Louisville

Industrial city in northern Kentucky, USA, a major port on the Ohio River; seat of Jefferson County; population (2000) 256,200. Industries include electrical goods, agricultural machinery, motor vehicles, tobacco, paint, whisky, and Braille books. It is the home of the Kentucky State Fair and Exposition Centre, and the site of Churchill Downs racetrack where the annual Kentucky Derby has been run since 1875.

Louisville was founded in 1778 and incorporated as a city in 1828. The original settlement was established at the Ohio Falls by George Rogers Clark's expedition; it was named after Louis XVI of France in 1780 to commemorate French involvement in the American Revolution. Louisville became a well-established stop on the river route; the falls were by-passed by a canal in 1830, but the city remained a regional centre for westward migrants. After the Civil War, railway expansion and the growth of river traffic made it a major communications centre.

The Churchill Downs racetrack is one of 322 entries on the national register of historic places. The city is the seat of the University of Louisville (1798), Spalding University (1814), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1853), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1858), and Bellarmine College (1950). The Actors' Theatre of Louisville is also located here.

Famous people born in Louisville include heavyweight boxer Muhammed Ali and actor Tom Cruise. President Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), who died in office, grew up in Louisville and was re-interred in the city's Zachary Taylor National Cemetry in 1926. A song written here as ‘Good morning to you’ by Polly and Mildred Hall went on to become better known as ‘Happy Birthday’.