Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets
April 19, 1774, the area known as Lexington 1st appeared in a written record when Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s governor, signed a military warrant for 200 acres to James Buford “near the head of the middle fork of Elkhorn and adjoining the track of John Maxwell.” Sergeant Buford received the land for service in the French and Indian War. Some of the lands would become downtown. The History of Pioneer Lexington 1779-1806 by Charles R. Staples; pg: 9
April 19, 1777, the 1st recorded marriage in Harrodsburg and the 2nd in Kentucky County occurred when James Berry married widow Wilson. The 1st marriage happened inside Fort Boonesborough 8.5 months earlier.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Isaac Shelby and Susanna Hart, who wed in 1783 inside Fort Boonesborough.
On April 19, 1780, George Rogers Clark and a company of at least 299 documented civilians arrived in Ballard County to construct and inhabit an American outpost at the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers confluence. From the beginning, Chicksaws attacked and killed several soldiers and civilians. Commander Robert George called the fort “this remote hole” due to its isolation. Pioneers abandoned Fort Jefferson 14 months later.
April 19, 1792, Kentucky adopted its statehood constitution , meeting the deadline established by Congress for admission before June 1, 1792.
April 19, 1902, Town Marshal Ralph Marcum, Fallsburg Marshal’s Office , died by gunshot while attempting to serve a warrant on a man for firing a revolver at night.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Covington native Jack Roush , born in 1942, founder of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team who also chaired the Board of Roush Enterprises. The Berea College graduate worked for Ford and Chrysler after graduating with a mathematics degree and bachelors in physics.
April 19, 1944, Anna Mac Clarke died at 24 . The 1st African American woman who commanded an all-white regiment has a historical marker honoring her life near the Lawrenceburg courthouse, her hometown.
April 19, 1945, Chief of Police Edward Wiley Fox, Evarts Police Department , died near Dizney in Harlan County. Locals found his body in his patrol car with two gunshot wounds.
April 19, 1953, IRS agents simultaneously raided establishments in five cities ; Newport, Chicago, Ft. Worth, Boston, and Pittsburg. The Feds wanted to crack down on a “cross-country syndicate of gamblers.” They made 18 arrests with valuable information. Meanwhile, Frankfort passed a new bill to make Keeneland pay the full 4% pari-mutuel tax instead of the 2% they received as a special favor.
April 19, 1965, Army SP5 Charles F. Millay from Philpot in Daviess County died in the Vietnam War.
April 19, 1970, Army SFC Robert C. Trigg from Radcliff died in the Vietnam War.
April 19, 1975, Danville celebrated Constitution Day with a series of events that began at Constitution Square . Judges, politicians, and interested locals participated. The celebration supported the goal of keeping alive the proud heritage of Kentucky’s history.
April 19, 1984, James P. Lambert beat federal charges that he conspired to thwart a grand jury investigation by obtaining secret grand jury documents. However, in June, Lambert had to face drug charges; he also did well in that judgment.
On April 19, 1989, the USS Iowa explosion killed 47 men, including two native Kentuckians . Michael William Helton, 31, and Rodney Maurice White, 19, both from Louisville, died serving their country. Michael Robert Williams, who grew up in South Shore was also a victim.
April 19, 1994, Mill Springs Battlefield became a National Historic Landmark . In a rare January battle, only one Union regiment had combat experience.
On April 19, 2000, Pat Day rode four winners to reach 720 Keeneland wins, breaking Don Brumfield’s track record of 716 . Day’s mount, on the last victory of the day, threw him, but Day jumped off safely like the winner he was.
April 19, 2006, Army PFC Robert J. Settle, 25, of Owensboro , died in Iraq fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
April 19, 2010, Yum! Brands announced they would pay $13.5 million for the naming rights of Louisville’s downtown arena. The largest food company in the world would sell the products of three of its chains—KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell—in seven concession stands within the arena.
April 19, 2014, a Keeneland graduate exacta won Keeneland’s GIII $150,000 Ben Ali Stake for four-year-olds and upward going 1 1/8 miles on the turf.
April 19, 2015, government watchdogs reported Kentucky taxpayers paid close to $20,000 for seven lame-duck state lawmakers to visit Alaska, for a legislative conference.
On April 19, 2016, the Chinese announced they bought Lexmark for $3.6 billion , the Bevin administration began an official probe into possible wrongdoing of the Steve Beshear Administration, and lastly, ex-Governor S. Beshear’s private secretary pleaded guilty to accepting $200,000 in bribes for state business deals.
April 19, 2019, Mark Ward from Evarts caught a state record Large Mouth Bass weighing 14 lbs. 9.5 ozs., in Highsplint Lake.
April 19, 2019, in a hilarious attempt to further Russia xenophobia and justify war , the U.S. corporate media blasted a story about a Russian-trained, harness-wearing, Beluga Whale used as a military weapon.
April 19, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced the highest number of positive coronavirus cases for one day, 273, totaling 2,960. He also announced four new deaths, totaling 198 in Kentucky. Around 13% of the positive cases came from nursing homes.
April 19, 2022, the Richmond Buc-ee’s opened, and people flocked to it; they still are . In sad news, guns became the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S., surpassing car crashes, according to the New England Journal of Medicine .