Isaac Shelby (1750–1826) was the first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He was also a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. While governor, he personally led the Kentucky militia in the Battle of the Thames, an action that was rewarded with a Congressional Gold Medal. Counties in nine states, and several cities and military bases, have been named in his honor. His fondness for John Dickinson's The Liberty Song is believed to be the reason Kentucky adopted the state motto "United we stand, divided we fall". At the end of his gubernatorial term, Shelby retired from public life, but he was called back into politics by the impending War of 1812. Kentuckians urged Shelby to run for governor again and lead them through the inevitable conflict. He was elected easily, and at the request of General William Henry Harrison, commanded troops from Kentucky at the Battle of the Thames. At the conclusion of the war, he declined President James Monroe's offer to become Secretary of War. In his last act of public service, he and Andrew Jackson acted as commissioners to negotiate the Jackson Purchase from the Chickasaw.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Shelby
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1301:
The title of Prince of Wales was granted for the first time to the English heir apparent, then Edward of Carnarvon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Wales
1795:
The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified in order to overrule the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constit...
1863:
HMS Orpheus of the British Royal Navy sank off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189 crew out of the ship's complement of 259. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Orpheus_%281860%29
1914:
The film Kid Auto Races at Venice, featuring the first appearance of comedy actor Charlie Chaplin's character "The Tramp", was released. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin
1984:
During NASA Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-B, astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart performed the first and second untethered spacewalks (pictured), respectively, using Manned Maneuvering Units. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-vehicular_activity
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
desultory (adj): 1. Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection; without logical sequence. 2. As a digression; not connected with the subject http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desultory
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
A man acts suitably to his nature, when he conquers his enemy in such a way as that no other creature but a man could be capable of, and that is by the strength of his understanding. --Thomas More http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_More