Kentucky Trivia
November 4, 1778, the Virginia Legislature voided the Transylvania Purchase made by Richard Henderson, again. A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest, 1770-1970 by Robert F. Collins; pg: 102
November 4, 1788, the 7th Kentucky Convention in Danville commenced . Kentucky in Retrospect 1792-1967 by Lila J. Kingston pg: 25
November 4, 1793, Kentucky legislatures met in Frankfort for the 1st time; they convened in the Wilkinson House. The legislatures would occupy their 1st permanent capitol building in 1794, which burned in 1813. The Kentucky Encyclopedia edited by John E. Kleber; pg: 160
November 4, 1824, fire consumed the 2nd permanent state capitol building and 5th building to be used as a capitol . They used the building for eight years. The two-story brick structure had only two rooms on the 1st floor; used by the house and senate. The courts occupied the 2nd floor. Two wings detached from the main building and housed the state officials’ offices. The fire destroyed the main section and west wing, however, the east wing still stands.
November 4, 1842, on a Friday evening, Abraham Lincoln (33) wed Mary Todd Lincoln (23) in the front parlor of Mary Todd’s sister Elizabeth’s home in Springfield, IL. About 30 relatives and friends, all hastily invited, attended the ceremony conducted by Episcopal minister Rev. Charles Dresser. James Matheny, 24, was asked by Lincoln to be the best man on the wedding day! Neither Mary’s nor Abraham’s parents attended. Mary wore a muslin wedding dress that belonged to her sister Frances with a pearl necklace but no veil. The wedding ring’s inscription read “A.L. to Mary, November 4, 1842. Love is Eternal.” The couple honeymooned at Globe Tavern, a very ordinary two-story Springfield boardinghouse made of wood. The couple stayed married for 23 years.
November 4, 1896, Patrolman Aquilla W. White, Owensboro Police Department , died while attempting to disperse a group of men who were acting disorderly on Lower Fifth Street, near the Southern Iron Works. A man grabbed his service revolver and shot him. On December 26, 1896, a mob seized the suspect from the Owensboro jailer at gunpoint and hanged him.
November 4, 1926, Chief of Police Tom Blackburn of the Garrett Police Department , died from a gunshot after responding to a home where a group of drunk men were involved in a large brawl.
November 4, 1930, Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup Race in Australia , its most prestigious race. The legendary Phar Lap won as the shortest-priced favorite in history and the only favorite to win at odds on 8/11. He placed 3rd the previous year. Due to his outstanding success, criminals tried to shoot Phar Lap three days earlier after completing a track work. They missed, and later that day, he won the Melbourne Stakes and, three days later, the Melbourne Cup.
On November 4, 1939, a young man’s dream came true. A proud John Lair welcomed guests to the 1st Renfro Valley Barn Dance in Kentucky . That 1st Saturday night performance made country music history and served as a foundation for wholesome and clean fun for decades.
November 4, 1950, Marine Corps PFC Huil D. Sparks from Martha in Lawrence County , Army SFC James M. Clevenger from Morgan County, and Army PVT Ira V. Trent from Letcher County , all died fighting in the Korean War.
November 4, 1951, Army CPL Owen D. Chilton from Henry County died fighting in the Korean War.
On November 4, 1956, Patrolman Rufus Edward Froedge, Owensboro Police Department , died while pursuing a speeding vehicle when his patrol wagon collided with a patrol car at 4th Street and Triplett Street.
November 4, 1965, Army SP5 Benjamin R. Pinkerton from Ft. Knox died fighting in the Vietnam War.
November 4, 1966, Army PVT Bobby Young from Viper in Perry County died fighting in the Vietnam War.
November 4, 1966, the Old Morrison building on Transylvania Campus became a registered National Historic Landmark . On behalf of the U.S. Department of Interior, John A. Aubuchon, Superintendent of Mammoth Cave National Park, presented a bronze plaque and certificate to J. Douglas Gay, Jr., President of Transylvania’s Board of Curators.
November 4, 1967, Army PFC Jimmy R. Baggarly from Stanley in Daviess County died fighting in the Vietnam War.
November 4, 1968, Sergeant James Ryan, Sr., Danville Police Department , succumbed to gunshot wounds received the previous night while responding to a burglary call with another officer on South 4th Street. The officers encountered a man with an automatic rifle. The suspect opened fire, striking Sergeant Ryan six times.
November 4, 1975, Kentuckians elected Paducah native and Democrat Julian Carroll the 54th governor of Kentucky over Robert E. Gable with 62.84% of the vote.
November 4, 1980, Senator Wendell Ford set a state election record in defeating Mary Louise Foust with 720,891 votes. No other candidate running in Kentucky received more votes.
November 4, 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kentucky vs. Indiana that the boundary between the states is “a series of straight lines between sequentially numbered geodetic points, 1927 North American Datum.” Resolving a long-standing dispute between the two states. The Kentucky Encyclopedia edited by John E. Kleber; pg: 103
November 4, 1989, Florida held its 1st Breeders’ Cup, the 6th edition . Gulfstream Park featured the greatest rivalry of the 1980s when Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Sunday Silence from California met Belmont Stakes winner Easy Goer from New York, in the Classic, for the Horse of the Year title. Many say it was the race of the decade.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Whitley County native Jordan Mackenzie Smith , born in 1993. In 2015, he gained national recognition when he won season nine of The Voice. Jordon became the show’s 1st artist to reach #1 in sales of pop songs in the iTunes store, and set new sales marks on Billboard charts.
