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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to John Rowan, born in 1773.  Known throughout his life as an avid gamester, it led to his famous duel with Dr. Chambers in 1801.  Rowan escaped prosecution upon the doctor’s death.  In 1795, Rowan began construction of Federal Hill, his family estate, on land that his father-in-law gave him as a wedding present, also known as My Old Kentucky Home.

July 12, 1784, Native Americans shot and scalped Walker Daniel, a founder of Danville.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Fleming County Alvin Saunders, born in 1817.  The U.S. Senator from Nebraska also served as the last and longest-serving Nebraska Territory governor, a tenure he served during and after the Civil War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Tod Browning, born in 1880.  His parents named him Charles Albert Browning Jr.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Hunt Stromberg, born in 1894.  The Louisville native produced, wrote, and directed some of Hollywood’s most profitable and enduring films, including The Thin Man series, the Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald operettas, The Women, and The Great Ziegfeld, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1936.

July 12, 1899, Deputy Jailer Jackson “Jack” Roberts, Breathitt County Jail, died from gunshots while arresting several men.  Police arrested five men in connection with his murder.

July 12, 1914, Newport native Horace Harmon Lurton died while serving on the U.S. Supreme Court.

July 12, 1921, Louisville police courts began fining speeders $100.  The 1st judge to do so wanted to put them in jail, but it was against the law, so he made outrageous fines.

July 12, 1926, while Winchester called together prayer circles for the rains to stop after heavy damage, church members in Louisville prayed for showers.

On July 12, 1928, the Central Kentucky Natural Gas Company prepared to provide Scott County with the inexpensive fossil fuel.  The company planned a 6-inch main line from a larger pipe in northern Lexington that already supplied Frankfort.

July 12, 1928, Governor Flem D. Sampson refused to grant executive clemency to any of the seven men set to be electrocuted in Eddyville State Prison the following day.

July 12, 1950, Army PFC William F. Cody from Perry County, Army PVT George B. Trammell from Harlan County, Army PVT Earl T. Wilson from Ohio County, Army PVT Ottie K. Ferguson from Jefferson County, and Army 1LT Douglas H. Haag from Jefferson County, died in the Korean War.

July 12, 1951, Army CPL James A. Caudill from Johnson County, Air Force SSGT Fred E. Mack Jr. from Louisville, and Army PFC Orvil C. Richardson from Bourbon County, died in the Korean War.

July 12, 1967, Army PFC Milford G. McKee from Sloans Valley in Pulaski County, Army PFC Joseph L. Miller from Hopkinsville, and Army SGT Owen R. Montgomery from Lost Creek in Breathitt County, died in the Vietnam War.

July 12, 1968, Marine Corps LCPL Cecil S. Murray from Louisville and Marine Corps LCPL Charles R. Clark from Louisville, died in the Vietnam War. 

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Jackson native, Jeffrey Reddick, born in 1969 in Breathitt County.

July 12, 1970, Deputy Jailer Glenn Moore, Pike County Detention Center, died by a gunshot during an escape attempt by three inmates in the Pike County jail during the early morning hours.

July 12, 1971, Army SGT Curtis G. Vanwinkle from Stanford in Lincoln County died in the Vietnam War.

July 12, 1971, Bold Ruler, sire of 82 stakes winners, including Secretariat, passed at Claiborne Farm.

July 12, 1975, just before the All-Star break, Glasgow native Denny Doyle hit safely against the Texas Rangers in a 10-4 Red Sox win.  That began a hitting streak of 22 games.  During his streak, the Red Sox won 17 times and lost only five.  Doyle downplayed this personal acheivement:  “It was nice, and I’m proud of it.  But it doesn’t really mean anything because we didn’t reach our goal that season.  If we had won the World Series then it would really be something to talk about.”

July 12, 1984, President R. Regan spoke to the National Campers and Hikers Association in Bowling Green.

July 12, 1987, Starlike Sultan placed 1st in the 51st Lexington Junior League Horse Show.

July 12, 1990, Cher played to 5,500 fans at Rupp Arena, singing 12 songs and seven costume changes.

July 12, 1994, the United Mine Workers strike came to Eastern Kentucky when 360 miners in Harlan and Whitely Counties began picketing.  Over 2,050 miners in five states joined forces.

July 12, 1996, the Madden family filed papers to develop their farm with Target and a 20-screen movie theater as the development’s anchors.  They declined to pursue their upscale mall strategy.

July 12, 2000, three Floyd County men including a coal president received an indictment for the death of a miner, killed on his 1st day of work, when the roof collapsed.

July 12, 2001, William Farish became the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.  He served until he resigned in 2004 summer.  The United Kingdom Newspaper, The Guardian, commented on the ambassador’s low profile during the period leading up to the Iraq War.  Christopher Meyer, the British Ambassador to Washington, said that “the ambassador proved as agreeable as he was invisible.”

Effective July 12, 2006, Kentucky designated the Clarkson Honeyfest as the official state honey festival.

Kentucky Trivia:  In the Commonwealth, there are approximately 12,669 colonies of bees, kept by about 2,500 beekeepers statewide.  For the beekeepers, Kentucky has 50 different local beekeeper associations.  In 2018, the cash receipts for honey sales totaled $889,000, making it one of the top agricultural products in the state.

Effective July 12, 2006, clogging became Kentucky’s official dance.

July 12, 2007, an unedited gun-camera video released by WikiLeaks showed two Reuters journalists and several Iraqis dying after getting shot from an American helicopter.

On July 12, 2008, Adrian Lamo, the hacker who tipped off the FBI about Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning, died at 37.  Adrian, a former hacker, threat analyst, and writer, broke into The New York Times computer systems in 2002.  The “Homeless Hacker,” when unemployed, wandered the country by Greyhound bus and hacked corporations from inside abandoned buildings.

July 12, 2010, Army SPC Nathaniel D. Garvin, 20, of Radcliff, died in Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a noncombat incident while fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.

On July 12, 2012, Kentucky enacted three new laws.  First, legislators extended more tax breaks to large corporations.  Next, Kentuckians could only buy two packages of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine a month, and lastly, citizens could carry concealed deadly weapons.

On July 12, 2019, New Hampshire became the 14th and latest state that legalized sports betting; their governor wanted to place the 1st bet.  Kentucky became the 37th state to legalize sports betting when Governor A. Beshear signed HB 551 into law 44 months later.  Kentuckians can place their 1st bets in the 2023 football season.

July 12, 2020, the virus continued to dominate the news; Kentucky reported a “48% increase in virus cases,” and Florida hit a new total for one-day positives as drivers lined up their cars for miles to get tested.

July 12, 2021, FDA added a warning label to Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) coronavirus vaccine based on reports of patients developing the rare neurological condition, Guillain-Barré Syndrome.  The J&J (Janssen) vaccine is no longer available in the U.S as of May 2023.

On July 12, 2022, the U.S. House held its 7th Capitol Siege hearing, where the investigation delved into the “final stages of Trump’s multipronged effort to halt Joe Biden’s victory.”  The reality TV show distracted the public for months.