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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

On November 23, 1812, the Kentucky Gazette made the 1st reference to Lexington’s downtown square as Cheapside, named after the medieval market in London.

November 23, 1854, the Rev. William M. Pratt officiated the funeral of William King Solomon, a Lexington hero who helped bury all the dead during the 1833 cholera epidemic.  William, a Virginia native, claimed to have been a boyhood acquaintance of “Harry” as he called Henry Clay.  He probably could drink Clay under the table, but Clay might have something to say about that.

November 23, 1871, Kentucky licensed the 1st two African Americans to practice law in the Commonwealth.

November 23, 1872, former slaves Calvin Hamilton and Primus Keene purchased 23 acres in Scott County.  They sold plots to other freedmen and formed the black community of Briar Hill, later named New Zion.  In the nearly century and a half since its founding, generations of Kentuckians have called New Zion home.  Oscar Dishman, Jr., (1923-2000) who became a celebrated thoroughbred horse trainer and civil rights activist, grew up there.

November 23, 1895, the Kentucky State College (UK) football team played the Louisville Athletic Club and won 16-10.

November 23, 1897, Town Marshal George Jones, Hindman Police Department, died by the brother of a man who had just been arrested on a warrant.  The wanted brother had been shooting his gun recklessly in town the previous night.  Marshal Jones formed a posse, including the man’s brother and father, and arrested him the day after the incident.  While in jail the brother started quarreling with Marshal Jones about the amount of the man’s bond.  The man pulled out a gun and shot Marshal Jones, killing him.

On November 23, 1921, President Warren G. Harding signed the Willis-Campbell Act, better known as the anti-beer bill.  It forbade doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes.

November 23, 1923, Knox County Detention Center, Jailer Charles West and Deputy Foster Messer died serving a warrant on a man who had escaped from jail the previous week.  As they approached the man’s home they were fired upon from ambush.  Six men were apprehended and charged with murder.

November 23, 1939, Rhea Stadium in Russellville held their 1st game.  The stadium is still used today for Russellville High School’s football games and an annual band competition.  Flanking the entrance of the stadium are sculpted heads of six sports stars during the time of Rhea Stadium’s construction: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Jim Thorpe, Paavo Nurmi, Red Grange, and Jack Dempsey.

November 23, 1947, Sheriff Douglas Grant Manning, McCreary County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot in the line of duty.  Police arrested a suspect but released him due to a lack of evidence.

November 23, 1957, the Kentucky Wildcats under the direction of Coach Blanton Collier beat #12 Volunteers 20-6 in Tennessee.

November 23, 1967, Army CPL David W. Vest from Lexington died in the Vietnam War.

November 23, 1968, Marine Corps PFC Howard R. Wilhoit from Ludlow in Kenton County died in the Vietnam War.

November 23, 1969, Army CPY Robert A. Clements from Paducah in McCracken County died in the Vietnam War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville Native Chris Hardwick, born in 1971.

November 23, 1973, Chief Deputy Sheriff Bristol Taylor, Knott County Sheriff’s Office, died while responding to reports of a drunk and disorderly subject at a restaurant in Mousie.  As he and his partner exited their vehicle the subject opened fire on them with a .357 caliber revolver, fatally striking Chief Deputy Taylor four times.

November 23, 1983, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy watched students shoot the basketball at the Spruce Pine Elementary School in Honaker, Floyd County, as part of his nationwide survey of hunger in America.  Kennedy, a seven-term Democratic senator from Massachusetts, visited Floyd and Letcher Counties.

November 23, 1988, Joseph Matthew Angelucci, Fayette County Deputy Sheriff, succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained three weeks earlier while he attempted to serve a warrant.  Joseph left behind a mother, father, brother, and many friends.

November 23, 1990, a waste reduction study claimed there was little hope the Jamestown’s underwear plant would reduce their salt and copper levels in their wastewater anytime soon.  Around 80% of Jamestown wastewater comes from the Union Underwear plant, all of which goes into Lake Cumberland.

November 23, 1990, Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources again claimed the fish in the man-made Taylorsville Lake suffered from bacterial infections, which caused open sores and fungus growth.  Officials stated fertilizers, animal run-off from surrounding farms, and sewage treatment plants from Harrodsburg and Lawrenceburg caused the problems.  The lake, built in 1983, is one of Kentucky’s most popular lakes.

November 23, 1996, while the state announced that sales of the prescription drug known as fen-phen tripled in one year, Churchill Downs found another sponge in a horse nostril, making it the 10th sponge found since June in a suspected race-fixing ring.

November 23, 2005, Shepherdsville in Bullitt County passed an ordinance that would charge money to individuals for their crimes.  Anyone who committed a misdemeanor or felony had to reimburse the city for the investigation’s cost, the 1st known ordinance of its kind in Kentucky.

November 23, 2005, Harlan native Nick Lachey announced his divorce from Jessica Simpson.

November 23, 2011, an 18-year-old from Todd County received 50 years for murdering his 9-year-old adopted sister, Amy.  The case represented the failures of Kentucky’s Child Protective system.  Judge Tyler Gill reserved his most scathing comments for state social services officials who ignored or dismissed repeated allegations of abuse of Amy.  The judge called the Cabinet for Health and Family Services a “dysfunctional institution.”

Friday, November 23, 2012, members of several unions and a group called Kentucky Jobs with Justice protested outside a Louisville Walmart, one of many demonstrations the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union planned nationwide for Black Friday.

November 23, 2012, Kentucky bred and Keeneland grad Shackleford won the (GI) $500,000 Clark Stakes, one of America’s oldest races.

November 23, 2019, Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis told Kentuckians he likely could not work with the all-new, state board of education members that Governor-elect A. Beshear promised to appoint.  Lewis said he would not resign in the short-term but would likely leave the post in time.  Beshear appointed Dr. Jason E. Glass the new Commissioner on July 10, 2020.

November 23, 2020, after a record-breaking week of coronavirus cases, Governor A. Beshear stated, “The Surge Is Real.”  Meanwhile, the high demand for the coronavirus test caused long lines and frustration, officials told everyone to “calm down,” after scaring them for six months.

Positives:  2,135 / 160,232
Deaths:  5 / 1,792 – 1st Death 3/16/20
50&over: 1,745 / 49-30: 44 / 29&under: 3

On November 23, 2021, the U.S. Army announced they would not promote or reenlist troops who refused the coronavirus vaccine.  The new rule applied to active duty, reserves, and National Guard Troops.  The government felt the healthiest citizens in America would benefit from the experimental vaccine.