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... )
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Bertram Thomas Combs (August 13, 1911 – December 4, 1991) was an American jurist and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky . After serving on the Kentucky Court of Appeals , he was elected the 50th Governor of Kentucky in 1959 on his second run for the office. Following his gubernatorial term, he was appointed to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Lyndon B. Johnson , serving from 1967 to 1970.
Combs rose from poverty in his native
Clay County to earn a law degree from the
University of Kentucky and open a law practice in
Prestonsburg . He was
decorated for prosecuting
Japanese war criminals before
military tribunals following
World War II , then returned to Kentucky and his law practice. In 1951, Governor
Lawrence Wetherby appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Later that year, he was elected to a full term on the court, defeating former governor and judge
Simeon S. Willis . Kentucky's
Democratic Party had split into two factions by 1955 when
Earle C. Clements , the leader of one faction, chose Combs to challenge former governor and U.S. Senator
A. B. "Happy" Chandler , who headed the other, in the upcoming gubernatorial primary. (
Full article... )
List of recognized articles
The University of Louisville (UofL ) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky . It is part of the Kentucky state university system . When founded in 1798, it was one of the first city-owned public colleges in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains . The university is mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly to be a "Preeminent Metropolitan Research University". It enrolls students from 118 of 120 Kentucky counties, all 50 U.S. states , and 116 countries around the world.
Louisville is
classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The
University of Louisville School of Medicine is touted for the first fully self-contained
artificial heart transplant surgery, as well as the first successful
hand transplantation in the United States. The University Hospital is also credited with the first civilian
ambulance , the nation's first accident services, now known as an
emergency department (ED), and one of the first
blood banks in the US. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
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 Iroquois Park 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 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 Native American Crab Orchard culture existed in western Kentucky and southern
Indiana from c. 200 BCE to 500 CE. (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 2 Biggs Site , also known as the
Portsmouth Earthworks Group D, an Adena culture archaeological site located Greenup County (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 3 Dunmore War Saga (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 4 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 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 The
Earl of Dunmore via
Dunmore's War cleared the way for settlement of Kentucky (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 9 Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap (
George Caleb Bingham , oil on canvas, 1851–52) (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 10 Map of Kentucky published in 1784 with
John Filson 's
The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 11 James Pierce Barton's
Kentucky Landscape (1832) (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 12 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 13 Artist's conception of
Annis Mound and Village , a Mississippian site in
Butler County , c. 1250–1300 CE (from
History of Kentucky )
Image 14 At 464 miles (747 km) long,
Kentucky Route 80 is the longest route in Kentucky, pictured here west of
Somerset . (from
Transportation in Kentucky )
... that a newspaper in Kentucky reported that the solar eclipse of November 22, 1900 , would pass over Austria instead of Australia?
... that Symphyotrichum kentuckiense , the Kentucky aster, is only found on limestone cedar glades and limestone roadsides in Alabama , Georgia , Kentucky , and Tennessee ?
... 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 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike was drawn into the field just minutes before the entry deadline?
... that American drag queen James Herndon donated funds and resources into black and LGBTQ+ communities in Lexington, Kentucky ?
... that a man found 700 gold coins on his own land in an undisclosed part of Kentucky?
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kentucky by county
Largest cities or towns in Kentucky
Rank
Name
County
Municipal pop.
Louisville Lexington
1
Louisville
Jefferson
623,349
Bowling Green Owensboro
2
Lexington
Fayette
321,959
3
Bowling Green
Warren
67,067
4
Owensboro
Daviess
59,404
5
Covington
Kenton
40,455
6
Richmond
Madison
35,397
7
Georgetown
Scott
33,660
8
Florence
Boone
32,305
9
Hopkinsville
Christian
30,789
10
Nicholasville
Jessamine
30,553
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
Here are some tasks awaiting attention: