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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

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Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Louis Dembitz Brandeis, born in 1856, the 1st Jewish man to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Louis graduated high school at 14, attended college in Kentucky, and then graduated Valedictorian from Harvard Law School at 20.  He fought monopolies, large corporations, and developed a new life insurance system after an exposé of insurance fraud in 1906.  In 1907, he launched a six-year fight to prevent banker J. P. Morgan from monopolizing New England’s railroads.  Hostile to the new consumerism, Louis hated advertising and knew they “manipulated” average buyers.  He discussed how newspapers and magazines depended on advertising for their revenues, which caused them to be “less free” than they should be.  President Wilson appointed the Kentuckian.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Helen Maria Turner, born in 1858.  Ms. Turner painted and taught in oils, watercolors, and pastels, often in an Impressionist Style.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Abraham Flexner, born in 1866.  After graduating from Johns Hopkins University in two years with a degree in classics, Flexner returned to Louisville to teach classics at Louisville Male High School.  Four years later, Flexner founded a private school to test his growing ideas about education.  He opposed the standard model of education that focused on mental discipline and a rigid structure.  Moreover, “Mr. Flexner’s School” did not give out traditional grades, used no standard curriculum, refused to impose examinations on students, and kept no academic record of students.  Graduates attended leading colleges, and his teaching style began to attract considerable attention.

November 13, 1894, “The Lion of White Hall,” 84-year-old Cassius M. Clay married 15-year-old Dora Richardson at his Madison County estate.

November 13, 1902, Deputy Nick Bodkin of the Kenton County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot as he and another deputy attempted to break up a disturbance at a local saloon across the street from the Covington police station.

November 13, 1920, Kentucky and Centre meet on the gridiron.  Centre dominated 0-49.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native John Lawrence “Jack” Narz Jr., born in 1922.  A radio personality, television host, and singer, Narz eluded an infamous quiz show scandal to forge a respected hosting career.

November 13, 1944, Junior James Spurrier from Russell County nearly single-handedly captured the village of Achain, France, from German control.  For several hours, Spurrier attacked the town repeatedly, wandering into the command post, replenishing his ammo, and slipping out the door.  At the end of the night, he had routed the enemy.  America recognized his courage the following spring with the Medal of Honor.  A few months earlier, Spurrier fought in another heroic fashion where he received the Distinguished Service Cross.  However, Junior had difficulty adjusting back to civilian life after the war and led a very turbulent life.

November 13, 1948, the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Florida Gators in Lexington 34-15.

November 13, 1950, Navy SN Frank B. Carroll from Pembroke from Christian County died fighting in the Korean War.

November 13, 1952, someone stole nine paintings that King Louis Philippe of France gifted to St. Joseph Cathedral in Bardstown in the 1840s.  The F.B.I. closed the church to look for clues.

November 13, 1968, Army SP4 James C. Hathorne from Louisville died fighting in the Vietnam War.

November 13, 1969, Army CPL Eddie D. Carpenter from Lexington died fighting in the Vietnam War.

November 13, 1970, Kentucky farmers began weighing their burley tobacco for the season along with seven other growing states.  Good weather provided a top-quality crop.

November 13, 1980, 50,000 acres in Eastern Kentucky continued to burn.  The smoke drifted to Lexington and Frankfort and as far north as Toledo and Cleveland.  The Hazard airport had to close due to smoke.

November 13, 1990, UofL accepted a bid to the Fiesta Bowl amid the host city’s controversy.  A week earlier, Arizona voters defeated a measure to make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a statewide-wide holiday.  Louisville crushed Alabama 34-7 in their 1st bowl bid since 1977.

November 13, 1990, Alydar, Calumet Farm’s leading sire, broke a hind leg in his stall.  At the time, he earned $20 million annually in stud fees.

November 13, 1995, a serial killer’s run from the law ended in Madison County after a wild car chase that brought national attention.  The 33-year-old man from Ohio eluded six police cruisers and ran through a road block until one officer forced him off the road.

November 13, 2007, an 84-year-old McCreary man who resided in an Eastern Kentucky nursing home sued the facility, saying they kicked him out in violation of state law.  Mr. Elmus Campbell required a hospital stay for two days. They refused to take him back.  Although the administrative judge ordered the nursing home to take him back, public interest lawyers filed the suit out of concern over a growing Kentucky trend of “dumping” difficult residents.

November 13, 2008, the Kentucky State Fair Board banned the sale of Nazi and KKK memorabilia.

November 13, 2015, the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest made their 1st major land acquisition in a decade when they bought 135 acres in Bullitt County to protect the Cave Hollow region north of Bernheim Forest.

November 13, 2018, for the 2nd year in a row, Kentucky’s Teacher’s Retirement System (TRS) reported a modest improvement in its financial condition.  The actuary for TRS reported that as of June 30, the system had 57.7% of the money it anticipates is needed to pay future benefits, an upturn from 56.4% in 2017.

November 13, 2001, Deputy Sheriff Billy Ray Walls, III, Jessamine County Sheriff’s Department, died serving a warrant on an elderly man for a terroristic threat.  As the three deputies entered the man’s 150-square-foot houseboat, the suspect opened fire with a semi-automatic .30 caliber M-1 carbine rifle.

November 13, 2019, Bardstown High School star JJ Traynor signed with Louisville.  His father Jason, also a Cardinal, stood beside him at the signing in the high school gym.

November 13, 2019, USDA Wildlife Services and Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologists teamed up to snipe feral pigs from helicopters, infesting the Land Between the Lakes.  Wild hogs can have two litters per year, with an average of 10 per litter.  Those offspring can give birth in less than a year.  Reports of wild pigs began to surface in 1990 in small pockets of the state but are now present throughout the Commonwealth.

November 13, 2020, according to the C.D.C., the lockdowns coupled with remote learning caused the number of emergency room visits for mental health reasons among children ages 12 to 17, from March through October to rise 31%, compared with the same period last year.  Meanwhile, Governor A. Beshear announced two single-day records with 3,173 new cases and 25 deaths.

Positives:  3,173 / 132,844
Deaths:  25 / 1,647 – 1st Death 3/16/20
50&over: 1,606 / 49-30: 39 / 29&under: 2

November 13, 2021, Frankfort announced that the century-old Kentucky Capitol building would soon have a $100 million makeover.  Meanwhile, some military analysts warned America’s growing presence around Ukraine caused Russian troops to gather on Ukraine’s border.  The U.S. has been training Ukrainian soldiers in their country since 2015, a year after the U.S. helped overthrow the Ukrainian government.