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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

The April 13, 1750, entry from Dr. Thomas Walker’s journal is the 1st written record of a non-Native American at the place now known as the Cumberland Gap.  He and five other men set out from Virginia on March 6 to explore the wild lands of Kentucky for the Loyal Land Company.

April 13, 1894, construction began for the Cathedral Basilica in Covington and ended in 1915.  Architects modeled the 13th Century French-Gothic style’s interior after the Abbey Church of St. Denis in Paris, while the facade would mirror Notre Dame de Paris.

April 13, 1914, the Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded Corbin $6,000 to build a public library.

April 13, 1920, news broke that UK would build “a massive concrete stadium” located on Stoll Field.  It would be the largest stadium in the south, seat up to 24,000, and be horseshoe in shape.  They also announced the school would begin to raise funds for a basketball building and a statue of Dr. Patterson.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Karl Kroeger, born in 1932.  The composer and professor of music worked at several universities throughout America.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to South Portsmouth (Greenup County) native John Herman Stephenson, born in 1941.  John, as a Met, struck out last in Jim Bunning’s 1964 perfect game, pitching for the Phillies.

April 13, 1954, Maj. Louie A. Beard, a founding member of Keeneland, passed over.

April 13, 1960, Robert B. Martin, state commissioner of finance became president of Eastern Kentucky State College.

April 13, 1960, a former medical director of a major pharmaceutical company accused the drug industry of profiteering and other questionable practices.  He urged the U.S. Senate committee to make Congress crack down with restrictive legislation.  Fast forward to 2025, and regulatory capture is the norm for entities like the FDA, NIH, and other critical governmental institutions.

On April 13, 1961, Louisville native Florence K. S. Thompson Riney passed over in Owensboro.  The 1st female sheriff in the U.S. to execute a prisoner, she oversaw the Daviess County hanging of Rainey Bethea, the last man publicly executed in the U.S.

On April 13, 1964, Packard (Whitley County) native Patricia Neal won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Hud, despite having a relatively small amount of screen time.

Kentucky Trivia:  Packard arose from an old Whitley County Coal Camp that no longer exists.  Located about 18 miles east of Williamsburg, the last residents moved out around 1950.

April 13, 1969, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined Adolph Frederick Rupp.

April 13, 1971, clean-up began after Morgantown’s (Butler County) worst fire in the small town’s history.  More than 150 firefighters from 14 units battled over four hours to put out the fire that destroyed an entire downtown block.

On April 13, 1983, Sharon Ware resigned as Director of Licensing and Regulation.  She felt some state Cabinet for Human Resources officials undermined her efforts to reform Kentucky’s nursing homes.  Sharon provided a prime example of regulatory capture when she exposed state officials working directly with the nursing home industry to stop the reforms.

April 13, 1987, Lt. Governor S. Beshear released telephone records that showed Governor J. Brown called Caesars Palace in Las Vegas 27 times from the governor’s office during the 1st two years of his term.  Beshear claimed that Brown gave more priority to gambling than the Commonwealth.

April 13, 1991, Strike the Gold won the Blue Grass Stakes and then won the Kentucky Derby, the last thoroughbred to do so.  Born a “dummy foal,” Alydar’s son barely survived birth due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.  The Nick Zito trained colt foaled on Calumet Farm.

April 13, 1993, officials charged Fayette County Attorney Norrie Wake with stealing more than $5,000 from his office to pay off his election campaign debts.

April 13, 1993, in the broadest challenge yet to Governor B. Jones’s bid to overhaul Kentucky’s healthcare system, the state’s largest organization of physicians urged postponement of the reform until D.C. provided their corporate input on the subject.

April 13, 1996, Racing Hall of Famer Skip Away won the Blue Grass is 1:47 1/5 for 1 1/8 miles, which remains a stakes record.  He finished a disappointing 12th in the run for the roses.

April 13, 1996, a Kentucky bred won the GII $500,000 Wood Memorial Stakes; the winner finished 5th in the Derby.

April 13, 1996, Oaklawn Park ran the GII $500,000 Arkansas Derby, the winner finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby.  The second-place horse, Grindstone, won the Roses.

April 13, 2002, Sheriff Samuel Wilson Catron, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, was shot in the head while leaving a political rally in Shopville (Pulaski County).  He had just left the stump campaigning for his 5th term as Sheriff.  The sniper took the shot on a motorcycle with a high-powered rifle as the Sheriff placed two cakes he had just purchased from a fundraiser into his patrol car.

April 13, 2002, Reverend Miller, a Louisville Roman Catholic priest, retired, after allegations of sexually abusing minors in the 1960s and 1970s.

April 13, 2002, former Kentucky State Supreme Court Justice Robert Stevens died in Lexington after a battle with cancer.  Stevens wrote the landmark decision prompting an overhaul of the state’s educational system.

