Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

March 27, 1751, Christopher Gist left the 1^st written record of travels through what is now Hazard.  His notes on this date acknowledged the large deposits of coal.

March 27, 1775, possibly the same Native American party who attacked Captain Twitty two days earlier attacked six of Boone’s men who camped near Boonesborough.  Two more settlers died, and three were wounded.  Because of this attack and the severe injuries to Captain Twitty, they constructed a temporary log shelter as a protective defensive position for the rest of the party.  Within a few days, Twitty died, and they buried him along with Sam, his servant, at the site.  The temporary structure became known as “Twitty’s Fort” or “The Little Fort” and continued to exist for many years.

March 27, 1827, Calvin Smith and Robert Brank, both of Tennessee, dueled in Simpson County with pistols at ten paces.  On the first fire, Mr. Brank received a bullet through the body and expired on the spot.  The difference arose from a trial in a county courtroom where both men practiced law.  Famous Kentucky Duels by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 140

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Anchorage native Patty Smith Hill, born in 1868.  Patty taught at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School and collaborated with her sister Mildred on a song called Good Morning to All.  The song became a greeting students would sing to teachers.  It is unclear how the tune morphed into Happy Birthday to You.  Still, today, it’s the most recognizable song in English.

On March 27, 1890, Louisville got hit by one of its most violent and damaging storm.  The weather began at 8:30 p.m. and lasted only about five minutes, long enough to sweep over the downtown area.  Ultimately over 100 individuals lost their lives, and many more received injuries.  The storm’s path was so localized that thousands of locals went to bed that night, unaware that disaster had struck the city.  Telegraphs came from all over the world offered help.

March 27, 1912, Frankfort native Albert Fall became a U.S. Senator from New Mexico.  The U.S. Army Captain supported a military invasion of Mexico in 1916 to end Pancho Villa’s raids.

March 27, 1948, Kentucky played Louisville in the Old Madison Square Garden and won 91-57 for the quarter-finals of the Olympic Trial Tournament.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Kentucky bred Native Dancer, born in 1950 on Scott’s Farm near Lexington.

1 P.M., Monday, March 27, 1950, WHAS-TV signed on as a CBS affiliate.

March 27, 1951, Army SGT Charles D. Quinn from Greenup County and Army SGT William Stevens from Harlan County, both died in the Korean War.

March 27, 1951, Coach Rupp and the Cats won their 3^rd NCAA title in Minneapolis, the 1^st team to win the title three times for the 3^rd title in four years.  The Wildcats consisted of only six healthy players; Cliff Hagan had an infected throat.  The team hardly looked like championship material as Kansas State broke out to a 20-12 lead.  It was then that Rupp inserted the ailing Hagan, a move that may have proved the difference as the sophomore helped cut the Kansas State lead to 29-27 at the half.  UK outscored Kansas State 41-29 in the 2^nd half to complete the come-from-behind victory.  Bill Spivey earned Most Outstanding Player with a game-high 22 points.

March 27, 1953, Marine Corps PFC Donald E. Hendricks from Franklin in Simpson County and Marine Corps PFC Theodore R. Irvin from Cawood in Harlan County, both died in the Korean War.

March 27, 1954, Deputy Sheriff Robert Hensley and Sheriff Clarence Taylor from the Owsley County Sheriff’s Office died while investigating a truck stuck in a ditch on the side of a roadway.  One of the three men inside the vehicle opened fire and killed both lawmen.

March 27, 1958, the General Assembly created the State Archives and Records Commission.

March 27, 1969, Army PFC William P. Thompson, Jr. from Shelbyville died in the Vietnam War.

March 27, 1978, Joe B. Hall led Kentucky over Duke to win UK’s 5^th National Championship in the St. Louis Checkerdome.  Many have said Jack Given’s 41-point game performance ranked as one of the finest in college basketball.  The Cats went 30-2 and won the SEC regular season champions.  The SEC did not hold a conference tournament from 1953 to 1978.

