On the early morning of November 7, 1825, in Frankfort, Ky., Jereboam Beauchamp stabbed Kentucky Legislator Solomon Sharp, in an event that would become known as the Kentucky Tragedy. But did the murder really occur as Beauchamp explained in his sensational confessions? Join us today for a special discussion of one of Kentucky’s most notorious murders,
and a story that inspired Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Penn Warren.

Dr. Matthew Schoenbachler is a professor of history at the University of North Alabama. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Kentucky and has co-authored a book and published in the Journal of the Early Republic. We are delighted to talk with him today about Murder and Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy, which was published in 2009.

Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, in publication since 1903.
https://history.ky.gov/explore/catalog-research-tools/register-of-the-kentucky-historical-society

Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.
https://history.ky.gov/khs-for-me/for-researchers/research-fellowships

Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.
https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation

Our show is recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, and edited by Gregory P. Meyer. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. Other backing tracks are also used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:
https://history.ky.gov/

https://history.ky.gov/khs-podcasts