Kentucky was the first region west of the Allegheny Mountains to be settled by American pioneers. The region was part of Virginia until statehood was granted. The state has the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the contiguous United States; and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. Kentucky shares a border with seven states (care to name them?), only Missouri and Tennessee border more states (8). It is the only US state to be bordered by three rivers.The Bluegrass State is home to the Kentucky Derby, the first race of horse racing's Triple Crown. The Derby is traditionally run the first Saturday in May.
Although Illinois is known as the "Land of Lincoln," Kentucky is the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. While not born in Kentucky, Zachary Taylor was raised in Kentucky.
Currently, the Governor of Kentucky is Steve Beshear, a Democrat. Both of the Senators from Kentucky are Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, the Representative and presidential candidate. There are six members of the House Delegation, 4 Republicans and 2 Democrats.
- 1st District - Ed Whitfield (R)
- 2nd District - Brett Guthrie (R)
- 3rd District - John Yarmuth (D)
- 4th District - Geoff Davis (R)
- 5th District - Hal Rogers (R)
- 6th District - Ben Chandler (D)
- State Capital -Frankfort
- Date of Admission - June 1, 1792
- Area - 40,409 sq mi (37th)
- State Motto - "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
- State Nickname - the Bluegrass State
- State Song - "My Old Kentucky Home"
- State bird - Kentucky cardinal
- State flower - goldenrod
- State horse - thoroughbred (duh)
- State tree - tulip poplar
- State University - the University of Kentucky (Kentucky is also home to the oldest university west of the Alleghenies, Transylvania University (founded 1780)
- State Archives - Kentucky Department of Library and Archives
- State Historical Society - Kentucky Historical Society
- Population (2011 est.) - 4,369,356 (26th)
- kentucky.gov - the Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
- The Kentucky Tourism site - kentuckytourism.com
- The Encyclopedia Britannic entry for Kentucky
- Wikpedia
- 50states.com entry for Kentucky
- InfoPlease entry for Kentucky
- Fact Sheet on Kentucky from the USDA
Prominent Kentuckians (here's a few lists to peruse, one, two, and three)
- John Adair - pioneer and one of the state's first Representatives and Senators
- Muhammad Ali
- Former Vice Presidents Alben W. Barkley, John C. Breckenridge, and Adlai Stevenson
- Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson and Associate Justices Louis D. Brandeis, John Marshall Harlan, and Wiley B. Rutledge
- Kit Carson
- Henry Clay
- George Clooney and his aunt Rosemary
- Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis
- Crystal Gayle
- D. W. Griffith
- Duncan Hines (a real person, really)
- Casey Jones - the railroad engineer (and another real person)
- The Judds - Ashley, Wynonna, and Naomi
- The Coal Miner's Daughter, Loretta Lynn
- Carry Nation (again, a real person)
- Harland Sanders - the "Colonel" - again, real
- Diane Sawyer
- Phil Simms
- Helen Thomas
- Hunter S. Thompson
- First Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Penn Warren
3 comments:
Nice.
These are great, but now you're talking about my state. The Derby is the first SATURDAY in May, not Sunday. BTW - it's the oldest, continually run sporting event in the US behind. . . wait for it. . . The Westminster Kennel Club Dog show. And you didn't mention the best part about KY - Bourbon!
Great Job, keep'em coming.
C - is that a compliment?
MJM - A gross oversight on my part. I have amended my error. The bourbon thing, sorry, I am not a brown liquor aficionado.
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