George Graham Vest
Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
George Graham Vest. Established Owensboro's second newspaper, The Gazette, near here in 1852, with Robert S. Triplett, an Owensboro businessman. Vest was U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1879-1903. Author of world famous "Tribute To A Dog." This spontaneous oration in court in defense of a backwoodsman's dog, "Old Drum," won case for the client and gained George G. Vest world fame. (Reverse) "Tribute to a Dog" - "The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have . . . the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. . . . He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains."-From a pleading before a jury by George Graham Vest.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
In 1852, George Graham Vest helped establish Owensboro's second newspaper, The Gazette, before going on to serve as a U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1879 to 1903. He is best remembered for his "Tribute to a Dog," a spontaneous courtroom oration in defense of a backwoodsman's slain hound, "Old Drum." The eloquent plea won the case and brought Vest lasting fame.
Why it matters
Vest's celebrated tribute became one of the most quoted pieces of American courtroom oratory, a small case that entered the nation's cultural memory.
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Related people
- · George Graham Vest
- · Robert S. Triplett
Themes & tags
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