List of Kentucky Colonels 1775-2025
The complete list of persons that have received the Kentucky Colonel Commission is lengthly to say the least; there are over 350,000 people that have received a Kentucky Colonel Commission from one of 55 of its 59 governors that have served the state since 1792. Two of the governors never had an opportunity to name any colonels on their staff because they died in office shortly after their elections, two others never made any colonels at all. Some colonels were designated by acting governors and some colonels have been designated by lieutenant governors.
Officially a Kentucky Colonel (1 in 1,000)
This is an exclusive list of people (one in one thousand) who have been commissioned as Kentucky colonels, as their appointments are known by Wikipedia, have been reported in the news media, or sourced from the mainstream social media. The list is not exhaustive, researchers should know the Governor's Office does not maintain a database of all Kentucky colonels, but there is a log entry in the Office of the Secretary of State.
A Non Exhaustive List of Recognized Persons Beholding the Honorable Title "Colonel" (Project 2023-2025)
To be added to this exemplar 1 in a 1,000 Kentucky Colonel List, please email "a link to a public Google Photos .jpg image" of yourself holding your commission, along with your full name on the commission, the date you were commissioned, and the name of the governor that commissioned you. The portrait type photo must be between 800 and 1600 pixels wide and the exact photo cannot already be hosted (used) on a social media platform such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, or Flickr. Additionally and alternatively, colonels may provide a link to a static profile page from the social media or website with their biographic information or a scan of a newspaper article.
The maximum number of names on the list will be 1,000. The names (however many there are) will be included in the "Kentucky Colonels: Forefathers and Founders" book in an alphabetical addendum and the index when it is published.
Privacy Laws
Due to personal privacy laws we cannot publish the entire list of persons (log book) that have been named a Kentucky Colonel, despite it being awarded under the auspices of a public act. Some people who receive the award have rejected it, do not acknowledge it, or understand the rights, privileges and responsibilities of the honorable title, perhaps they do not even know why and how they became a Kentucky Colonel?
Therefore this section shall only reflect Kentucky colonels that we discovered on Wikipedia (Creative Commons), publicly in the news media, on television, from magazines and published in the social media that are known to be a Kentucky Colonel or have requested to be included on this list of Kentucky colonels in exchange for a discretionary donation of $25 to $100 to our Creative Commons website.
List is Not a Registry
The Kentucky Colonel List and List of Kentucky Colonels (same list with two names) is meant to provide website users with a diverse permanent listing of up to 1,000 Kentucky colonels from all walks of life for our book, 100 of those people will be highlighted with a single paragraph. The Kentucky Colonel List project does not replace the International Kentucky Colonel Registry (a planned program that was delayed in 2020 coincident with the pandemic) which was merged into an International Goodwill Ambassador Registry, with colonels listed for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
