1. Keen Johnson was an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1939 to 1943; being the only journalist to have held that office.
33 Facts About Keen Johnson
1. 2.
Keen Johnson revived the struggling paper, sold it to a competitor and used the profits to obtain his journalism degree from the University of Kentucky in 1922.
3.
Keen Johnson went on to win a full gubernatorial term, defeating Republican King Swope.
4.
Keen Johnson took a year-long leave of absence in 1946 to accept President Harry S Truman's appointment as the first US Undersecretary of Labor, serving under Lewis B Schwellenbach.
5.
Keen Johnson unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the US Senate in 1960, losing to incumbent Republican John Sherman Cooper.
6.
Keen Johnson died February 7,1970, and was buried in Richmond Cemetery in Richmond, Kentucky.
7.
Keen Johnson was born in a two-room cabin at Brandon's Chapel in Lyon County, Kentucky, on January 12,1896.
8.
Keen Johnson was the only son of Reverend Robert and Mattie Johnson.
9.
Keen Johnson's parents named him in honor of John S Keen, a family friend from Adair County.
10.
Robert Keen Johnson was a Methodist minister, and the family moved often as a result of his occupation.
11.
Keen Johnson finished his preparatory coursework in 1914 and matriculated to Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri.
12.
Keen Johnson was promoted to first lieutenant on March 29,1918, and on June 4,1918, he was deployed to France, where he studied logistical communications at the Army School of the Line and the Staff College.
13.
Keen Johnson remained in Europe with the American Expeditionary Force until April 1919 and was honorably discharged from the Army on October 31,1919.
14.
On June 23,1917, while still completing his military training, Keen Johnson married Eunice Nichols.
15.
Keen Johnson built the struggling paper almost from the ground up, and a competitor soon bought him out for a profit.
16.
Keen Johnson used the profit from the sale of the Mirror to continue his education at the University of Kentucky.
17.
Keen Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1922.
18.
In 1925, Shelton M Saufley asked Johnson to enter into a joint venture to purchase the Richmond Daily Register.
19.
Keen Johnson continued to hold this position and publish the Register through 1939.
20.
In 1935, Keen Johnson was one of three contenders for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.
21.
Chandler defeated Republican King Swope by over 95,000 votes, and Keen Johnson defeated JJ Kavanaugh by over 100,000 votes.
22.
Keen Johnson further garnered the support of the United Mine Workers and their president, John L Lewis.
23.
Louisville Courier-Journal reporter Howard Henderson wrote several stories exposing corruption in Keen Johnson's administration, including a significant one dealing with laundry contracts.
24.
Keen Johnson asked the 1942 legislative session to adjourn early so he could call a special session for the sole purpose of considering a redistricting bill.
25.
Keen Johnson took an active part in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1943.
26.
Keen Johnson called him a carpetbagger from North Carolina, "a political adventurer", and "a phony farmer".
27.
Keen Johnson ridiculed Kilgore, who had strong support from the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Rural Electric Association, and the Farm Bureau, by calling him a "Casanova".
28.
Keen Johnson was defeated in the general election by Republican Simeon Willis.
29.
EKU's Keen Johnson Building, a 1939 Works Progress Administration project, was named in honor of him.
30.
Keen Johnson became vice-president of public relations for the company in 1945.
31.
Keen Johnson frequently attended President Truman's cabinet meetings due to the illness of Secretary Lewis B Schwellenbach.
32.
Keen Johnson served as a delegate to an assembly to revise the state constitution in 1964.
33.
Keen Johnson died February 7,1970, in Richmond, Kentucky, and is buried in Richmond Cemetery.