Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Nelson County native and Kentucky’s 20^th governor, Charles Slaughter Morehead, born in 1802.  Though a member of the Whig Party for most of his political service, he joined the Know Nothing, or American, Party in 1855.  He was the only governor of Kentucky ever elected from that party.

July 7, 1826, Orville Beauchamp hung in Frankfort after being convicted of stabbing to death Kentucky legislator Solomon P. Sharp; a crime known as the Beauchamp–Sharp Tragedy.  The morning of the execution, he and his wife, Anna, attempted a double suicide by stabbing themselves with a knife she had smuggled into prison.  She was successful; he was not.  They rushed Beauchamp to the gallows before he could bleed to death.  Two men supported Beauchamp as the noose was put around his neck.  He asked for a drink of water, and the band to play “Bonaparte’s Retreat from Moscow.”  At his signal, the cart moved out from under him, and he died after a brief struggle.  Following Beauchamp’s earlier instructions, the bodies of Jereboam and Anna were arranged in an embrace and buried in the same coffin.  A poem written by Anna was etched on their double tombstone.

July 7, 1883, Deputy Sheriff Marhall E. Hensley, Green County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot as he and a posse attempted to arrest a man.

July 7, 1885 Knott County came into actual being.  People came from miles around and gathered around the troublesome creek to celebrate their new county.
The Kentucky by Thomas D. Clark pg: 372

July 7, 1890, Patrolman George E. Roberts, Louisville Police Department, died after being punched in the neck by a man he was attempting to arrest at an election polling place near the intersection of Ormsby Avenue and Second Street.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Owensboro native Thomas McCreery Powers, born in 1890.  An actor in theatre, films, radio, and television, Thomas was a veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw.

July 7, 1893, Carlisle County lynched Seay J. Miller, a black male, for rape and murder.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Monticello native Harriette Simpson Arnow, born in 1908, in Wayne County.

July 7, 1915, a large tornado swept through Kenton and Campbell Counties leaving a path of destruction in its wake.  City officials estimated the losses in the millions of dollars.

July 7, 1925, Special Deputy Sheriff Frank James, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot as he assisted the Martin County sheriff and a posse search for a man wanted for shooting five people the previous day.

July 7, 1934, Mary Hirsch became the 1^st female to be licensed as a Thoroughbred trainer.  She received her licenses in Illinois and subsequently received a license in Michigan and New York years later.

July 7, 1950, Army PFC William T. Maddix from Boyd County and Army PFC Basil Varney Jr from Pike County, died in the Korean War.

July 7, 1951, Army PVT Carroll N Ramsey from Louisville died in the Korean War.

July 7, 1953, Air Force A2C Donald L. Abney from Louisville and Air Force A2C John Glendale Delancy from Raceland in Greenup County, died in the Korean War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Ft. Knox native Leonard Harold Barker III, born in 1955.  Len pitched the 10^th perfect game in baseball history.

July 7, 1965, Army PFC Johnie E. Rice Jr. from Freeburn in Pike County died in the Vietnam War.

July 7, 1966, Army SP4 John W. Hamm from Lexington and Marine Corps LCPL Danny R. Simpson from Cardinal in Bell County, died in the Vietnam War.

July 7, 1967, Army PFC Bobby L. Foreman from Lexington died in the Vietnam War.

July 7, 1968, Army SGT Lavaughn Elliott from Russellville in Logan County died in the Vietnam War.

July 7, 1970, Army SGT Gerald L. Risinger from Jeffersontown died in the Vietnam War.

July 7, 1979, 14-year-old Mary T. Meagher won the gold in the Women’s 200m Butterfly in the Pan American Games and set a new world record.

July 7, 1983, federal and state officials told Kentucky cities they would not be able to financially assist them in treating their sewage before it emptied into local rivers due to a cut in federal funds.

July 7, 1990, Hazard’s tradition rich La Citadelle announced that ownership would be transferred for the first time in two decades for a price between $1 and $2 million.  Brothers L.D. and Joe Pat Gorman and cousin Vernon Cooper, Jr. sold it to coal operators Jim Hall and Billy Hylton.

Kentucky Trivia:  Guest at the La Citadelle included Robert Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Ernie Ford, and Glenn Campbell.  Duff Arnett, a Hazard lawyer, suffered a heart attack while in his favorite hotel and refused treatment.  Arnett, who had cancer, told his friends he liked the La Citadelle so much that he would just soon die there as anywhere, and he did.

On July 7, 2008, gas prices hit $4.15 a gallon, and Kentucky lawmakers on both sides of the aisle scrambled to take the lead on electric cars.

July 7, 2015, a same-sex couple from Morehead and alumni of Morehead State University, released video footage of Kim Davis refusing to issue them a marriage license and requesting that they turn off their camera.  The video went viral overnight.

July 7, 2020, Kentucky received $5 billion from President D. Trump and Washington D.C. from their socialist program called the “Paycheck Protection Program.”  The money tried to elevate the problems caused by the mandatory shutdown of the economy.  Meanwhile, GE Appliances announced a $62 million infusion and 260 new jobs in Louisville.

July 7, 2021, former President D. Trump filed class-action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google, and Twitter for violating his 1^st Amendment rights when they suspended his accounts.