Growing up in Covington, the son of German immigrants, young William J. Goebel developed a thriving law practice and a reputation as a tough political fighter in his hometown and in the Kentucky state capitol in Frankfort.
As a candidate for governor in 1899, he lost the hotly-contested popular vote, but was later declared the winner after he was shot in front of the Capitol. Sworn in on his deathbed, he died three days later, ending the briefest gubernatorial term in Kentucky history.
The assassination of William Goebel
Robert Schrage and John Schaaf will discuss the life and times of Goebel, Covington lawyer and Kentucky political leader in the last decades of the 1800s, during the next Behringer-Crawford Museum NKY History Hour at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 10.
To register and participate in the free virtual presentation, presented by Behringer-Crawford Museum, click here.
Robert Schrage
Information on how to connect to the Zoom session will be sent after registration. The event will also be streamed live on BCM’s Facebook page.
Robert Schrage is very active in local history circles and has served on the boards of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society, Boone County Historic Preservation Board and the Behringer-Crawford Museum Board. In 2015, Schrage received the William Conrad Preservation Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement in preservation of local history. Previous works include Lost Northern Kentucky (The History Press), Legendary Locals of Covington (Arcadia), Eyewitness to History: A Personal Journal (winner of honorable mentions at the New York, Amsterdam and Florida Book Festivals (Merlot Group), Carl Kiger: The Man Beyond the Murder (Merlot Group), The Ohio River from Cincinnati to Louisville (Arcadia), Boone County: Then and Now (Arcadia) and Burlington (Arcadia).
John Schaaf
John Schaaf retired as executive director of the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission, where he worked for fifteen years, and served on the steering committee of the international Council on Governmental Ethics Laws. Prior to that, he was the general counsel for the Legislative Research Commission, as well as an attorney with a Louisville law firm and a brief stint as editor of a weekly newspaper. Schaaf received a degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky and his J.D. from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.
Hosted by Shane Noem and Tara Johnson-Noem, vice president of the BCM Board of Trustees, NKY History Hour is a weekly offering of Behringer-Crawford Museum focused on Northern Kentucky history, featuring local authors, historians and archaeologists. NKY History Hour presentations are currently free to the public but may become a BCM members-only benefit in the future.
To support NKY History Hour and access many other entertaining and thought- provoking programs for free, join BCM today here.
Behringer-Crawford Museum is supported in part by our members, the City of Covington. Kenton County Fiscal Court, ArtsWave, Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Humanities, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation.
