Going back in time with a look at Courier Journal Leap Day front pages
It’s a Leap Year once again, meaning a 29th day of February gets added to our calendars, instead of the typical 28 days.
The phenomenon, taking place every four years, is due to the planet’s orbit around the sun. Earth takes about 365 and ¼ days to complete one full circle around the Sun, so without an extra day every four years, the seasons would get thrown off.
Over the years, The Courier Journal has published many front pages on Leap Days. We looked back at some of the most interesting Leap Day headlines on the front page in previous years, going back to the 1840s.
Leap year 2024: Why we have 29 days in February (almost) every four years
Saturday, Feb. 29, 1840: Co-Partnership
“Richard H. Taylor & Warren Thornberry have this day entered into partnership for the purpose of transacting a general wholesale and retail Grocery and Commission Business under the name and style of Taylor & Thornberry.”
Tuesday, Feb. 29, 1844: Spring Style of Hats
“From the very general admiration expressed to the beauty and quality of the Paris style of Hats, and the great numbers we have sold to the gents of our city, we have adopted it for the spring fashion. Being the importers of this style of Hat, we are, as yet, the only house north of New Orleans that has a manufacturer assortment on hand.”
Tuesday, Feb. 29, 1848: Cox's Aromatic Pulmonary Candy
“The most highly approved preparation now in use for coughs, colds, consumption, asthma, spitting of blood, hooping cough, bronchitis, and all pulmonary affections and diseases of the lungs and chest.”
Saturday, Feb. 29, 1868: Destructive Fire
“At about noon yesterday a fire caught in some frame building in the alley between Magazine and Broadway, and Thirteenth and Fourteenth. Two small dwellings and a stable, the property of negroes, were destroyed.”
Tuesday, Feb. 29, 1876: Nine Prisoners Escaped.
“Nine prisoners, including several burglars, awaiting trial in the court-house, escaped the prisoners’ room today.
Saturday, Feb. 29, 1896: Had Four Wives. But the Report Makes No Reference to Any Divorces.
“Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi and Lowndes county, Ga., are the homes of the different living wives of J.D. Miller, who is now a fugitive from the law, with a reward swinging over him.”
Monday, Feb. 29, 1904: Probably Robbed and Murdered: Body Found in West Virginia. May be that of a Kentucky Lumber Buyer
“The body of an unknown man was found on the hillside near Doane Station, on the Norfolk and Western, the skull crushed, the throat cut and the body covered with leaves. Nothing was left in the pockets of the murdered man by which he could be identified. Jake Cobes, living near the scene, was arrested and blood spots about his garments lead officials to believe he may be guilty.”
Saturday, Feb. 29, 1908: Hell Fire and Dynamite: For Hill Billies Who Sell Tobacco, Says Notice.
“Considerable excitement has been created in Graves county by a warning posted on Lawson Bros. mill. It is addressed to the 'Hill Billies,' and is signed 'Night Riders.' The warning stated that if anyone sent tobacco to the Mayfield or Paducah markets that he would receive “hell fire and dynamite.” The tobacco raisers of the county are wrought up over the notice.”
Sunday, Feb. 29, 1920: New York to "Regulate" Making of Lemon Pies
“Soft drinks and lemon pies are to come under regulation by the Health Department Commissioner, Copeland announced today. Dyes are used in cakes, he said, that are without food value. Lemon pies are often made without any lemons at all and soft drinks are liable to be hard on the drinker.
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 1928: Horseback Riding Barred in Shawnee
“Horseback riding in Shawnee Park has been put under the ban by the Board of Park Commissioners. The step was taken at a meeting Tuesday at which it developed that the commissioners believe that there are too many persons engaged in play, picnics and family parties on the lawns and about the park roads to permit riding.”
Saturday, Feb. 29, 1936: 75-Cent Pistol Used in Robbery to Obtain Money for Better One
“A mail order pistol that cost a total of seventy-five cents, including postage, was used by two boys Friday night to uphold a driver of the Louisville Taxicab & Transfer Company to obtain money to get a better pistol, they told police, to stage other upholds to get money to buy things for their families.”
Sunday, Feb. 29, 1948: Spanked Actor Who Ran Away is Found—and Spanked Again
“The actor from 'Finian’s Rainbow' who disappeared Thursday because his professional dignity was shattered was found early today, riding subways. The actor, James Grimes, is 9 years old. What shattered his dignity was a spanking his mother gave him because he played hookey from school.”
Monday, Feb. 29, 1960: Russian Helps U.S. Team Win Hockey Crown
“The United States won its first Winter Olympic hockey championship Sunday by defeating Czechoslovakia, 9 to 4, in an explosive six-goal third-period rally sparked by whiffs of oxygen taken at the urging of Russia’s hockey captain.”
Thursday, Feb. 29, 1968: He Got New Shoes but Lost $1,000
“A 64-year-old Louisvillian has a $9 pair of new shoes, but he would gladly trade them for the $1,000 they cost him. Renar Norfleet, of 408 S. 21st, a retired Kroehler Manufacturing Co. employee, told city police that he was swindled out of most of his life’s savings by a man who promised him a job as a bank messenger.”
Sunday, Feb. 29, 1976: Prospect-area Boy Dies When ‘Cannon’ Explodes
“Greg Guenther stayed over at Kyle Young’s house Friday night, and while they were down in the basement they saw the small cannon that Young’s father had used on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July to shoot off firecrackers,” according to the article. “The two 15-year-olds who did everything together talked then about shooting it off sometime.”
Friday, Feb. 29, 1980: Columbian Guerrillas Free 14 from Embassy
“Leftist guerrillas occupying the Dominican Republic’s embassy freed 14 hostages yesterday — 10 women, three wounded men and a 16-year-old youth.”
Monday, Feb. 29, 1988: Shultz’s Peace Plan for Middle East Wins Egypt’s Endorsement
“Egypt yesterday became the first Arab country to signal its support for the new American peace plan for the Middle East.”
Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004: Wounded Warriors
“They are back from the war on terrorism, back from Iraq and Afghanistan and the dangers that have killed more than 60 of their fellow American service members. They are the survivors, the lucky ones. But they are casualties too. They are the wounded.”
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Courier Journal headlines on Leap Day back to the 1840s
