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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

March 22, 1782, in the Battle of Little Mountain, seven of Captain James Estill’s axmen, out of 25, died in desperate hand-to-hand fighting with a band of 25 marauding Wyandots.

On March 22, 1857, Sheriff James Land and Deputy Jessie Arvin, Estill County Sheriff’s Department, died taking a prisoner to jail near Old Landing.  The murderer hung 68 days later.

March 22, 1871, Governor John W. Stevenson, to protect African-American voting rights, received a bill he requested that offered rewards for “the apprehension of perpetrators of election-related violence.”  Stevenson also recommended that carrying concealed weapons on Election Day be outlawed.

March 22, 1873, the General Assembly passed “an act to provide for a geological survey and mineralogical survey of the state.”

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Rudy Rucker, born in 1946. 

March 22, 1953, Army SGT Johnie B. Bullock from Pulaski County and Army PFC Charles Coleman from Jefferson County died in the Korean War.

March 22, 1954, Frankfort passed a joint resolution honoring the many contributions of Matthew Lyon (1749-1822).  He founded the town of Eddyville, which he made into a commercial center, mainly through his enterprises.  Matthew Lyon was the 2nd U.S. Congress member to represent two different states in the House, Vermont then Kentucky.

March 22, 1962, Lexington native Hal Price Headley, owner of Beaumont Farm, passed away at the Keeneland Race Course.  He died of a heart attack while returning from the track to Barn Q with his horses and daughter.  Headley was considered the guiding force in Keeneland’s foundation.  The Alcibiades Stakes, named for Headley’s foundation broodmare, was won by his “Rash Statement” in 1959.  He bred 88 stakes winners in all.

March 22, 1967, Army PFC Jacob A. Horn from Inez in Martin County died in the Vietnam War.

March 22, 1967, Muhammad Ali (29-0) fought Zora Folley (74-7-4) in Madison Square Garden.  Just before the fight, Ali lost his appeal against his 1-A classification for the draft and was ordered to appear in Louisville on April 11 for induction into the U.S. Army.  In the 1st heavyweight title fight in the Garden in 15 years, Ali dropped Folley in the 4th round, then knocked out the 35-year-old in the 7th round with a quick right.  This would be Ali’s last fight for three-and-a-half years.

March 22, 1968, Army MSG Estevan Torres from Hopkinsville in Christian County died in the Vietnam War.

March 22, 1969, Army SGT Steven D. Hooper from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

March 22, 1971, Army SP4 Terry W. Doan from Elizabethtown in Hardin County died in the Vietnam War.

March 22, 1971, celebrating their 2nd KHSAA Boys’ State Basketball Championship, the Louisville Male High School retired the players’ numbers for both championship years.  Before he let the entire student body out early for the day, Principal Sanders also spoke of the school’s Brook and Breck newspaper which won national recognition.

March 22, 1984, Kentucky played Louisville in the NCAA Mideast Regional Semifinals in Rupp Arena.  Joe B. defeated Denny 72-67.  Kentucky would lose to Georgetown in the Final Four.

March 22, 1985, less than an hour after his Kentucky team had been eliminated from the West Regional in Denver, Coach Joe B. Hall announced his retirement.

March 22, 2008, Elizabeth Whitcomb Lampton died on her farm, Elmendorf, at age 74, from a carriage accident.  Her husband, who bought the Fayette County farm in 1997, died six months later, also on the property.

March 22, 2022, eight high-profile bills advanced in Frankfort’s last week of legislation.  They included medical marijuana, reducing unemployment benefits, cutting the state income tax, the budget, charter schools, more restrictions on public assistance, ending coronavirus emergency orders, and a $1.5 billion tax rebate that would benefit high-wage earners hit hard by the shutdowns.