1. In 1861, Kentucky declared its neutrality during the Civil War. However, the state ultimately sided with the Union and became a key border state for both armies.
2. The world-renowned thoroughbred racehorse, Secretariat, was born on November 19, 1970, at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Secretariat would go on to win the Triple Crown in 1973 and set a record for the Belmont Stakes that still stands today.
3. On November 19, 2001, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the University of Kentucky could not ban guns on campus. This decision sparked a national discussion about gun control laws and campus safety.
4. Kentucky became the 15th state in the United States on June 1, 1792, when it was admitted to the Union. However, the Kentucky Constitution was not written and signed until November 19, 1792.
5. On November 19, 1915, Thomas Hunt Morgan, a Kentucky-born biologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his groundbreaking research on genetics and heredity. Morgan was the first Kentuckian to receive a Nobel Prize.