5 Things We Bet You Didn’t Know About Knoxville

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1. We’re not the only Knoxville.

The City of Knoxville shares its name with towns in Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

2. America’s first admiral was born here.

David Glasgow Farragut was born in Knoxville in 1801 and was the first person to be appointed to the rank of Admiral in the U.S. 

3. Knoxville has a connection to the Wild West.

In 1901, Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, shot a couple of deputies and escaped out the window of a business on Central Avenue in what is now the Old City. He was captured but escaped and was last seen riding the sheriff’s stolen horse across the Gay Street Bridge.

4. Our airport is named for a fighter pilot.

Knoxville native Lt. Charles McGhee Tyson was a fighter pilot who was shot down over Britain’s North Sea in WWI. Our airport is named in his honor.

5. A WWI nurse co-founded the Knoxville chapter of the Red Cross.

“Whitty” Logan was a nurse who worked near the front lines in France during World War I. She earned a Medal of Commendation from General Pershing and helped found the Knoxville Chapter of The Red Cross.

1 Comment
  1. Shannon says

    Also, David Farragut was Hispanic.

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