Skip to content

TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

August 13, 1826, James Johnson passed away while representing Kentucky in the U.S. House.  In 1817-18 he promoted the stagecoach industry in the Bluegrass and organized several stagecoach companies.  He was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky, with a plantation near Great Crossing in Scott County.  His father arrived in Kentucky in 1779 and helped build Bryan’s Station and moved the family there in 1781.  James rests in his family cemetery at Great Crossing.

August 13, 1862, the Confederate Calvary claimed to have taken London.

August 13, 1897, Nicholas County lynched George Wilson, a black male, for an unknown reason.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to our 50th governor and Manchester native Bertram T. Combs, born in 1911.  Kentucky’s Democratic Party had split into two factions by 1955 when Earle C. Clements (47th Governor), the leader of one faction, chose Combs to challenge the former governor and U.S. Senator “Happy” Chandler, who headed the other.

August 13, 1917, Frankfort native Eddie Bacon made his MLB debut for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Wednesday, August 13, 1919, in his 7th start, Man o’ War lost his 1st and only race to Upset.  Before starting gates, horses approached the starting line as a team, and the race began with a flag signal.  In Man o’ War’s only lost the flag dropped while he was facing the other direction but still approaching.  Upset won by half-length, carrying 15 pounds less than Man o’ War.  Golden Groom, the favorite, ran third.  The 7th running of the 6F Sanford Stakes was one race that gave traction to the Spa’s nicknames of “the house of upsets” or the “graveyard of favorites.”

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Solomon King, born in 1930.

August 13, 1948, the U.S. Olympic basketball team, featuring UK’s Fabulous Five, won the gold medal by defeating France, 64-21, at Wembley Stadium in London.

August 13, 1950, Army PFC Arthur L. Adams from Greenup County, Army PFC Max O. Davis from Livingston County, and Army PVT Raymond D. Hall from Lewis County, died in the Korean War.

August 13, 1952, Marine Corps PFC Bill E. Johnson from Middlesboro in Bell County died in the Korean War.

August 13, 1958, Patrolman Austin Eugene Vanover, Sr., Henderson Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident while on duty.

August 13, 1959, 37 frightened negro teenage girls evacuated from the Y.M.C.A. camp near Versailles after a telephone threat.  State Police also found kerosene poured on leaves and lit, but the fire didn’t reach the cabin.  Known as Camp O-Tonka on McCowens Ferry Road, it overlooked the Kentucky River.  Black children used the facilities for two weeks, while white children enjoyed it the rest of the summer.

August 13, 1960, the state’s top athletes participated in the 9th annual East-West All-Star High School football and basketball games.  Six thousand fans attended the football game in Stoll Field while Memorial Coliseum, across the street, accommodated 4,000 basketball fans.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Paducah native Sam Champion, born in 1961.

August 13, 1965, Air Force A2C Jerry W. Toon from Anchorage in Jefferson County died in the Vietnam War.

August 13, 1966, Army PFC Ronald L. Woods from Bryantsville in Garrard County died in the Vietnam War.

August 13, 1968, Army SGT Earnest R. Mullins from Elkhorn City in Pike County and Army SSG James A. Williams from Paducah, died in the Vietnam War.

August 13, 1970, Army SSG Nicholas G. Johnson from New Haven in Nelson County died in the Vietnam War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Madisonville native Demetrious Johnson, born in 1986.  Thirteen-time Flyweight World Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is widely considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial artists of all time.

August 13, 1990, Washington citizens voted to merge with neighboring Maysville in Mason County.

Kentucky Trivia:  In 1790, with a population of 462, Washington was the 2nd largest town in Kentucky, after Lexington.

Saturday, August 13, 2005, Marines escorted Cathy Comley out of Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington as she walked behind her son’s casket, Marine Lance Corporal Chase Johnson Comley.  The funeral procession arrived at the Lexington Cemetery.  Breaking from tradition, the Comley family spoke out against the Bush Administration and the war, following a national trend of families loosing loved ones.

August 13, 2009, Disney officials confirmed part of their major motion picture, Secretariat, would be filmed in Kentucky.  “It will be real,” said Penny Chenery, owner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby winner.  “Kentucky is the home of thoroughbred racing and breeding, and you can’t fake Central Kentucky.”

Kentucky Trivia:  Although five horses played the role of Secretariat, Trolly Boy won the lead role after Penny Chenery selected him for a look-alike contest.  The colt walked the Red Carpet at the film premiere in Hollywood.

On August 13, 2010, Michael Gobb, former executive director at the Bluegrass Airport, received probation instead of prison time for stealing money from his work.  Three other white-collar criminals who allegedly worked with him also escaped jail time.  “The public is becoming increasingly discourged that people do not suffer consequences for violating our laws,” Ray Larson Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney.

On August 13, 2015, more than 200 potential hemp growers came to the UK’s industrial hemp research field day at Spindletop Research Farm, where the College of Agriculture showcased several hemp projects under cultivation this year.  It was the 2nd year in a row that Kentucky agronomists grew the crop, once a staple harvest in the Commonwealth.

On August 13, 2016, WKU released two new (red home and white away) football jerseys.  The university’s cupola is inscribed on the chest plate and the line from the school’s alma mater “We shall never fail thee” is written on the bottom of the jersey.

August 13, 2016, Arlington Park’s GI 1,000,000 Arlington Million XXXIV enjoyed a full field.

August 13, 2017, Louisville native, Justin Thomas made a historic comeback to win the 99th PGA Championship, his 1st Major.

August 13, 2017, Lexington Mayor J. Gray received offers from locals to pay for the removal of two confederate statues; a day after he announced they would be moved.  The same day, Lexington police detained a man driving by churches with a sign and yelling KKK=Trump.  The police explained to the man the proper way to express his 1st Amendment rights.  He clearly had Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS):  When you let a narcissistic real estate agent steal your critical thinking skills because you dislike him so much.  Individuals with TDS would rather hate Trump than discuss the root causes of how he became president and the real underlying issues facing this country.  TDS is also known as “Lizard Brain.”

August 13, 2019, Louisa native Chandler Shepherd made his MLB debut with the Baltimore Orioles.

August 13, 2020, Venus Williams beat Serena Williams in the Top Seed Open in Nicholasville.  It marked the 31st time the sisters played each other since 1988.  The elder Venus led the family rivalry 19-12.

On August 13, 2020, “There are those who want to say this is only harming old people of a certain age,” the governor said, “56 isn’t old.”  The six new deaths he announced ranged from 56 to 92.  Meanwhile, taking individual temperatures in social settings became very popular, while friends and family began discussing the impending vaccine.  The experimental medicine would divide the country like no other subject in recent history.

On August 13, 2021, Senator R. Paul still had not faced any penalties for his seriously delayed disclosure of a stock purchase that took place back in February 2020.  He missed the 45-day deadline by 14 months.  He bought stock in a drug that treated coronavirus just as the virus began to spread.  Unfortunately, it is common practice for Congress members to purchase stock and ignore the disclosure law because they know there will be no consequences.

By Saturday, August 13, 2022, locals could visit Louisville’s newest website, the Open Data Website.  The information portal could tell you the most popular dog registered in Louisville, the highest-paid civil employee, and thousands of useful or useless data points.  Proving once again that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

By Sunday, August 13, 2023, the Pentagon blamed the D.C. National Guard Unit for the January 6 events and decided to shake the organization up.  The FBI estimated they allegedly helped between 2,000 and 2,500 people enter the Capitol Building on January 6.  A few costumed men made it to the House Speaker’s office.  It’s almost as if it happened for TV.  One thing it did was divide, and divide it did.