Editing Kentucky Colonel (section)

==History==
[[File:Portrait of Daniel Boone by Chester Harding 1820.jpg|left|thumb|Portrait of [[Daniel Boone|Col. Daniel Boone]], one of the first Kentucky colonels, painted by [[Chester Harding (painter)|Chester Harding]] in 1820]]

=== First Kentucky Colonels ===
In 1776, Col. [[John Bowman (pioneer)|John Bowman]] was the first Kentucky colonel officially appointed. Col. John Bowman was appointed as colonel of the Militia of [[Kentucky County, Virginia|Kentucky County]] by Governor of the [[Colony of Virginia]], [[Patrick Henry]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Workers of the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Kentucky |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hD6NFPOO5MeN1F3AD_Ml0WZkXKNLBksU/edit |title=Military History of Kentucky |publisher=The Military Department of Kentucky |year=1939 |series=The American Guide Series |location=Frankfort, KY |pages=9}}</ref> Notable pioneer, [[Daniel Boone]] was given the title "colonel" by Col. Judge Richard Henderson in 1775 when he founded the settlement of [[Boonesborough, Kentucky|Boonesborough]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Daniel Boone |url=https://www.fortboonesboroughlivinghistory.org/html/daniel_boone.html |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.fortboonesboroughlivinghistory.org |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528215258/https://www.fortboonesboroughlivinghistory.org/html/daniel_boone.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Boone was not officially granted a Kentucky colonelcy until 1780 when he was commissioned by the governor of Virginia.<ref name="ref1">{{Cite web |title=Kentucky Colonel: Honorable American Title - First Kentucky Colonels |url=https://www.kycolonelcy.us/first-kentucky-colonels |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.kycolonelcy.us |language=en-US}}</ref>  At the time Kentucky colonelcy was still military appointment in contrast to the modern Kentucky colonelcy which is an honorary title for civilians.

[[Charles Stewart Todd|Charles S. Todd]] is often mistakenly believed to be the first recipient an honorary commission of a Kentucky colonel in 1813.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aide de Camp |url=https://www.kycolonels.org/aide-de-camp/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Kentucky Colonels |language=en-US}}</ref> This is disputed by Col. Todd's biography, and US military archives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Colonels - Kentucky Colonel |url=https://www.colonels.net/states/kentucky-colonel |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=www.colonels.net |language=en-US}}</ref> The identity of first civilian honorary colonel is not known. In 1895, Governor [[William O'Connell Bradley]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chronicling America |first= |date=February 22, 1887 |title=Colonel Bradley |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85052020/1887-02-22/ed-1/seq-2/ |access-date=March 10, 2021 |work=Semi-Weekly Interior Journal |at=column 3, top |issn=1941-3009}}</ref> commissioned the first honorary Kentucky colonels<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1969 |title=News and Notes |journal=The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=86–92 |jstor=23376815 }}</ref> as an award of merit bestowed upon citizens for their individual contributions to the state, good deeds, and noteworthy actions.

=== Kentucky Colonels in literature ===
In 1784, [[John Filson]] published his book ''[[The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke|The discovery, settlement and present state of Kentucke]]'' which contained an appendix entitled "The adventures of Col. Daniel Boon, one of the first settlers''"''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Filson |first1=John |title=Life and adventures of Colonel Daniel Boon, the first white settler of the state of Kentucky |date=1916 |lccn=16014529 }}{{pn|date=May 2024}}</ref> Filson's book gained popularity and Boone became a symbol of American pioneering.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Faragher |first1=John Mack |title=They May Say What They Please: Daniel Boone and the Evidence |journal=The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society |date=1990 |volume=88 |issue=4 |pages=373–393 |jstor=23381897 }}</ref> There became increased interest in the trans-Appalachian West among both Europeans and Americans. Filson's ''The adventures of Col. Daniel Boon, one of the first settlers'' was reprinted in France, Germany, England and New York.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{Project MUSE|570739}} |last1=Tichenor |first1=Irene |title=Tracking the Mysteries: The Legacy of John Filson's 1784 Book and Map |journal=Ohio Valley History |date=2009 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=4–26 }}</ref> With the widespread fame of Filson's novel came a greater recognition of Kentucky and its colonelcy.<ref name="ref1" />

In 1890 [[Opie Read]] published  ''A Kentucky Colonel'' which spawned a new public perception of what a Kentucky colonel was, posing himself more as a refined, well-mannered southern gentleman, rather than a figure in the Kentucky militia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alsterlund |first=B. |year=1947 |title=The Kentucky Colonel: A Study in Semantics |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AYuvyuIFjA8qEXW7-264jReDdx8mYHFk/edit |journal=American Notes & Queries}}</ref> In 1905, this view was expanded by [[Zoe Anderson Norris]] publishing ''Twelve Kentucky Colonel Stories: Describing Scenes and Incidents in a Kentucky Colonel's Life in the Southland'' in ''[[New York Sun (historical)|The New York Sun]]''.<ref>Norris, Zoe A. ''Kentucky in American Letters 1784–1912'', September 1913. pp 136–137.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://exploreuk.uky.edu/catalog/xt7tht2g8079_49#page/1/mode/1up |title=Kentucky Colonel Stories |year=1905 |publisher=J. S. Oliver Publishing Company |last=Norris |first=Zoe A.}}</ref>

=== Contemporary history ===
In 1931, an article about the growing number of Kentucky colonels was published in the ''Las Vegas Age'', headlined "Thousand New Kunnels, Suh, In 25 Years Mighty Near Too Much For Kentuky, Suh".<ref>{{cite news |title=Thousand New Kunnels, Suh, In 25 Years Mighty Near Too Much For Kentuky, Suh |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86076141/1931-05-26/ed-1/seq-2/ |access-date=May 7, 2025 |work=Las Vegas Age |location=Las Vegas, Nev. |date=May 26, 1931 |pages=2 |via=Library of Congress}}</ref> Prior to 1932, only about 1,000 people had received official "Honorable" commissions as Kentucky colonels from Kentucky's governors. Governor [[Ruby Laffoon]], in office from 1931 to 1935, dramatically increased the number of colonels by issuing more than 10,000 commissions in 1933 and 1934. Among his motives was the aim to officially associate a Kentucky colonel with the Commonwealth, to tax the title of colonel, and to boost his political support. One of his most famous colonelships was granted to restaurateur [[Harland Sanders]], who was commissioned by Laffoon in 1935. 

[[File:Colonel Harland Sanders in character.jpg|thumb|right|Colonel [[Harland Sanders]] was commissioned by Governor [[Ruby Laffoon]] in 1935 and launched [[Kentucky Fried Chicken]] as a franchise chain in 1952.]]

When Governor Albert Benjamin Chandler (better known as [[Happy Chandler]]) took office in 1935, he took a very different view on the distinction of a Kentucky colonel commission and only issued about a dozen new commissions annually, on [[Kentucky Derby|Derby Day]]. Governor [[Keen Johnson]] followed Chandler's lead during his time in office from 1939 to 1943, commissioning only those individuals who were deemed to have exhibited exceptionally noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation.<ref>"You Too Can Be an Admiral", ''Youngstown Vindicator'', August 3, 1947. A-6.</ref> However, subsequent governors have typically been much more liberal in issuing Kentucky colonel commissions.<ref name="KYCOLTL">{{cite web|url=http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=34|title=Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Timeline|website=Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929034825/http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=34|archive-date=September 29, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2007}}</ref>