Kentucky
The Bluegrass State
UseCivil and state flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagSmall vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flagReverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Proportion10:19
AdoptedMarch 26, 1918 (standardized June 14, 1962)
DesignA state seal without gold outer line circle on a field of azure.
Designed byJesse Cox Burgess

The flag of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was adopted on March 26, 1918. In June 1962, it was slightly redesigned.

History

The flag was designed by Jesse Cox Burgess, an art teacher in Frankfort, the state capital of Kentucky. It was adopted by the Kentucky General Assembly on March 26, 1918.[1] In June 1962, the flag was standardized.[2][3]

Design

The flag consists of the Commonwealth's seal on a navy blue field, surrounded by the words "Commonwealth of Kentucky" above and sprigs of goldenrod, the state flower, below.[4]

The seal depicts a pioneer and a statesman embracing. Popular belief claims that the buckskin-clad man on the left is Daniel Boone, who was largely responsible for the exploration of Kentucky, and the man in the suit on the right is Henry Clay, Kentucky's most famous statesman. However, the official explanation is that the men represent all frontiersmen and statesmen, rather than any specific persons.[5]

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state, and U.S. territorial flags; Kentucky's flag was ranked 66th.[6]

Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag The original flag of the state of Kentucky as adopted in 1918, before its June 1962 revision.
Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Old Kentucky state flag from the 1940s, featuring solid-colored men on the seal.
Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Old Kentucky state flag from the 1960s, featuring solid-colored men on the seal.

Pledge

In 2000, the General Assembly adopted the following pledge of allegiance to the flag of Kentucky:

I pledge allegiance to the Kentucky flag, and to the Sovereign State for which it stands, one Commonwealth, blessed with diversity, natural wealth, beauty, and grace from on High."[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Kentucky. New York, New York: Somerset Publishers. 1987. ISBN 0-403-09981-1.
  2. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20090409022051/http://kynghistory.ky.gov/KYNG+in+Art/Other/KY+Flag+History.htm
  3. ↑ "Chapter 2 - Citizenship, emblems, holidays, and time 2.030 State flag". 2021 Kentucky Revised Statutes. 2021. Amended 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 114, secs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, effective June 14, 1962.
  4. ↑ Federal Writers' Project (1996). The WPA Guide to Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 49. ISBN 0813108659. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Bryant, Ron (2005-04-21). "The Kentucky State Seal". Kentucky Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2006-12-29. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  6. ↑ "2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey - NAVA.org" (PDF). nava.org.
  7. ↑ "2.035 Pledge of allegiance to state flag" (PDF). Legislative Research Commission. 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
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