TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia

November 27, 1869, Samuel Smith Nicholas, the first President of the University of Louisville, passed away.  President from 1846-47, the new university consisted of the recently merged Louisville College and the Louisville Medical Institute.  He established the new law school, which met in the Jefferson County Courthouse; Nicholas granted degrees to the first graduating class.  In 1849 he became a member of the Kentucky constitutional convention.  Nicholas, a slave-owner, argued for gradual emancipation.  As the Civil War grew inevitable, he authored several books on constitutional law and later turned down a nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.  He is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.

November 27, 1896, Kentucky State College (UK) lost to the Louisville YMCA football team, 4-30, to close out the losing season.

November 27, 1906, the Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded Hickman in Fulton County $10,000 to build a new library.

960px Hickman Carnegie Library

November 27, 1919, Coach Andrew Gill’s Kentucky Wildcats shutout the Tennessee Volunteers 13-0 in their last game to go 3-4-1.

November 27, 1924, Coach Fred Murphy’s Wildcats beat the Volunteers 27-6 in their next to last game of the season and ended up with a 4-5 record.

November 27, 1943, Deputy Charlie Ramsey, Rockcastle County Sherriff’s office, succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained 10 days earlier while investigating a disturbance in Mt. Vernon.  A soldier, who was home on furlough, became involved in an argument on a public street.  A third man walked up and took sides against the soldier.  As Deputy Ramsey approached the group, the third man suddenly pulled out a .32 caliber revolver, shot the soldier, and then shot Deputy Ramsey.

November 27, 1950, Earle Chester Clements, the 47th governor, resigned to become the 32nd Class III Kentucky U.S. Senator, which he held for 22 months.

November 27, 1950, Lawrence Winchester Wetherby takes the oath of office to become Kentucky’s 48th governor when Governor Clements resigned to become a U.S. Senator. 

Kentucky Trivia:  Because three of Wetherby’s close family members had been killed in automobile accidents on the state’s roadways, improving roads was a high priority.  Wetherby authorized the building, re-building, or re-surfacing of nearly 6,000 miles of roads during his administration.  He would be elected governor the following year to remain number 48.

November 27, 1950, the following Kentuckians died in the Korean War: Army PFC Clayton Overbee from Perry County, Army CPL Ralph K. Caudill from Lincoln County, Army PFC Ellis H. Copeland Jr. from Jefferson County, Marine Corps PFC Ray Palmer Fairchild from Salyersville in Magoffin County, Army PFC Royce C. Gibson from McCreary County, Army PVT Robert E. Smalley from Fleming County and Army PFC Lloyd D. Stidham from Breathitt County, Army PVT Asher B. Sublett from Warren County, Army SGT Jack O. Tye from Harlan County, Army CPL Charles A. Williams from Nicholas County, Army PFC Richard H. Woodford from Menifee County and Army CPL Alfred B. Adams from Laurel County.  Lloyd D. Stidham’s remains were identified on April 3, 2009 and he was buried in Nicholasville on April 13, 2009.

November 27, 1951, an all-time high state-wide average of $54.09 a hundred pounds was paid for Kentucky burley tobacco at the opening sale of the 1951 crop.  The previous high was $51.90 a hundred paid in January 1948.

November 27, 1960, Burley-tobacco sales for the 1961 season opened on a positive note at Louisville’s three warehouses.  The day’s average was $66.89 a hundred pounds, 80 cents above last year.  Buyers claimed it was one of the finest crops in a while.

November 27, 1970, the Kentucky Court of Appeals made two rulings.  First, a journalist must reveal the identity of persons they see committing a crime but reaffirmed an existing law granting reporters the right to refuse disclosure of sources who may confidently give them information.  The second ruling stated women would not be awarded alimony if they were the faulty party in a divorce.

November 27, 1976, Rupp Arena was home for the first time to a UK basketball game.  Wisconsin rolled into Lexington and got beat 72-64 by #6 Kentucky.  Rick Robey scored the first points and was the high scorer with 13, followed by the Goose Givens with 12.  Both players had double doubles.  Coach Joe B. Hall got his first win in Rupp in front of 23,266.  The snack stands ran out of hot dogs by halftime. 

Kentucky Trivia:  The exhibition game against Marathon Oil, played five days earlier, was the last time Memorial Coliseum played home to the men’s UK basketball team.

November 27, 1980, from across the country, the Sisters of Loretto came home for Thanksgiving meal they would not soon forget.  The celebration came after two years of painstaking planning and 11 months of manual labor. 

November 27, 1985, oil and gas production was underway along a protected section of the Rockcastle River.

November 27, 1993, Kentucky had little trouble in subduing Louisville for the fourth straight year, defeating the Cards 78-70 in Rupp Arena.  Tony Delk and Clifford Rozier were high scorers.

November 27, 1995, the state released the final vote tally for the governor’s race; it was closer than first thought.  Patton received 500,787 votes to Forgy’s 479,227 and Galbraith had to pay a fee to know their vote tally of 3,965.  It was the third closest race behind the 1943 (Willis) and 1963 (Breathitt) races.

November 27, 2001, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky sued four counties that had posted the Ten Commandments in public buildings, broadening a battle that began in 1999.

November 27, 2001, Louisville Mayor Dave Armstrong released a $250 million proposal to attract the Charlotte Hornets.  He wanted the team to pay for a third.

November 27, 2005, twenty-nine Kentucky State Police Officers left for Mississippi to preform law-enforcement duties along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.

November 27, 2009, Coach Kragthorpe coached his last game for the Louisville Cardinals in a losing effort against Rutgers 34-13.  His three years with Cardinals resulted in a 15-21 record.

November 27, 2010, a small comic shop in Bullitt County held a Pokemon Card contest.  More than 30 children, teens and adults gathered to compete and test their strategies.

November 27, 2010, Derby hopefuls took to the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes for two-years-olds.  The 2009 winner, Super Saver, went on to win the roses.

November 27, 2014, Park City native Joe Duvall ended 53 years of service to Mammoth Cave.  Earlier in the week, 19 people followed him in his last tour, his favorite tour, the Historic Tour, which he says, “was just like all the others.”

November 27, 2014, the city of Louisville told Uber and Lyft they could not pick passengers at the airport; they could drop them off only.

November 27, 2015, nine go to post in the Grade I $500,000 Clark Handicap Stakes at Churchill Downs, one of America’s oldest horse races that began in 1875.

November 27, 2018, Kentucky’s top human services official stated that the Bevin administration will move ahead with implementing an overhaul to Kentucky’s Medicaid program, adding work requirements and other changes.

November 27, 2020, Kentucky posted a record number of coronavirus cases (3,870) and the second highest number of deaths (32) on Thanksgiving.  Governor A. Beshear stated “these were alarming numbers.”  Kentuckians in the hospital numbered 1,714, 390 in ICU, and 216 on ventilators.