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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia

On July 10, 1818, the Kentucky Gazette announced that Matthew Harris Jouett would exhibit two of Joseph H. Bush’s paintings in Jouett’s art gallery to help raise funds so Bush could continue studying.  Jouett-Bush-Frazer Early Kentucky Artist by William Barrow Floyd pg: 85

Self-Portrait By Joseph Henry Bush

Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Governor Charles Morehead, who wed Amanda Leavy in 1823.  She died six years later at age 25.  Following her death, Morehead married Margaret Leavy, his 1st wife’s sister, in 1831.

Henry Clay’s funeral, on July 10, 1852, populated the small community like never before.  The Frankfort Commonwealth reporter arrived in Lexington at 6:00 a.m. and “found the streets already thronged with strangers and citizens, while every road leading to the city poured in a continual stream of carriages, horsemen, and pedestrians.”  Lexington’s businesses closed, and the material culture of death decorated the streets: black crepe, banners, and portraits of the dead senator adorned buildings and houses.  Clay’s body had arrived the night before after a ten-day, twelve-hundred-mile journey from Washington, DC, by rail, carriage, and steamboat—stopping along at major metropolitan areas—the largest public funeral in US history, even eclipsing George Washington’s death in 1799.

July 10, 1858, City Marshal Joseph Beard of the Lexington Police Department died from stab wounds after arresting a street brawler.  The suspect threw Beard to the ground and stabbed him in the chest, puncturing his lung and heart and dying at the scene.  Bystanders were able to subdue the man and took him to the Fayette County Jail.  A short time later, an angry mob stormed the jail, removed the prisoner, and attempted to hang him from the 2nd floor of the nearby courthouse.  The rope broke when they pushed him from the window, where he crushed his head on the pavement below.  They found another rope, and his body hung from the window for several hours.

On July 10, 1891, Monk Overton, a black jockey, had a perfect day at Washington Park, going six for six on the card.

At 11:00 p.m., July 10, 1897, over 3,000 locals heard President W. McKinley’s short speech from the Presidential Special Caboose at Lexington’s Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Station.  The President, greeted by VIPs, stayed 25 minutes and headed south for a Nashville exhibition.

July 10, 1920, Man o’ War faced a mature John P. Grier in the Dwyer Stakes for basically a match race.  The favorite carried 126 lbs. and J.P.G 108 lbs.  They completed the mile together in a time of 1:35.03, breaking Man o’ War’s American record set in the Withers.  “J.P.G.” made another surge, and for a moment, the spectators believed that he would win the race.  Kummer then hit Man o’ War with the whip, and they made a final surge and opened up a lead of two lengths in the final fifty yards.  The final time was 1:49.01, a new world record for 1 1/8 miles.

On July 10, 1921, 20-year-old William H. Bailey from Louisville leaped 310 feet into the Ohio River from an airplane and lived to tell the story.  From the hospital, he said the wind made him land on his back; however, throughout the majority of the fall, he had a perfect swan dive.  To the crowd that lined the shores, he showed how far he would go to make money.  He had no job and needed to pay bills.

July 10, 1925, the Germans released a major film production shot in Germany called Mrs. Worrington’s Perfume.  The silent mystery film starred Louisville native Mary Nolan.

July 10, 1947, the 3rd annual Frankfort Lions Club’s Horse show began at State Stadium.  The Lexington Junior League Horse Show prep had 100 horses entered for prizes totaling $3,640.

July 10, 1950, five Kentuckians died in the Korean War, Army CPL Raymond E. Barnett from Clark County, Army CPL Bernard N. Davis from Whitley County, Army PVT Bradley J. Griffey from Pike County, Army SGT Henry G. Kiser from Bourbon County, Air Force SSGT Bird Hensley Jr. from Insull in Harlan County

July 10, 1951, Army PVT Stanley Fields from Fayette County died in the Korean War.

July 10, 1953, Army PVT Arvil Hicks from Pike County and Army MSG William H. Richards from Allen in Floyd County, died in the Korean War.

July 10, 1957, Patrolman Edward P. Nowakowski, Louisville Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident while he pursued a traffic violator.

On July 10, 1971, Don Harris sat on top of Giddy-up Go, winner of the $2,000 Grand Championship for Five-gaited horses in the Junior League Horse Show closing session at the Red Mile.  Col. Harland Sanders presented the ribbons.

July 10, 1974, Aqueduct hosted Ruffian’s 3rd race, another 5.5F, this time in the Astoria Stakes (GIII).  As Jacinto Vasquez served a suspension for reckless riding, Vince Bracciale took the mount.  For the 1st time, a pony accompanied Ruffian to the post, and to the amazement of everyone, Vasquez was riding Sled Dog, the pony.  Trainer Frank Whiteley had told Jacinto that he would lose the mount on Ruffian if he didn’t ride Sled Dog; the crowd loved However, the race itself held few surprises.  Ruffian easily won by nine lengths, under wraps, in 1:02 4/5.  Braulio Baeza later commented, “I could have cut through the center field, and she still would have beaten me.”  His mount, Laughing Bridge, beat the rest of the field by 12 lengths but could not hold a candle to Ruffian.

July 10, 1985, Coca-Cola Company stopped making the new Coke, the following day, they announced the original formula would return.

On July 10, 2000, Kentucky’s ACLU filed a suit to block the state from erecting a Ten Commandment monument outside the Capitol next to the floral clock.  The legislation called for construction to start on July 16, 2000.

On July 10, 2003, the military told the elephants they needed $3.9 billion a month to fight Iraq.  The donkeys pretended to be angry, but it was all for show.  Both parties had not seen a war they didn’t want to fund since Vietnam.  Every red-blooded American should have stocks in the defense sector.

July 10, 2011, locals learned of Berea College’s Ecovillage, five acres of student family housing combined with environmental research and early childhood education.  Ecovillage prepares for the day when population outstrips the global supply of resources and creates a warmer climate.

July 10, 2021, Charlottesville, VA, moved its Robert E. Lee statue to storage from a prominent city location.  In 2017, the art piece became a rallying cry for people who didn’t want Southern heritage forgotten.  The rally cry became violent when one woman died and several received injuries.  Meanwhile, President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter celebrated 75 years of marriage.

By July 10, 2022, the BA.5 variant had infiltrated American society, and infectious-disease experts called it “the worst version of the virus we’ve seen.”  The Washington Post released a story titled “As Virus Variant Spreads, Risk of Infection Grows.”  The science showed that the faster the variant spread, the less harmful it became.