March 27, 1979, John Y. Brown, Jr. interrupted his honeymoon with Phyllis George to announce his candidacy for Kentucky governor.

On March 27, 1994, Lawrence Winchester Wetherby, Kentucky’s 48^th governor, passed over.  Lawrence became governor when Governor Clements took the Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat.  The Middletown native later won a four-year term making him governor for five years and 16 days.

March 27, 1996, the Dubai World Cup ran its inaugural race.  At the time, the $4 million purse ranked #1.  The six-year-old bay colt, Cigar, traveled 6,000 miles for his 14^th straight victory.  In Cigar’s most competitive race, Jerry Bailey asked Cigar more than ever before.  The win left Cigar two victories short of Citation’s record of 16 consecutive victories.

March 27, 1971, a 21-year-old senior from Danville, Betsy Kaye Ellis, captured the crown and title of Miss University of Kentucky.  Memorial Hall hosted the event.  In addition, Ms. Ellis represented UK at the Miss Kentucky Pageant in Louisville.  Meanwhile, C.V. Whitney’s home hosted the Sayre High School mid-term formal dance.

March 27, 1980, while President Carter asked congress to save Saturday mail, the Kentucky Senate passed legislation to put the question of Sunday openings on local ballots.  Kentucky law stated retail stores couldn’t open on Sundays, with some exceptions.  The controversial bill allowed retail stores to stay open after 1:00 p.m.

March 27, 1991, Louisville police charged Donnie Wahlberg with first-degree arson for a Seelbach Hotel fire.  The New Kids on the Block lead singer posted a $5,000 bond after turning himself in.  The 20-year-old then performed at Freedom Hall to a sold-out crowd.

On March 27, 2009, Kentucky fired Coach Billy Gillispie after a 40-27 record.  Mitch Barnhart claimed the firing was unrelated to on-court performance but a feeling he was “not a good fit” for UK.  Gillispie coached for two years on a “Memorandum of Understanding,” not a contract.  UK offered Gillispie a seven-year contract, but for probably a good reason, he never signed it.

Sunday, March 27, 2011, in Coach Cal’s 2^nd year, Kentucky defeated UNC 76-69 to advance to the Final Four for the since 1998.  Houston hosted Connecticut, Butler, UK, and VCU.  The Huskies won it all for the 3^rd time.

March 27, 2013, while Ashley Judd declined to run against Mitch after thoughtful consideration, hemp advocates cheered Frankfort for passing legislation to license hemp farmers.  The Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission, backed by Mitch and Rand and all the heavy hitters from both parties, took the bill to Washington to persuade them to legalize it nationally.

March 27, 2014, Keeneland Race Course confirmed they wanted to host a Breeders’ Cup weekend.  The track’s president and CEO, Bill Thomason, “We want to make sure if Keeneland’s going to be involved in it, we’re going to do it right.”  The track hosted the World Championships the following year.

On March 27, 2016, poll takers released their Red River Gorge impact study.  They found an estimated 7,500 rock climbers, many international guests, visited the six counties surrounding the Gorge, and spent $3.6 million annually.  “If we want to attract more climbers, we need more space to climb,” Professor Maples from EKU.

On March 27, 2018, Chris Mack agreed to terms on a seven-year contract worth about $4 million annually to become the UofL’s head basketball coach.  The Cardinals became the 1^st school to hire away a head coach whose last team was a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.  Louisville and Chris Mack agreed to part ways on January 26, 2022.

On March 27, 2020, Kentucky reported three coronavirus deaths, and for the 2^nd day in a row, over 50 new positive cases, on this day 54, for a total of 302.  The total number of deaths reached eight.  The governor lit the Capitol dome green, for the 1^st night, to remember those who died of the virus.  Meanwhile, county jails started to release low-risk offenders.

Friday late evening, March 27, 2020, a few hours after the House passed the CARES Act, President Trump signed into law the largest transfer of wealth in U.S. history, without public debate or discussion.