June 18, 1792, the Kentucky legislature elected their 1st two senators , John Brown and John Edwards, to the U.S. Senate.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Adair County native Jane Lampton Clemens , mother of Mark Twain, who was born in 1803.
June 18, 1812, the War of 1812 began: U.S. declared war on the U.K. America had their sights on Canada .
June 18, 1827, Governor Joseph Desha pardoned his son Isaac from murdering Francis Baker . Locals convicted Isaac Desha twice, but both times, the judge set aside the verdict on procedural grounds. While awaiting a third trial, Desha attempted suicide by slitting his throat. Still, doctors saved his life, reconnecting his severed windpipe with a silver tube. Shortly after the suicide attempt, Governor Desha issued a pardon for his son.
June 18, 1881, Ansel Williamson passed away in Lexington . Born into slavery in Virginia around 1806, Ansel became the 1st trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. Ansel chose Oliver Lewis to ride his star colt, Aristides.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Governor Edwin P. Morrow and Katherine Hale Waddle , who wed in 1903, in Somerset (Pulaski County).
June 18, 1910, thousands of spectators turned out to view Kentucky’s 1st air show, held at Churchill Downs . The highly publicized aviation demonstration featured the world famous aviator Glenn Curtiss. The event held the 1st demonstration of an airplane in Kentucky. The Encyclopedia of Louisville edited by John E. Kleber; pg: 8
June 18, 1911, Raywick (Marion County) native James Proctor Knott died in Lebanon . James was our 29th governor, and a strong Confederate sympathizer.
On June 18, 1924, the annual state encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic opened at Berea College. State Commander John T. Thompson presided. The two-night encampment hosted 125 Civil War veterans, a dwindling number from previous years.
June 18, 1925, Deputy Constable Ira Gibson, Bell County Constable’s Office , died from a gunshot as he and another deputy constable were searching a wooded, mountainous area near Edgewood for two suspects.
At 9:00 a.m. on June 18, 1938, Kentucky’s senior senator, Alben Barkley of Paducah, arrived at the Blue Grass Union Station with hundreds waiting on the late train. He arrived from D.C. aboard the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad’s Washington Car. He came to open his campaign for reelection at the historic Kentucky Trotting Horse Breeders’ Association Track before 10,000 supporters. Simultaneously, trains from Louisville and Western Kentucky dumped thousands into the city to support the popular politician.
June 18, 1953, Army PFC Vernon E. Girdley from Jefferson County died in the Korean War.
June 18, 1963, Muhammad Ali (19-0) fought Henry Cooper (27-8-1) in Wembley Stadium, London . Cooper, 29, was a top fighter in Europe and had a powerful left hook, but he was a big underdog against young and brash Clay. Cooper came out strong and bloodied Clay’s nose in the 1st round. But by the 3rd round, Clay had opened a bad gash over Cooper’s left eye. Instead of finishing him, though, Clay danced around and taunted Cooper. Late in the fourth round, Cooper connected with a left hook that floored and hurt Clay. He got up as the round ended. Clay then opened the gash further in the 5th round, and the fight was stopped. Clay’s 5th -round KO prediction came true.
June 18, 1971, the U.S. government lost a court battle to stop the Washington Post from printing a secret Pentagon study of the Vietnam War. The government simultaneously fought a similar battle with the New York Times . Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration claimed a 4.5 billion old meteorite supported the theory of life in outer space.
June 18, 1972, Air Force SSGT Leon A. Hunt from Pleasure Ridge in Jefferson County died in the Vietnam War.
On June 18, 1982, recent UK grad Chuck Malkus opened Lexington Anti-Drunk Drivers (FL.A.A.D.) via a local press conference. The service offered intoxicated individuals a ride home because Lexington had just initated the Traffic Alcohol Program, which increased D.U.I chances. The luxury costs $50 a year and $20 per ride.
On June 18, 1982, recent UK grad Chuck Malkus opened Lexington Anti-Drunk Drivers (FL.A.A.D.) . The company offered intoxicated individuals a ride home because Lexington began cracking down on DUIs after receiving a federal grant to do so. The luxury service cost $50 a year and $20 per ride. Uber started in 2009.
June 18, 1984, the city of Somerset agreed not to dump sludge into two creeks running into Cumberland Lake after federal and state governments won a restraining order against the town.
On June 18, 1989, Superintendent of Public Instruction John Brock told lawmakers, “We can’t run 1,400 schools from Frankfort. We cannot have good schools without involvement at the local level, and local people will not get involved if they can’t have some say in how the school system ought to be run.”
On June 18, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the police did not need to warn suspected drunk drivers of their rights before videotaping their slurred responses to seven routine questions: name, address, height, eye color, date of birth, and age. The decision expanded the use of videotaping in DUI cases. It still stands today.
June 18, 1994, O.J. Simpson, one day removed from the white Bronco car ride , spent his 1st full day in jail in regards to his wife’s murder.
By June 18, 1999, some counties had enforced a new law to crack down on DUIs, but others hadn’t because Kentucky judges couldn’t decide if the law was fair. Legislators determined a third DUI with a level of .018 within five years would be a felony. However, attorneys and judges wondered how lawmakers chose the third and not the second or fourth DUI. They also questioned why .18 was chosen and not the set law .10.
On Sunday, June 18, 2000, Tiger Woods, 24, won the 100th U.S. Open in unprecedented style, finishing 15 shots ahead of his nearest rival, a record for any major. He also broke the Open record for most shots under par. It was his third major win and 1st Open.
On June 18, 2006, gaming officials announced Louisville would be the 1st stop in the inaugural World Series of Video Games. The series was a circuit-style competition for PC and Xbox games. They promoted the event and crowned their 1st champion, but the organization stopped operations in 2007.
On June 18, 2010, despite President Obama’s promise of better safeguards for offshore drilling, federal regulators continued to approve plans for Big Oil to drill in the Gulf of Mexico with little to no environmental analysis. The BP spill happened in April. Meanwhile, Kentucky lost millions in Medicaid, $16 million in 2009 and another $16 million in 2010. Governor S. Beshear planned to fight the 2010 cuts.
On June 18, 2013, the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area announced that an endangered baby Red Wolf had been born weeks earlier. The parents were a pair of captive Red Wolves at the Woodlands Nature Station. The female pup remained with her parents for 18 months and then transferred to a nature reserve to start her own pack.
On June 18, 2021, locals continued receiving letters from the large utilities that service the Commonwealth that the COVID bill moratorium had ended.
On Sunday, June 18, 2023, while Thomas Massie made 61 tweets to his 1.3 million followers, Russia and Ukraine admitted they were suffering high military casualties in America’s newest endless war.
June 18, 2024, a day after Mitch McConnell mongered for war on the Senate floor asking for more money to fund the MIC’s endless wars , Rand Paul pressed his case that the coronavirus likely originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China, just as Jon Stewart did on national television in 2021. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Lantern explained what Kentuckians in the know knew: Frankfort writes laws to overfill jails for profit.