The Flag of Kentucky
Montage of Kentucky
Kentucky ( kən-TUK -ee , ken- ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky , is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States . Kentucky borders Illinois , Indiana , and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River . Its capital is Frankfort and its largest city is Louisville . As of 2020, the population was approximately 4.5 million.
Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state on June 1, 1792, splitting from Virginia in the process. It is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on Kentucky bluegrass , a species of green grass introduced by European settlers for the purpose of grazing in pastures, which has supported the thoroughbred horse industry in the center of the state.
Historically, Kentucky had excellent farming conditions, which led to the development of large tobacco plantations similar to those in Virginia and North Carolina in the central and western parts of the state that utilized enslaved labor during the Antebellum South and Civil War periods. Kentucky ranks fifth nationally in goat farming, eight in beef cattle production, and 14th in corn production. While Kentucky has been a long-standing major center for the tobacco industry , the state's economy has diversified in multiple non-agricultural sectors, including auto manufacturing, energy fuel production, and medical facilities. The state ranks 4th among US states in the number of automobiles and trucks assembled. Kentucky is one of several states considered a part of the Upland South . (Full article... )
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Joseph Cabell Breckinridge (July 14, 1788 – September 1, 1823) was an American lawyer, soldier, slaveholder and politician in Kentucky . From 1816 to 1819, he represented Fayette County in the Kentucky House of Representatives , and fellow members elected him as their speaker (1817 to 1819). In 1820, Governor John Adair appointed Breckinridge Kentucky Secretary of State , and he served until his death.
A member of the
Breckinridge political family , he was the son of Virginia (then Kentucky) lawyer,
Senator , and
U.S. Attorney General John Breckinridge (1760–1806) and his wife Mary Hopkins Cabell Breckinridge (1769–1858), of another distinguished political family. Their son
John C. Breckinridge would follow his father's (and grandfather's) path into law and politics and rise to become
Vice President of the United States . (
Full article... )
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View of Downtown Louisville from the overlook atop Iroquois Park
Iroquois Park is a 725-acre (3.0 km2 ) municipal park in Louisville , Kentucky , United States . It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted , who also designed Louisville's Cherokee Park and Shawnee Park , at what were then the edges of the city. Located south of downtown, Iroquois Park was promoted as "Louisville's Yellowstone ". It is built on a large knob covered with old growth forest , and its most prominent feature are the scenic viewpoints atop the hill.
The summit of Iroquois Park presents an all-at-once vista of the city of Louisville, seen from the south. A bronze plaque at the site demonstrates the plan of the city's park and parkway system as planned and executed by Olmsted's firm. (
Full article... )
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Kentucky Derby Hatfield–McCoy feud University of Kentucky Thomas Hunt Morgan Louisville, Kentucky Owensboro, Kentucky Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky Bowling Green, Kentucky History of Louisville, Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky W. B. Belknap Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball Kentucky in the American Civil War Kentucky coffeetree Kentucky warbler Ashland, Kentucky Kentucky Colonel Paducah, Kentucky Kentucky Bend Johnny Depp Mary Todd Lincoln Gus Van Sant Rand Paul Chuck Woolery Thomas Massie Loretta Lynn Hunter S. Thompson Mitch McConnell Billy Ray Cyrus Shaun King Skeeter Davis George Clooney Ned Beatty Muhammad Ali Colonel Sanders Bourbon whiskey Wynonna Judd Fort Knox Dippin' Dots Richmond, Kentucky Jim Beam Georgetown, Kentucky History of Kentucky Covington, Kentucky Black Patch Tobacco Wars Kentucky meat shower Casey County, Kentucky Louisville City FC Bardstown, Kentucky Cuisine of Kentucky Culture of Kentucky Lake Cumberland Red River Gorge Martin County coal slurry spill Transylvania University Bill Monroe Chris Stapleton Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Louisville International Airport Keeneland Mammoth Cave National Park Belle of Louisville Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory Ernest Hogan Mint julep Cincinnati metropolitan area Vent Haven Museum Waverly Hills Sanatorium Wigwam Motel Martin Castle National Corvette Museum Rabbit Hash, Kentucky Black Mountain (Kentucky) Cave Hill Cemetery Thomas Merton Florence Y'all Water Tower Downtown Louisville Floyd Collins Big Bone Lick State Park Louisville and Portland Canal Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Old Talbott Tavern Corbin, Kentucky Top Chef: Kentucky Kentucky Mr. Basketball Kentucky River Bluegrass region Kentucky cave shrimp Lexmark Buffalo Trace Distillery Texas Roadhouse Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry Kentucky common beer Blue Moon of Kentucky Sugartit, Kentucky Brandenburg stone French–Eversole feud Brown–Forman Rooster Run University of Louisville Kentucky Women Remembered List of Kentucky women in the civil rights era Churchill Downs James Ohio Pattie
The following are images from various Kentucky-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 The
Earl of Dunmore via
Dunmore's War cleared the way for settlement of Kentucky (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 2 Dunmore War Saga (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 3 At 464 miles (747
km) long,
Kentucky Route 80 is the longest route in Kentucky, pictured here west of
Somerset . (from
Transportation in Kentucky )
Image 4 High Bridge over the
Kentucky River was the tallest rail bridge in the world when it was completed in 1877. (from
Transportation in Kentucky )
Image 5 Old Louisville is the largest Victorian Historic neighborhood in the United States. (from
Culture of Kentucky )
Image 6 A barge hauling coal in the
Louisville and Portland Canal , the only manmade section of the
Ohio River (from
Transportation in Kentucky )
Image 7 This 1800
Low's Encyclopaedia map of Kentucky and surrounding region did not include southwestern Kentucky and
West Tennessee , which were held by the
Chickasaw until 1818. (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 8 Artist's conception of
Annis Mound and Village , a Mississippian site in
Butler County , c. 1250–1300 CE (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 9 Map of Kentucky published in 1784 with
John Filson 's
The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 10 Biggs Site , also known as the
Portsmouth Earthworks Group D, an Adena culture archaeological site located Greenup County (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 11 The Native American Crab Orchard culture existed in western Kentucky and southern
Indiana from c.
200 BCE to 500 CE. (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 12 James Pierce Barton's
Kentucky Landscape (1832) (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 13 Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap (
George Caleb Bingham , oil on canvas, 1851–52) (from
History of Kentucky )
... that Claudia Riner was falsely accused of distributing lesbian erotica in the Kentucky House of Representatives?
... that in 1969, unknown persons dynamited the tower of a Kentucky TV station , leaving it leaning at a 15-degree angle?
... that in 1977, Appalachian folk singer Phyllis Boyens performed at a Christmas benefit concert to support Kentucky coal miners who had been on strike for 17 months?
... that during the 2023 Western Kentucky floods , 11.28 inches (287 mm) of rain fell in Graves County , which set a new preliminary rainfall record for the state?
... that Symphyotrichum kentuckiense , the Kentucky aster, is only found on limestone cedar glades and limestone roadsides in Alabama , Georgia , Kentucky , and Tennessee ?
... that Bray Hammond condemned the U.S. Supreme Court 's ruling in Briscoe v. Bank of Kentucky , decided 185 years ago today, as "about as weak and timid as any the Court ever pronounced"?
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kentucky by county
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