Kentucky Trivia
December 6, 1792, Kentucky created Clark County , the 1st county formed from two counties, Fayette and Bourbon. All previous counties had split off from one county. Locals named it in honor of George Rogers Clark, Revolutionary War General. Winchester is the county seat. Other localities include Becknerville, Bloomingdale, Colby, Combs Ferry, Ford, Goffs Corner, Lyndale, Pilot View, and Trapp. Clark County, the 14th county created, covers 255 square miles.
By David Benbennick Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Frankfort native George Graham Vest , born in 1830. A graduate of Centre and the Transylvania’s Department of Law, George won the famous court case by reminding the jury that a dog is a man’s best friend.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Little Dixie native Ewing Galloway , born in 1880 in Pike County. A journalist who owned a photography agency that focused on the economy and transportation, the Ewing Galloway Agency was, at one time, the largest photography agency in the U.S.
Phot By Ewing Galloway December 6, 1885, Lieutenant Edward B. Harding, Louisville Police Department , died from a gunshot while investigating a disturbance at a local saloon on the corner of Ninth Street and Walnut Street (Present day Muhammad Ali Boulevard).
December 6, 1889, Jefferson Finis Davis, from Christian County, now Todd County, died in New Orleans . After the Civil War, the U.S. imprisoned him for two years at Fort Monroe, VA. They never tried him for treason but did release him on bond in May 1867. Davis, with his family, traveled for some time in Europe before returning to the American South. The family 1st lived in Tennessee, then relocated to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where Davis spent his retirement years at his Beauvoir estate near Biloxi. Mississippi tried to return him to the U.S. Senate, but he was not legally qualified to serve since he refused to request an official pardon from the U.S. for his role in the Civil War. Like many of his contemporaries, Davis wrote about his wartime experiences, entitled The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government , published in 1881.
December 6, 1899, accused of murder, several thousand people witnessed Richard Coleman tied to a tree and burned after a frenzied mob took him from Maysville deputies.
December 6, 1910, Lexington received 9.5 inches of snow.
December 6, 1911, Lexington laid the cornerstone for Abraham Lincoln School . A progressive model for elementary education, the facilities and programs were ahead of their time. The children benefited from a playground, swimming pool, carpenter shop, kitchen, sewing room, rooftop garden, neighborhood laundry, circulating library, and domestic science department. Unfortunately, the Lincoln School also exemplified the era of school segregation in Lexington. Black students were not allowed to attend throughout its 55 years of service. The school closed in 1967. The Kentucky Encyclopedia edited by John E. Kleber; pg: 118
December 6, 1922, Patrolman Alford Holland, Hazard Police Department , succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained two days earlier while questioning two drunk brothers about gunshots fired in town.
December 6, 1926, Covington native Harry Bartow Hawes became a U.S. Senator from Missouri.
December 6, 1947, Kentucky defeated the Villanova Wildcats 24-14 in Cleveland Stadium to play the one and only Great Lakes Bowl . Coach Bear Bryant, in his 2nd season, entered the game 7-3 with losses to AL, TN, and Ole Miss. George Blanda scored the first points with a 27-yard field goal.
December 6, 1950, Army CPL James R. Bissell from Crittenden County , Army PFC Leslie Click from Floyd County , Army PFC Billie J. Hash from Whitley County , Army PFC Freeman Linsey from Breckinridge County , Army PVT James L. Mason from Bell County and Marine Corps SGT Ray M. Pope from Lebanon in Marion County , all died fighting in the Korean War.
December 6, 1953, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board revoked the liquor license for Yorkshire Bar, a stylish Newport night spot . The club operated card games, dice games, three crap tables, a roulette wheel, three “beat the dealer tables,” and a “chuck-a-luck” table.
December 6, 1961, Deputy Sheriff Leonard Adams, Sr., Letcher County Sheriff’s Office , died from a gunshot while arresting a man for public drunkenness in Mayking; the man was in town on business. Deputy Adams located the subject carrying a 12-gauge shotgun at the railroad crossing over Cram Creek.
December 6, 1965, Army SSG Daymon D. Horn from Lexington died fighting in the Vietnam War.
December 6, 1967, Marine Corps SGT Montague Lyons from Walton died fighting in the Vietnam War.
December 6, 1968, Army PFC Ronald L. Million from Danville died fighting in the Vietnam War.
December 6, 1970, Army SSG Walter V. Marcum from Louisville died fighting in the Vietnam War.
December 6, 1975, after hours of talks , the National Forum on Alternatives: The Quest for Quality Education and Social Integration could not produce any magical ideas to solve their problems. Therefore, Louisville schools continued busing children as mandated by the federal government. Protestors stood outside in fierce opposition.
December 6, 1980, Kentucky defeated Isiah Thomas and the Indiana Hoosiers 68-66 in Bloomington.
December 6, 1990, the U.S. National Register of Historic Places added the Green River Female Academy building in Todd County.
By GRA1835 December 6, 1997, East Point native Leslie Kendrick received a Rhodes Scholarship, one of 32 American students to be named. The 21-year-old from Johnson County said she was overwhelmed when the press spoke to her at the North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, where she majored in English and Latin and minored in creative writing.
December 6, 2005, the World Equestrian Games picked the Kentucky Horse Park for their 2010 games. With total attendance estimated at 300,000, state officials expect it to be the largest sporting event in Kentucky history with an estimated $100 million for the local economy.
December 6, 2009, Michael Polakovs, who performed as Coco the Clown, died in Ashland . His father, Nicolai Poliakoff, made Coco famous in Europe.
On December 6, 2019, after 32 years of marriage, the wife of Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, filed for divorce. The two settled their $500 million assets amicably.
December 6, 2020, nine months after the 1st case of coronavirus in Kentucky, the state passed 200,000 positive cases and recorded 2,072 deaths. Governor A. Beshear stated that even though the past week broke records for positive cases, the virus seemed to be slowing down .
Positives: 2,567 / 200,632Deaths : 10 / 2,072 – 1st Death 3/16/2050&over : 2,018 / 49-30 : 51 / 29&under : 3
On December 6, 2021, three-year-old Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby runner who was DQ’d from 1st place, died on the Santa Anita track under the care of Bob Baffert. Baffert said the colt had a heart attack. Bob Baffert will not run in the 2024 Kentucky Derby due to cheating.
December 6, 2022, U.S. Secretary of Transportation and spook extraordinaire Pete Buttigieg spoke at the UPS Worldport Campus in Louisville to rebuild his image. Four months earlier, Buttigieg caused national outrage while on vacation in Portugal during critical talks when the nation was on the brink of a crippling rail strike and posted a video suggesting he was in the U.S.