Tennessee Trivia & Tidbits - Page 9

Looking for Tennessee trivia? Try our list Tennessee little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Native son Andrew Johnson, who never attended school but became president after Abraham Lincoln was shot, held virtually every local, state and federal office. He was an alderman, mayor, state representative, state senator, governor, congressman, senator, and vice president before becoming president of the United States.

first appeared: 2/1/2004

The state offers more than 75 specialty license plates for motorists to display on their motor vehicles.

first appeared: 1/25/2004

Nearly 8,500 caves in the state have been registered with the Tennessee Cave Survey, which reported 141 new caves discovered between spring and fall of 2003.

first appeared: 1/18/2004

Sgt. Alvin York of Pall Mall, the legendary World War I hero and Medal of Honor winner, didn’t believe in war and sought conscientious objector status after being drafted in 1917. It was denied.

first appeared: 1/11/2004

The state borders on eight states, tying it with Missouri for the most in the country.

first appeared: 1/4/2004

Minnie Pearl, the queen of country comedy, said “Howdeee!” to the world as Sarah Ophelia Colley, born in 1912 in Centerville (pop. 3,793).

first appeared: 12/28/2003

In Clinton (pop. 9,409), architect Maya Lin transformed a 19th-century cantilevered barn owned by late author Alex Haley into the Langston Hughes Library. Lin also designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

first appeared: 12/21/2003

Rodger Parker, a letter carrier in Germantown (pop. 37,348), was named 2003 National Hero of the Year by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Parker rescued a couple after their pickup plunged into a lake.

first appeared: 12/14/2003

More than 14,000 pairs of salt and pepper shakers season the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Cosby.

first appeared: 12/7/2003

Students at Gibson County High School in Dyer (pop. 2,406) built, operate, and maintain eight hand-hewn log buildings, an attraction called Pioneer Homeplace.

first appeared: 11/30/2003

Worth, a sporting goods manufacturer in Tullahoma (pop. 17,994), began making baseballs in 1920 and produced the nation’s first aluminum bats in 1970.

first appeared: 11/23/2003

Chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corp. in the 1930s, Jesse H. Jones helped rescue the American economy and was so powerful that he was called a “fourth branch of government.” The businessman was born in 1874 in Springfield (pop. 14,329).

first appeared: 11/16/2003

The National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis is the nation’s only museum devoted exclusively to fine metalwork and includes a working blacksmith shop.

first appeared: 11/9/2003

Alex Haley, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1976 novel Roots, spent his early boyhood in Henning (pop. 970).

first appeared: 11/2/2003

first appeared: 10/26/2003

Mount Juliet (pop. 12,366), the Purple Martin Capital of Tennessee, welcomes its feathered friends with hundreds of martin houses.

first appeared: 10/19/2003

The Tennessee Fox Trot Carousel in Riverfront Park in Nashville gives riders a spin through the state’s history with 36 whimsical figures created by artist Red Grooms. President Andrew Jackson and the Everly Brothers are among the menagerie.

first appeared: 10/12/2003

Since the 1930s, the Holtkamp family has shaped the African violet industry worldwide and developed the Optimara violet in 1977 at Holtkamp Greenhouses in Nashville.

first appeared: 10/5/2003

“Father of the United Nations” Cordell Hull was born in 1871 near Byrdstown (pop. 903). He received the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize.

first appeared: 9/28/2003

In 1928, a German shepherd named Buddy became the nation’s first guide dog for the blind, trained in Switzerland for Morris Frank of Nashville.

first appeared: 9/21/2003

jump to page: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18

newspaper partner login create account

Recent

Popular

Recipes

Below are the most recent American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile articles:

Below are the most recent, highest rated American Profile recipes:

Relish

Spry

Below are the most recent articles from our Relish sister site. Click on the "Spry" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.

Below are the most recent articles from our Spry sister site. Click on the "Relish" tab above to see the most recent articles from our other sister site.