Kentucky

Muhammad Ali

(1942-2016)

Boxer

Fame-O-Meter-10/10

Resting Place-Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville

GPS Coordinates-

38°14'29.8"N, 85°43'03.2"W

What can be said about Muhammad Ali that hasn't been said before. He is possibly the greatest boxer of all-time. Born Cassius Clay, he became a three-time world heavyweight champion. He also will be remembered for his bombastic personality. He was known for many example of wordsmithing, such as "Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee." He called himself "The Greatest" and he may have been.

Jim Beam

(1864-1947)

Businessman

Fame-O-Meter-7/10

Resting Place-Bardstown City Cemetery, Bardstown

GPS Coordinates-

37°49'22.1"N, 85°27'36.9"W

Jim Beam bourbon is a Kentucky institution. Jim Beam himself pushed his family's business into a multi-million dollar business. 

Pete Browning

(1861-1905)

Baseball Player

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville

GPS Coordinates-

38°14'36.7"N, 85°43'16.5"W

Pete Browning is a rare baseball player I visited who isn't in the Hall of Fame. However, he is quite famous for one thing: he was known as the Louisville Slugger. Sound familiar? He is the namesake of the famous baseball bat still used today. Not to say Browning was a slouch. You don't get the nickname without the reputation. He was an absolute terror when it came to batting average in the American Association and Players League. He and Shoeless Joe Jackson are the only two of the top ten lifetime batting averages who are not in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Duncan Hines

(1880-1959)

Businessman

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Fairview Cemetery, Bowling Green

GPS Coordinates-

36°59'32.3"N, 86°25'13.3"W

People may not be aware that Duncan Hines was even a real person! Duncan Hines started in the hospitality business by writing books reviewing restaurants. He wrote Adventures in Good Eating in 1935 and it was an instant hit. By the 1950s, the Duncan Hines brand was being used to sell bread and cake mixes. By 1957 The Duncan Hines brand was purchased by Procter and Gamble for their conglomeration of brands.

DW Griffith

(1875-1948)

Director, Producer, Screenwriter

Fame-O-Meter-4/10

Resting Place-Mount Tabor Methodist Church Graveyard, Crestwood

GPS Coordinates-

38°21'01.4"N, 85°24'55.9"W

Despite being heavily criticized now for the racism portrayed in the film, the 1918 epic Birth of a Nation was the masterpiece of one DW Griffith. He was a pioneering film personality who involved himself in every aspect of film production. His nicknames "The Father of the Motion Picture" and "The Shakespeare of the Screen" are honorifics showing the influence he had over the once novel medium. 

Victor Mature

(1913-1999)

Actor

Fame-O-Meter-6/10

Resting Place-Saint Michael Cemetery, Louisville

GPS Coordinates-

38°13'36.6"N, 85°43'40.1"W

Victor Mature was a sex symbol and Hollywood idol in the 1940s and 1950s. He starred as Doc Holliday in the 1946 movie My Darling Clementine. He also starred in the movie Kiss of Death where he played a private investigator. His broad frame allowed him to play the titular Samson in Samson and Delilah in 1949. Mature also gave up time in Hollywood to serve with the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and later went on to sell war bonds for the government.  He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Wilson Pickett

(1941-2006)

Singer, Songwriter

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Evergreen Cemetery, Louisville

GPS Coordinates-

38°11'07.7"N, 85°42'37.9"W

Wilson Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 due to his long history in the music business. He sang the immensely popular songs "Mustang Sally", "In the Midnight Hour", and "Land of 1000 Dances". He was nicknamed "Wicked Pickett" by the Radio DJs who played his music, due to his energetic style and aggressive vocal sound. It was the new Southern soul style, and it was introduced by Wilson Pickett.

Pee Wee Reese

(1918-1999)

Baseball Player

Fame-O-Meter-4/10

Resting Place-Resthaven Memorial Cemetery, Louisville

GPS Coordinates-

38°10'47.8"N, 85°37'59.1"W

Harold Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was a Major League Baseball player who played 16 years for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. His teams in the 1940s/50s were known as the "Boys of Summer", and they won seven league titles. His only World Series championship came in 1955. Reese was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1984. Reese's biggest moment may have been social commentary, though. As fans rained down boos to new teammate Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese came across the field and put his arm around the man who broke the color barrier. Reese's acceptance helped Robinson's acceptance.

President Zachary Taylor

(1784-1850)

President, General

Fame-O-Meter-7/10

Resting Place-Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville

GPS Coordinates-

38°16'46.1"N, 85°38'37.3"W

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States. He was also a military figure who fought in the War of 1812 against the British. He spent most of his military career in the Midwest on the edge of the newly expanding United States. He fought Native Americans during much of this time. He was also a military leader during the Mexican-American War. An unlikely politician, "Old Rough and Ready" used his military reputation to win the presidency for the Whig Party.