November 4, 1996, President Clinton and 1st lady Hillary Clinton talked with UK coach Rick Pitino and his wife, Joanne, on the speaker’s stage at UK. On election eve, Clinton finished months of campaigning with a high-energy pep rally at UK; in front of about 14,000 supporters.
November 4, 2000, the 17th Breeders’ Cup started with two huge upsets in the Distaff and Juvenile Fillies . Defending champion Cat Thief returned to the Classic. Fusaichi Pegasus, the $4 million yearling who parlayed himself into a $60 million stallion, took center stage for the final time. Win or lose; he would retire after only nine races. It was one heck of a battle, down Churchill’s home stretch.
November 4, 2003, Ernie Fletcher beat Ben Chandler to become the 1st elephant governor in 32 years and the 2nd doctor to win the governorship in 119 years.
November 4, 2006, Kentucky fans carried the goalpost around the field after the Wildcats upset Georgia 24-20 in 1996. They last beat the Bulldogs in 1996.
November 4, 2006, total purses leaped from $14 million to $20 million for the 23rd Breeders’ Cup . After a six-year hiatus, the event returned to Churchill and the 2-year-old Street Sense showed he loved Churchill Downs, winning the Juvenile by a widening 10 lengths under jockey Calvin Borel.
November 4, 2009, Governor S. Beshear urged quick action to protect Kentucky’s interest in response to Ohio’s voters’ decision to authorize casino gambling. The governor joined horse racing leaders in pushing lawmakers to expand gambling after casino construction quickly moved ahead in Cincinnati and other Ohio cities.
Friday, November 4, 2011, Churchill Downs played host to the 28th Breeders’ Cup for the 2nd consecutive year and for a record eighth time . The first race, a new race, pitted Juveniles in a sprint going three-quarters-of a mile.
November 4, 2011, “case #1” died suddenly while galloping at Hollywood Park . There was nothing unusual about the case at the time; however, the track notified the California authorities for an autopsy per protocol. This would be the 1st horse death under the care of Bob Baffert, which officials took notice. Seven of his horses died suddenly from November 4, 2011, through March 14, 2013.
November 4, 2013, Marietta Strange from Louisville caught a state record Logperch in Lake Berkley weighing .08 lbs.
Friday, November 4, 2016, the 33rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships will long be remembered as an event that lived up to its giant expectations . For a record ninth time, Santa Anita Park hosted for record two-day crowd of 118,484. The 1st BC race on Friday, the $1 million Juvenile Turf, had a Hollywood theme, as Oscar Performance scored a 1 ¼ length victory. The park is less than 30 miles from Tinseltown.
Saturday, November 4, 2017, Del Mar hosted the 34th Breeders’ Cup Championships, the last time they held the races over one day . The on-track handle of $15,981,250 was the highest since 2006. In addition, the total handle was the highest since the 2010 Churchill Downs BC when there were two additional Breeders’ Cup races. Saturday’s on-track handle was $15,900,813, an increase of 18% over the $13,563,884 wagered on track at Santa Anita last year.
On November 4, 2019, around 31% of the 3,451,537 eligible Kentuckians were expected to vote on this election day, the same as in 2015 . Kentucky had some of the most restrictive laws in the country about early voting, absentee voting, and the times’ polls closed on Election Day. This Commonwealth is one of nine states that only allow early in-person or absentee ballots by mail with an accepted excuse. However, the shutdowns forced them to be flexible.
November 4, 2019, Mitch and Donald held a last-minute rally for incumbent Governor M. Bevin , it didn’t help. “Here’s the story,” Trump told thousands of supporters. “If you win, they are going to make it like, ho hum. And if you lose, they are going to say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world. You can’t let that happen to me!”
November 4, 2020, Kentucky State Police (KSP) Commissioner Rodney Brewer resigned one week after student journalists at duPont Manual High School released their report on old KSP training materials that quoted Adolf Hitler and urged cadets to be “ruthless killers.” Sad to understand the only journalist left in America are those locked up in prison or high schools students that are not propagandized yet.
November 4, 2020, the elephants added to their majorities in the Kentucky House and the Senate . In addition, Joe Biden won Michigan and Wisconsin, which moved him closer to the magic number of electoral votes for the presidency.
Positives: 1,635 / 113,009Deaths : 11 / 1,514 – 1st Death 3/16/2050&over :49-30 : 29&under
November 4, 2021, Senator R. Paul accused Dr. Fauci of changing the Gain of Function Research definition on the National Institute of Health (NIH) website , while Dr. Fauci denied the NIH continued to fund research at the Wuhan lab. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Governor A. Behsear began to tout the experimental coronavirus vaccine for children. Health officials hailed shots for children ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough in fighting the coronavirus. Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, stressed that the vaccinations were safe for children and eventually, there ould be “plenty of vaccine to go around.”
On November 4, 2022, Future Stars Friday opened the 39th Breeders Cup, with Keeneland hosting for a 3rd time. International competition was at its finest right from the get-go. The day included: Juvenile Turf Sprint – $1 million – 5 ½F
