Kentucky. Governor (1879-1883 : Blackburn)

Luke Pryor Blackburn became Kentucky's twenty-eighth governor in 1879. The only physician to have been elected governor, his only previous political experience had been one term in the General Assembly nearly forty years earlier.

Blackburn was born near Lexington, Kentucky on June 16, 1816 and attended the common schools of Woodford County. In 1834 he received his medical degree from Transylvania University and began practice in Lexington. He went on to win national acclaim for his skillful and dedicated work with the victims of cholera and yellow fever epidemics, in Kentucky and throughout the Lower South.

In 1879 he realized his "long held ambition" to be Governor of Kentucky. Derided for his lack of experience when he announced his candidacy in 1878, he gained many supporters for his aid to the people of Hickman, Kentucky, during the yellow fever epidemic of 1878. He was elected in a landslide.

As governor, one of Blackburn's primary concerns was the state's budget deficit. To try to bring it under control, he introduced measures to streamline the judicial system, and to raise property taxes.

Another of his principle objectives was to improve the living conditions in the state penitentiary in Frankfort. He pushed prison reforms during his entire term, and tried to alleviate overcrowding by pardoning nearly 1000 prisoners. He was widely criticized for his very liberal use of the governor's pardoning power, which he exercised mostly for the benefit of the very young, the elderly, and the very sick convicts.

He recommended that the General Assembly build a new annex prison, where the emphasis would be placed on reform and rehabilitation, rather than strictly punishment. A site was selected, and plans drawn, but the legislature refused to appropiate the funds. It was not until the next administration that the annex was reconsidered and the funding approved.

Lawlessness, especially in the mountain counties, continued to be a cause for great concern. Large groups of self-styled "Regulators" continued to take the law into their own hands, terrorizing and murdering persons they deemed criminals or outlaws. Several particularly bloody incidents required the governor to call out the State Guard.

Governor Blackburn helped reorganize the Agricultural and Mechanical College in Lexington, which had been disassociated from Kentucky University during the previous administration, and which would later evolve into the University of Kentucky.

At the end of his term in 1883, Blackburn retired from public service and returned to his medical practice. He died on September 14, 1887 at the age of 71, and is buried in Lebanon, Kentucky.

From the description of Subunit history. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145416435