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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

November 7, 1795, Benjamin J. Bradford established the Kentucky Journal in Frankfort, the Commonwealth’s 3rd newspaper.  Kentucky in Retrospect by Lila Jones Kingston pg: 34.

November 7, 1825, around two o’clock in the morning, Jereboam Orville Beauchamp, a young southern Kentucky lawyer, knocked on Colonel Solomon P. Sharp’s door in downtown Frankfort and plunged a dagger deep into Sharp’s chest.  The murder becomes known as the Kentucky Tragedy or Beauchamp-Sharp Tragedy.  Anna Cooke Beauchamp directed the chain of events.  Anna had been an admirer of Sharp until Sharp denied being the father of her stillborn child.  Later, Anna begins a relationship with Cooke and agrees to marry him on the condition that he kills Sharp to avenge her honor.  Anna and Jereboam married in June 1824, and 17 months later, the tragedy occurred.  Sharpe played a prominent figure in Kentucky politics as a Representative, Congressman, and Attorney General.  On the morning of the scheduled execution, Anna and Jereboam attempted suicide in his cell with a knife.  Anna survived, and jailers loaded Jereboam on a cart to be taken to the gallows and hanged before he bled to death.

November 7, 1833, Lexington hosted the Kentucky Educational Convention, where leaders such as the Rev. Ben O. Peers advocated for a statewide standard school system.  Kentucky in Retrospect 1792-1967 by Lila Jones Kingston pg: 63

November 7, 1852, Madison County native Joshua H. Bean passed away.  Bean served with Zachary Taylor in the Mexican–American War and went to California in 1849 and San Diego in 1850, where he traded and owned saloons.  The California state legislature incorporated San Diego in 1850 and Bean became their 1st mayor until 1851.  As mayor, he illegally “sold” City Hall and city pueblo land to himself and a friend.  Bean later died in an ambush just outside Mission San Gabriel in 1852 during an argument over a woman.

November 7, 1896, the Kentucky State College (UK) football team beat Central University (EKU) 62-0.

November 7, 1899, Kentuckians voted in one of America’s most hotly contested gubernatorial elections, William S. Taylor (R) vs. William Goebel (D).  Governor William O. Bradley (R) stepped down due to term limits.

November 7, 1912, Deputy Sheriff Edward Neece, Bell County Sheriff’s Department, died from a gunshot at Brownet’s Creek near Pineville on a Sunday morning while serving a warrant for selling illegal liquor.

By November 7, 1926, the entire 254-mile Kentucky journey from Cincinnati to Cumberland Gap, called U.S. Route 25 or Eastern Dixie Highway, allowed 50 mph driving for Florida-bound tourists, just in time for winter, as promised by Kentucky Highway Commissioner E.S. Helburn.

November 7, 1929, Patrolman Poley Lloyd Faulkner, Winchester Police Department, died when he and two officers arrested a man for drunk and disorderly conduct after the suspect left a saloon.

On November 7, 1930, Ethel Corbin of Covington won $1,500 from Kroger Grocery and Baking Company in Harrison Circuit Court.  She sued for malicious prosecution after a “cold check” incident.

November 7, 1932, Deputy Constable Booker Van Buren Wright, Letcher County Constable’s Office, died when he went to a house to arrest a suspect on a warrant.  When Deputy Wright arrived at the suspect’s home, near Haymond, the suspect opened fire.

On November 7, 1939, Kentuckians elected Governor Keen Johnson to remain the 45th governor over King Swope by 460,834 votes to 354,704.  A month earlier, Keen moved into the mansion after U.S. Senator M.M. Logan died, and Governor A. Chandler appointed himself to his senate seat.  Keene was the first and only journalist governor; he served 4 years, 1 month, and 29 days.

November 7, 1944, Alben W. Barkley won re-election to his Class III Senate seat with 54% of the vote, to stay Senate Majority Leader.

November 7, 1949, Lexington native Vertner Woodson Tandy passed away in Manhattan.  In 1906, he and six others founded the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell University.  The seven men are affectionally known as The Seven Jewels.  He served as the 1st treasurer and designed the fraternity pin.  He also became the 1st African American registered architect in New York State.

November 7, 1950, Marine Corps James D. Welsh from Owensboro in Daviess County died fighting in the Korean War.

November 7, 1951, Army SGT Henry C. McKinney from Rowan County died fighting in the Korean War.

November 7, 1968, Deputy Sheriff Oscar Burkhart, Harlan County Sheriff’s Office, died transporting a prisoner to the county jail.  The prisoner’s parents opened fire on Deputy Burkhart’s patrol car, firing over 50 rounds.  Police captured all the suspects a short time later.

