Kentucky Trivia
October 25, 1805, Kentucky Cherokee Chief Doublehead signed the final Treaties of Tellico, ceding the land south of the Cumberland River.
October 25, 1870, Pimlico Race Course opened. An impressive colt named Preakness won the 1st race called the “Dinner Party Stakes,” known today as the Dixie Handicap.
October 25, 1879, at the invitation of Mary Barr Clay, Susan B. Anthony arrived in Richmond for the 1st of three talks, given at the courthouse and Green’s Opera Hall. The talks marked the beginning of the Madison County Equal Rights Association with charter members Mary Barr Clay, Sallie Clay Bennett, Mrs. Rollins Burnam, Mrs. Mary Ann Collins, Mrs. Lester Sommers, Mrs. E. E. McCann, and Mrs. Martha Haley. Susan also made stops in Owensboro and Bowling Green.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Paris native Margaret Ingels, born in 1892. She grew up to become the 1st female engineering graduate from UK and the 2nd woman graduate in the U.S. She received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1916. She developed the “effective temperature” scale in an air-conditioner to incorporate humidity and air movement in the equation for human comfort.
On October 25, 1923, the Brown Hotel at the corner of Fourth and Broadway opened in downtown Louisville. David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, signed the guest register first. The Brown Hotel guests included Lily Pons and her pet lion cub, Al Jolson, Queen Marie of Romania, the Duke of Windsor, Harry Truman, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Gene Autry, Eva Marie Saint, Muhammad Ali, Robert Young, and three modern U.S. Presidents.
October 25, 1931, Sob Sister debuted with Elizabethtown native Charles Middleton playing the banker.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Newport native David “Dave” William Cowens, born in 1948. The Boston Celtics picked him 4th overall in 1970. His resume included the 1971 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year, 1973 NBA MVP, and 1973 NBA All-Star game MVP, two championships with the Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and a seven-time All-Star. In 1996, the NBA selected Cowens on their 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
October 25, 1951, Army 1LT Koeling B. Gardner from Jefferson County, Army PFC Ellis Marshall from Owsley County and Army PFC Velmer Shearer from Jefferson County, died fighting in the Korean War.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to World Heavy Weight Champion and Louisville native Greg Page, born in 1958.
October 25, 1967, Night Chief James Vallard “Jim” Smith, Barbourville Police Department, died from friendly fire after struggling with a drunk driving suspect.
October 25, 1968, Army CPL Jimmy W. Hardwick from Louisa in Lawrence County died fighting in the Vietnam War.
Sunday, October 25, 1970, all but three Louisville Kroger stores opened to sell necessity items. Corporate decided to do so days before Jefferson Circuit Judge Marvin Sternberg ruled on whether the Jefferson County stores that opened on Sunday would break Kentucky’s Sunday law.
October 25, 1978, 30-year-old John Howard Carpenter released his original independent film, Halloween. I decided to make a film I would love to have seen as a kid, full of cheap tricks like a haunted house at a fair where you walk down the corridor, and things jump out at you.” Carpenter described the movie as “True Crass” exploitation. The $320,000 film initially grossed $65 million, making it one of the most successful independent films. Growing up in Bowling Green, he began making 8mm films by the time he was in high school.
October 25, 1980, 22 miles-per-hour winds carried Western past Eastern in Bowling Green 13-10. Nineteen thousand seven hundred spectators braved the cold. Herschel Walker outran Kentucky 27-0 in Lexington with 62,687 in attendance.
October 25, 1999, Kentucky surgeons performed the 1st hand transplant in the U.S. at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. The 15-hour operation replaced the left hand of the male recipient from a donor who died a few hours earlier.
On October 25, 2003, during the 20th Breeders’ Cup (BC), Richard Mandella experienced the greatest success of his racing life at Santa Anita Park. Julie Krone became the 1st female rider to win a BC race aboard the Mandella-trained Halfbridled in the Juvenile Fillies. Action This Day garnered the Juvenile for Mandella’s 2nd win. Mandella’s 3rd win of the day was another BC first. After 1 ½M in the BC Turf, Mandella’s Johar and defending champion High Chaparral hit the wire together. It took 12 minutes for the stewards to declare the race a dead heat, the 1st tie in BC history. As if destined, Mandella’s 14-1 shot, Pleasantly Perfect, won the Classic by 1 ½ lengths. Mandella broke D. Wayne Lukas’s record of three BC wins set in 1988 with his 4th triumph of the day.
October 25, 2006, Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan B. Thornsberry, 22, of McDowell in Floyd County, died while conducting combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
October 25, 2008, the unranked Louisville Cardinals upset the 14th ranked South Florida’s Rocky the Bull football team.
Saturday, October 25, 2008, the 2nd day of the 25th Breeders’ Cup, occurred in the 2nd year of the two-day format. It seemed like “Female Championship Friday,” part II, when a female force emerged named Goldikova. She defeated her male rivals in the Mile, with an incredible turn of foot.
On October 25, 2010, Jack Conway and Rand Paul squared off in their final debate before the November election. This time, Rand Paul did shake Jack’s hand. He refused to shake his hand in the previous debate.
October 25, 2017, Yum Brands! pulled out as the corporate sponsor of the Kentucky Derby, a landmark deal with Churchill Downs since 2006. The exit, three years ahead of schedule, allowed Brown-Foreman Corporation to take over, using its Woodford Reserve bourbon as the marquee.
October 25, 2019, Franklin Circuit Judge P. Shepard ruled that Governor M. Bevin’s office had the authority to fire Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton’s staff without her authorization. Shepard noted the ruling was not a criticism of Lt. Gov. Hampton, who discharged all of her assigned duties with dignity, loyalty, and honor. Bevin chose another running mate in January 2019, and when Bevin fired her staff in August, she filed a lawsuit. Hampton was the 1st African-American to hold statewide office in Kentucky history and the 3rd African-American woman to have served as lieutenant governor of a U.S. state. Bevin made more embarrassing strategic decisions and lost re-election.
Sunday, October 25, 2020, the state reported the highest number of coronavirus cases for a week at 9,335. The frustrated governor said, “We all know the steps to stop the spread of the virus-wear facial coverings, wash your hands, stay six feet apart, and limit gatherings and travel. Let’s all do these things to protect one another.” The three reported deaths for the day included ages 74, 83, and 87 from three different counties.
October 25, 2021, Nathanael Powell, from Independence, caught a state record Striped Shiner that weighed .17 lbs. from Banklick Creek in Kenton County.
By LtshearsOn October 25, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported declining interest in COVID-19 vaccine boosters among older adults. They also reported less than 10% of the population ages five and up had gotten it.