Keen Johnson was the 45th Governor of Kentucky (1939–1943) and the only journalist to have held that office. Born on January 12, 1896, he served in World War I and earned a journalism degree from the University of Kentucky. Johnson served as lieutenant governor under Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler from 1935 to 1939. He had already secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination when Chandler resigned and elevated him to governor so that he could appoint Chandler to the U.S. Senate. Johnson went on to win a full gubernatorial term in the general election. He ran a fiscally conservative administration and took the state from a $7 million shortfall to a surplus of $10 million by the end of his term. Afterwards, Johnson joined Reynolds Metals as a special assistant to the president. He took a one-year leave of absence to serve as the first U.S. Undersecretary of Labor in 1946, then continued working for the company until 1961. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1960, losing to incumbent Republican John Sherman Cooper. He died in 1970 in Richmond, Kentucky.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keen_Johnson

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1808:

John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, from coastal erosion was abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Reculver

1899:

During a storm, the crew of the Lynmouth Lifeboat Station transported their 10-ton lifeboat 15 mi (24 km) overland in order to rescue a damaged schooner. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynmouth_Lifeboat_Station

1921:

Seeking to restore confidence after the Black Sox Scandal, owners of Major League Baseball teams elected former United States district court judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the league's first commissioner. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenesaw_Mountain_Landis

1967:

Seventy-three-year-old psychology professor James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically frozen with intent of future resuscitation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryonics

2007:

Comet McNaught reached perihelion and became the brightest comet in over 40 years with an apparent magnitude of −5.5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2006_P1

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

liege: 1. A free and independent person; specifically, a lord paramount; a sovereign. 2. The subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/liege

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Look up here, I’m in heaven I’ve got scars that can’t be seen I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen Everybody knows me now Look up here, man, I’m in danger I’ve got nothing left to lose I’m so high it makes my brain whirl Dropped my cell phone down below Ain’t that just like me   --David Bowie https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Bowie