November 7, 1979, Trooper Edward Ray Harris, Kentucky State Police, died from a gunshot arresting the suspect in LaRue County.  Officers later shot and killed the assailant.

On November 7, 1985, click to see a truck on the one-lane bridge over the Cumberland River near Fourmile in Bell County.  Kentucky had the bridge for sale so it could build a new one.  The Louisville Bridge and Iron Company built the original one in 1873, and it was replaced in 1993.

November 7, 1989, Louisville native Gerald A. Neal became the 1st African-American to be elected to the Kentucky Senate.  He has represented Louisville ever since.

2:00 p.m., November 7, 1996, a massive fire broke out at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown.  Warehouse 1, made from old wooden timbers, housed approximately 20,000 thousand, 53-gallon white oak barrels filled with 100 and 125-proof whiskey, which made them highly flammable.  By 2:15, the fire engulfed the entire warehouse.  The 70 mph winds caused the flames to jump.  The fire eventually destroyed nearly 100,000 barrels in seven warehouses.

Saturday, November 7, 1998, the 15th Breeders’ Cup single-day record crowd of 80,452 witnessed two memorable performances by 6-year-old Da Hoss and Skip Away.  Da Hoss came off a two-year lay-off with one prep for the Mile.  BC announcer Tom Durkin called Da Hoss’s feat “the greatest comeback since Lazarus.”  The Classic featured one of the best fields assembled: the 1997 Derby winner Silver Charm, the last two Belmont Stakes winners Touch Gold and Victory Gallop, and the defending Classic winner Skip Away.

November 7, 2000, the battle for control of the state senate ended after the most expensive legislative race in Kentucky’s history.  The two candidates, in far Eastern Kentucky’s 31st Senate District, reported spending $917,250, beating the record by $200,000.  The elephants had a two-seat majority thanks to two members switching parties.  Also, a Fulton County school board election ended in a tie; a coin toss decided the race.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Ashland native Anthony Reeves, born in 2001.

November 7, 2004, Marine Lance CPL Sean M. Langley, 20, of Lexington died fighting in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Saturday, November 7, 2009, Zenyatta became the 1st female to win the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Classic.  She carried 124 lbs. and won by one length over Gio Ponti, earning $2,700,000 of the $5,000,000 purse.  She also became the 1st horse to win two different Breeders’ Cup races winning the Ladies Classic in 2008.  Zenyatta won 19 consecutive races in a 20-race career.  This was the 26th edition of the World Championship Races.

November 7, 2010, Frank Stronach brought Awesome Feather for $2.3 million at Lexington’s Fasig Tipton, two days after she won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.  Dubai Majesty, who won the Filly & Mare Sprint, also sold for $1.1 million.  Gabby’s Golden Gal, the 10th-place finisher in the Filly & Mare Sprint, sold for $1.2 million.  

November 7, 2014, a federal appeals court upheld gay marriage bans in Kentucky and three other states.

November 7, 2018, a few Kentucky lawmakers requested a judge to keep sealed sexual harassment allegations from the public.  They claimed the sworn testimony of a former female staffer who accused them of sexual harassment was too graphic and highly embarrassing.

November 7, 2019, a fire caused significant damage to a GenCanna hemp processing facility in Winchester.  Employees inside the facility said it caught fire at 8:15 PM, with no injuries reported.  GenCanna Global USA Inc., a prominent Kentucky producer of cannabidiols, filed bankruptcy three months later. 

On November 7, 2021, President J. Biden pushed forward with a massive plan to require millions of private sector employees to get vaccinated by early 2022.  First, he mandated that four million federal workers be vaccinated by November 22 under an executive order.  Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Masie tweeted, “We’re 18 months, 2 presidents, 5 trillion dollars, 3 jabs, and a shredded constitution into slowing the spread.”

November 7, 2022, Governor A. Beshear updated Kentuckians on the coronavirus in late 2022.  He released a new Kentucky county-by-county map that looked “radically” different from the previous week.  According to the governor, the CDC made significant mistakes in determining the counties in the “high and medium” categories.

On November 7, 2023, days after Andy defeated Daniel for a second governorship, Opensecrets reported the governor spent $23.1 million, and the ex-AG spent $6.5 million campaigning for the $152,181 annual salary.  The primary and general gubernatorial races set a Kentucky fundraising record, the two parties raised over $44 million, and PACs spent an additional $45.3 million.