February 18, 1815, the War of 1812 ended, advantage U.S. The need for a formal U.S. military began.
February 18, 1861, Montgomery, Alabama, held the inauguration for Fairview native Jefferson Davis , the provisional President of the Confederate States of America (CSA). Immediately following the ceremony, Davis sent a peace commission to Washington. Lincoln, committed to preserving the Union at any cost, refused to acknowledge. When Virginia joined the Confederate cause in 1862, they held the “official” inauguration at the Confederate White House in Richmond, VA.
February 18, 1870, the 1st train crossed the 14th Street Bridge from Clarksville to Louisville on the longest iron bridge in the U.S. The one-mile Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge has 27 spans. The structure also landmarks the eastern boundary of The Falls of the Ohio State Park.
By Bedford at en.wikipedia
February 18, 1873, Louisville hosted a state education convention seeking to secure equal education privileges for African American children.
February 18, 1887, Clinton County native Preston H. Leslie became the 9th territorial governor of Montana . He had already served as Kentucky’s 26th governor.
February 18, 1890, locals hung Ellison Mounts in Pikeville in an attempt to end the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. Thousands of onlookers witnessed the hanging, even though laws stated executions could not be public. The hanging took place on the site of the present-day University of Pikeville classroom building. No one had been sent to the gallows in Pike County for forty years, and Ellison would be the last.
February 18, 1903, the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Kentucky (UK) won their 1st basketball game in their 2nd try over the Lexington YMCA team, winning 11-10. Their 1st season ended with a 1-2 record.
Localtonians wish a Happy Anniversary to Mays Lick native Charles Young and Ada Mills , who wed in 1904. Mr. Young broke many barriers for African Americans, one being the 1st black man to become a colonel in the U.S. Army.
February 18, 1909, State University, Lexington (UK) hosted and defeated Cincinnati 28-23 to clinch their 1st winning season in school history . It took seven seasons to achieve this feat. They played the game in the Buell Armory Gymnasium.
February 18, 1917, Patrolman John George Fow, Louisville Police Department , succumbed to gunshot wounds from the previous day when he responded to boys throwing rocks at wagons. When Patrolman Fow arrived on the scene, one of the boy’s father shot him.
February 18, 1926, Deputy Sheriff Harve Pace, Harlan County Sheriff’s Office , succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained almost three months earlier when he stopped an escaping prisoner.
February 18, 1933, police arrested 124 men at a 4:00 a.m. raid as they gambled in a three-room luxury suite in downtown Louisville . Two gamblers drew pistols, fearing a robbery. Only one man didn’t make the $25.00 bond; he had a terrible night.
February 18, 1945, Lt. Ray M. Thompson’s parents received word their son was alive after 17 days drifting on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean . They heard the dramatic story of How God Sent A Plane to rescue four servicemen after their plane crashed. Ray said he learned more about God during those days than all of the days growing up in Greensburg.
February 18, 1949, the president of a highway construction firm paid $6,000 to a prominent lobbyist in the Capitol Hotel in Frankfort . The state then sued in December, wanting $100,000 from the president’s profit because he received preferential treatment in highway bids.
February 18, 1950, in a game against Georgia Tech, which the Wildcats won 97–62, Bill Spivey broke the team record for most points in a game with 40 , two more than Alex Groza scored in a game the previous season.
February 18, 1957, Deputy Jailer Luther Willis Hammond, Shelby County Detention Center , succumbed to wounds received one week earlier when two inmates assaulted him while they escaped from the Shelby County Detention Center.
February 18, 1964, Col. Harland D. Sanders, 77, sold his franchising business to John Y. Brown, Jr, and Jack Massey for $2,000,000 . He also received $40,000 a year for life to be the spokesperson and company trademark. Sanders started selling franchises for his chicken at 66. The Kentucky Encyclopedia edited by John E. Kleber; pg: 796
February 18, 1965, the state raided Maggie Bailey’s Harlan home again, a.k.a. bootlegger’s paradise . Nine State Troopers found $206,909 in cash and lots of moonshine.
February 18, 1968, Marine Corps PFC Joseph C. Andrew from Auburn in Logan County , Army SP4 Charlie A. Bratcher from Caneyville in Grayson , Army SSG Ronald L. McCollum from Covington and Army PFC Charles B. Poole from Maceo in Daviess County , all died in the Vietnam War.
February 18, 1970, Army WO1 Paul E. Ash, Jr. from Louisville and Army PFC Danny E. Blevins from Tram in Floyd County both died in the Vietnam War.
February 18, 1971, Army SGT Coley L. Kendall from Bowling Green died in the Vietnam War.
February 18, 1982, the founder of the controversial Guardian Angels arrived in Lexington to inform the locals how their form of justice worked.
February 18, 1994, the Navy decommissioned the USS Daniel Boone (SSBN-629) and struck her from the Naval Vessel Register . The James Madison-class ballistic missile submarine launched in 1963.
By PH1 VARNEY, USN
February 18, 2001, Owensboro native Michael Curtis Waltrip won the Daytona 500 . On the final lap, a deadly accident occurred involving Dale Earnhardt Sr, Ken Schrader, and Sterling Marlin. Earnhardt’s car crashed head-on into the retaining wall, killing him instantly.
February 18, 2002, Point Given defeated Tiznow to win the 2001 Horse of the Year honors at the Eclipse Awards ceremony in the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla.
February 18, 2011, a federal judge sentenced Karen Sypher to seven years and three months for extorting cash from Rick Pitino.
On February 18, 2017, two UK students allegedly traveled to Colorado and purchased 18 pounds of Mary Jane . The delivery driver they hired to transport the weed back to Kentucky got caught speeding in Kansas. The mule turned into a nark and started working with the police. He explained it was his 3rd trip. The students kidnapped the mule a year later in one of Lexington’s largest homes. They allegedly tortured him with a hammer, pliers, and an AR-15-gun stock before setting him free naked. The privileged frat brothers received shock probation for all their alleged crimes.
February 18, 2019, a Kentucky bred won Oaklawn Park’s GIII $500,000 Southwest Stakes . The winner received points toward the 2019 Kentucky Derby, but none of these starters ran for the Roses.
February 18, 2020, the Lexington-Herald Leader spotlighted rising Kentucky Tic Tok stars such as Matt Nichols, Parker Pannell, teacher Craig Smith, and the BailyBakery in Hart County. Meanwhile, a Whitley County man pleaded guilty to harassing a witness on Facebook over an ongoing drug case.
February 18, 2021, like schools across the nation, Kentucky faced a lack of bus drivers, food servers, and teachers after the coronavirus scare . The mandated shutdowns, coupled with winter weather and abundant unemployment checks, made staying home easy. However, as herd animals, humans are hard-wired to feel good in face to face interactions and social connections. Meanwhile, in Jackson County, people woke again to no electricity after an ice storm.
On February 18, 2023, Thomas Massie tweeted , “Instead of issuing letters to giant corporations demanding to know why their egg prices are so high, legislators should be removing government imposed barriers that keep family farms from providing healthy eggs at a reasonable price. Common sense!”
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