May 29, 1775, Richard Henderson’s journal stated that a letter arrived at Boonesboro containing news of a battle near Boston. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, 20 miles from Boston, were fought on April 19, 1775.
On May 29, 1777, Fanny Henderson became one of the first white children born in what would be Kentucky to parents married in the future state. Her parents, Samuel Henderson and Elizabeth Calloway, were married on August 7, 1776, by Squire Boone, Jr., the younger brother of Daniel.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Thomas Satterwhite Noble, born in 1835. He is well known for his historical works containing sharp political and social commentary. TS was unique among artists of his era, a Southern artist who painted critiques of the institution of slavery. Noble also helped establish the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati.
May 29, 1882, Louisville native Joshua Fry Speed passed. A close friend of Abraham Lincoln, Speed farmed and invested in Kentucky land. He did serve one term in the Kentucky House of Representatives starting in 1848.
May 29, 1897, Scottish Chieftain defeated five others to win the 31st Belmont Stakes going the 1 3/8 in 2:34 ¼ and earned $3,350. Stewards fined winning jockey J. Scherrer $50 for disobedience at the post. The winner skipped the May 12th Derby and the June 8th Preakness.
On May 29, 1932, Senator A. Barkley announced the government would start accepting bids for a “superstructure” referred to as the Lexington Narcotic Farm. The U.S. Narcotic Farm, or NARCO, opened in 1935, America’s 1st prison for drug addicts. Meanwhile, acting Governor Chandler increased his aides-de camp by commissioning 23 colonels, two admirals, one general, and one major general when Governor Laffoon visited Indiana to watch the Indy 500.
May 29, 1948, architect Frank Lloyd Wright visited the Jefferson County Courthouse at Sixth and Jefferson streets during a trip to Louisville. At first he said if the building were associated with politics, “I won’t like it, Politicians don’t hire good architects. They never hired me.” When he asked who the architect was and was told it was (Kentucky-born) Gideon Shryock, Wright responded, “Never heard of him.” Finally, though, he paused to admire the Greek-revival structure, calling it a “noble old edifice,” the story goes. He added: “We shouldn’t build this type building anymore, but we should keep those we have left.”
On May 29, 1950, some 12,000 people participated in a solemn ceremony inside UK’s new Memorial Coliseum. They dedicated the building with impressive rites to the 9,265 Kentuckians who died in WWII. In addition, UK held its baccalaureate services. Faculty and graduates lined Euclid Avenue, making a wall of black before they entered. Families who lost loved ones made sure to find their names on the glass-enclosed plaques that lined the walls.
May 29, 1951, Army SFC Kenneth A. McAllister from Nelson County died in the Korean War.
May 29, 1957, Dee Mee Dee, became the 1st thoroughbred to win at Audubon Raceway in Henderson.
May 29, 1962, President John F. Kennedy celebrated his 45th birthday at Glen Ora, his Virginia estate. Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday, Mr. President, ten days earlier to him at Madison Square Garden.
May 29, 1966, Army PFC Billy R. Patrick from Hazard died in the Vietnam War.
May 29, 1970, Howardstown native Sue Stiles, a 20-year-old beauty, received a kiss from Governor Nunn as he crowned her Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival Queen at Pine Mountain State Park. Grand Marshal Colonel Harland Sanders offered his congratulations. It took a three-county search and twenty-five men to find enough late-blooming Laurel flowers to make all the contestants’ bouquets.
May 29, 1976, the climax of the 40th Mountain Laurel Festival took place when Governor Carroll kissed Frankfort native Linda Carol Barnes, 20, and crowned her Queen. An estimated 10,000 people attended, including the Grand Marshal and UK football coach Fran Curci.
May 29, 1984, eleven incumbents lost their seats in the Kentucky House primary races. Almost all hailed from Eastern Kentucky, and most were Elephants. Governor M. Collins had no comment.
May 29, 1991, 29% of Elephants and 39% of Donkeys showed up at the primary polls to vote for a governor. The small turnout did not meet the low expectations.
May 29, 1999, UK announced only 58 Robinson Scholars, down from 116 the previous year. The following year, the number dropped to 29. The decline correlated to the weak market for Eastern Kentucky’s high-sulfur coal. Mining and logging royalties in Robinson Forest generate dollars for the Robinson Scholarships, which help 1st-generation Eastern Kentucky youth attend college.
May 29, 2000, at the same time Kentucky crime declined and the prison population leveled off, prison building increased. Fourteen county jails were being built or had expanded. One month earlier, the legislatures approved $88 million for a new 900-bed state prison. The 4,400 new beds in the county jails cost the taxpayers $250 million.
May 29, 2003, federal regulators offered a plan they said would protect Appalachian waterways below mountaintop coal mines. Seven environmental groups called it a blueprint for filling more streams with rock and debris supported by the Bush White House.
On May 29, 2006, lawyer Melbourne Mills, Jr. informed the press that his $23.6 million fees for the fen-phen case were excessive. He mentioned that he had already spent most of the money and wouldn’t be able to pay it back even if ordered to do so. His lawyer had previously told the court that Mills was too intoxicated to have stolen any money.
May 29, 2011, Tom Watson, 61, won the PGA Senior Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in the 1st playoff hole over David Eger.
May 29, 2015, Matt Bevin claimed victory in the Republican primary for governor two hours after Agriculture Commissioner James Comer conceded the race. The concession came after the recanvas showed Bevin had won by 83 votes. The following year, Comer represented the 1st District in Washington.
May 29, 2017, hundreds of people walked among thousands of tombstones at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, remembering lives lost in such wars as Vietnam or Korean. The Memorial service included two cannon salutes, music by the West Jessamine High School Band, and a flyover.
On May 29, 2019, Robert Mueller closed his special counsel office and spoke publicly about his report for the 1st time. The Mueller report failed to find evidence of President Trump’s wrongdoing, but the ex-leader of the F.B.I. made it clear he thought the ex-game show host was a bad boy. The investigation spent $32 million.
On May 29, 2020, Louisville had seven murders in a protest over Breonna Taylor’s death two weeks earlier. Breonna’s mother pleaded for peaceful demonstrations, and the mayor suspended the use of no-knock warrants.
On May 29, 2021, the state reported that Kentucky restaurants lost $550 million in sales in April 2020 alone. No other sector suffered more than restaurants. The bourbon industry numbers plunged from more than 1.7 million visitors in 2019 to 587,307 in 2020. For the 1st time in their 21-year history, numbers declined. Mammoth Cave had 436,460 visitors in 2019 and 158,738 in 2020. However, people realized that Kentucky campgrounds offered ideal social distancing space, and LakePointe Resort near Lake Cumberland had its biggest year in 2020.
Monday, May 29, 2023, the U.S. of A. glorified war by holding its 155th National Memorial Day observance, remembering the brave men and women who gave their lives for the Military Industrial Complex (MIC), with a focus on America’s most recent and longest war. Meanwhile, the MIC propaganda machine for America’s next war, in Ukraine, ramped up with the talk of sending F-16s to Russia’s border.