April 13, 2011, two months after Indiana confirmed a devastating bat disease, Kentucky wildlife officials announced the virus reached the Commonwealth, affecting Mammoth Cave operations.

Kentucky Trivia:  Sixteen documented species of bats live in Kentucky.  Fourteen of these species are considered permanent or seasonal residents.  Three are federally endangered: Virginia big-eared, Indiana, and gray bat.  In addition, the Northern long-eared bat is federally threatened.

April 13, 2012, Governor S. Beshear and Senate President D. Williams exchanged bitter barbs in a scathing blame game over failures in the 2012 General Assembly and the need for a costly special session to address unfinished business.

April 13, 2013, the Kentucky State Rabbit Breeders’ Association sponsored more than 500 exhibitors at the 3rd annual Kentucky Cup Rabbit Show in Louisville, showcasing thousands of the cottontails.

On April 13, 2014, Pat Gish, 87, with her late husband Tom, who published The Mountain Eagle since 1957, died peacefully surrounded by family members at her home in Thornton (Letcher County).  “Pat Gish’s life is a profile in courage, endurance, and dogged hard work, all driven by a deeply principled commitment to the idea that there is nowhere a free people unless there is a free press,” Jim Branscome, in one of several printed tributes.

Kentucky Trivia: “Pat and Tom were real journalistic warriors of the kind too rarely seen in this age in which news is ‘monetized’ and valuable reporting resources are allocated according to page clicks.  Pat and Tom Gish reported the real news, regardless of whether it was either profitable or popular-and despite considerable risk to both life and livelihood.”  Ezzell Brown, winner of the 2007 Tom and Pat Gish Award established by UK’s Institute for Rural Journalism.

April 13, 2017, Mike Pompeo, then CIA chief, described WikiLeaks as “a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia.”  Real Americans and protectors of Free Speech called WikiLeaks journalism.  Again, another prime example of how Washington, D.C. blamed Russia, Russia, Russia on America’s problems.

On April 13, 2017, Andrew Wilkinson, the younger son of ex-Governor Wallace Wilkinson, launched The Blessings of My Storms.  The book details his life story, from the wealthy governor’s son to poverty to prison to recovery.

April 13, 2019, after digging in to hold on, the favorite, won Keeneland’s GI $350,000 Jenny Wiley Stakes by one.

On Monday, April 13, 2020, on the 26th day after the first victim died, the virus totals read 2,048+ cases and 104 deaths.  The governor felt the numbers were inaccurate due to closed labs over the Easter Holiday.  Woodford County moved to a four-day at-home instructional week instead of five days to give families a “mental break,” after two months of school shutdowns.  People going through recovery programs struggled to find in-person meetings.

April 13, 2020, as Americans started receiving their $1,200 government checks, Jay Ambrose, a conservative AP writer, spouted socialism’s evils.  CARES paid for the checks, Trump’s third coronavirus bailout package and the largest, $2.2 trillion.  He would sign two more and Biden one.  Some people say government bailouts are not socialism; others believe different.

April 13, 2021, Kentucky suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after rare instances of blood clots.  “To Kentuckians who took the J&J vaccine, you are going to be OK.”  Beshear said at a news conference.  Churchill Downs announced that only 15,000 fans would attend the infield for the 2021 Derby.

On April 13, 2022, Envision AESC, a Japanese Electric Vehicle (EV) battery company, announced its $2 billion investment to build a new, state-of-the-art gigafactory in Bowling Green, Warren County.  They said the plant would provide 2,000 skilled jobs producing battery cells and modules to power the next generation EVs.

On April 13, 2022, protestors chanted “Hands off Our Bodies” to Representatives as they went to the chambers to override the governor’s veto to make abortions illegal.  It forced the only two abortion clinics in the Commonwealth to stop the procedures, at least temporarily, while they challenged the law in court.  Two months later, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe vs Wade, which gave each state the power to decide.

On April 13, 2023, the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) allegedly fired a whistleblower for bringing management concerns to light.  The governor announced the resignation of the department’s Commissioner in November 2023.  The whistleblower’s concerns likely contributed to the overall investigation and scrutiny of the department.

On April 13, 2023, the Kentucky Lantern recognized Virginia Bell, who gained wide acclaim for her work in adult day care.  She developed one of the first dementia-specific adult day programs in the country, the Best Friends Center.  The day center provides a unique method of care based on friendship rather than a managerial style.  UK inducted her into the Social Work Hall of Fame and she also received the Sullivan Award from the university in 2004.

On April 13, 2024, a Kentucky bred won the GIII $400,00 Lexington Stakes for a Sheik.  The winner scratched from the Derby.  

On April 13, 2024, Congressman Barr offered prayers to his donors.  Two months later, Thomas Massie said every Republican in Congress has an AIPAC babysitter.  He questioned why the lobby group or their representatives aren’t required to register as foreign agents, which is the case for those advocating for all other countries.