Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 9, 2014

John Adair (1757–1840) was an American pioneer, soldier, and statesman. He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U.S. House and Senate. Adair participated in the Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War, and was elected to eight terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He ascended to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by John Breckinridge's resignation, but failed to win the subsequent election due to his implication in the Burr conspiracy. He was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing, but the negative publicity kept him out of politics for more than a decade. Adair's participation in the War of 1812, and his defense of Kentucky's soldiers against charges of cowardice at the Battle of New Orleans, restored his reputation. He returned to the state House in 1817 and was elected governor three years later on a platform of financial relief for Kentuckians hit hard by the Panic of 1819. He created the Bank of the Commonwealth, but other financial reforms were deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, touching off the Old Court – New Court controversy. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale – Cyclone Rewa – Weather Machine