Joseph Desha

Joseph Desha was a U.S. Representative and the ninth governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Desha's Huguenot ancestors fled from France to Pennsylvania, where Desha was born. Eventually, Desha's family settled near present-day Gallatin, Tennessee, where they were involved in many skirmishes with the Indians. Two of Desha's brothers were killed in these encounters, motivating him to volunteer for "Mad" Anthony Wayne's campaign against the Indians during the Northwest Indian War. Having by then resettled in Mason County, Kentucky, Desha parlayed his military record into several terms in the state legislature.

9 December 1768

Born on the same birth day (9 December): Adriaan Metius • Cornelis de Bondt • Emma Abbott • Freddy Martin • Irene Greenwood • Joanna Trollope • Kirk Douglas • Margaret Hamilton (actress) • Neslihan Demir • Tabitha Babbitt • Émile Waldteufel