Vietnam War.

April 12, 1972, Deputy Sheriff Lawrence Conley, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, died from ambush as he sat in his car at a service station on Highway 80 in Garrett at approximately 11:45 pm.  

April 12, 1974, Glasgow native Arthur Bernard Krock died.  The Pulitzer Prize winner covered eleven U.S. Presidents and was known as the “Dean of Washington newsmen.”

April 12, 1981, Columbia’s first flight took off, officially known as the Space Transportation System (STS), therefore this flight was STS-1.  The mission had a two-person crew with an objective to make sure that Columbia worked well in space.

April 12, 1990, strong landfill regulations Governor Wilkinson touted in January were seriously undercut, for the final version, by his administration, prompting environmentalists and his own Natural Resource Secretary to voice opposition.   

Kentucky Trivia:  There are around 39 landfills, either closed or opened, in Kentucky.  They are located in 36 different counties.  The largest by volume is in Louisville with 35.6 million tons, then Trimble county with 17.9 million tons of waste.

Wednesday, April 12, 1995, unusual events continued at Keeneland’s Spring Meet when two jockeys, Jerry Bailey and Eddie Martin Jr., came out of their saddles during different races.  Before the meet started, mutuel clerks and valets went on strike.  Friday, opening day, Pat Day lost his mount during a race.  Sunday, Governor B. Jones visited the stewards’ office upset over a DQ.  Also on this day, Gatewood Galbraith gave the governor a mouthful after crossing the picket lines.

April 12, 2000, Lexington patched a sewer line after spilling 220,000 gallons of sewage into an undeveloped section in Hamburg.  The waste spilled into a dry stream bed that drains into the North Elkhorn Creek.  A rock pierced the 24-inch diameter, 22-year-old pipe.

April 12, 2005, the U.S. government told Americans they had mailed a dangerous flu strain to thousands of laboratories across the U.S.  The strain had caused a pandemic in 1957.  They released the information to ensure all the strains they mailed got destroyed.    

April 12, 2009, Kentucky’s largest church, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, opened its first satellite location in Indiana.  Currently, they are one of the top 20 largest churches in the U.S.

April 12, 2012, the 40^th annual Spalding Derby, also referred to as the Run for the Rodents, kicked off the Kentucky Derby season.  The winner never crossed the finish line, turning around a foot short and headed back to the starting gate.

April 12, 2019, a Kentucky bred won Keeneland’s GI $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile Stakes.

April 12, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced 134 new coronavirus cases and three new deaths totaling 1,963 and 97.  Churches get creative to celebrate Easter.

April 12, 2021, the coronavirus continued to plateau while the governor asked all involved “to accelerate the pace of vaccinations” given.  Governor A. Beshear also announced plans to remove capacity restrictions for all venues and businesses that cater to 1,000 people or less, once 2.5 million individuals were vaccinated.  This included the curfew and physical distancing restrictions at bars and restaurants.

Kentucky Trivia:  The state’s largest vaccination site was Cardinal Stadium which could have provided 4,000 shots a day.