1885     Mark Twain and novelist George W. Cable presented joint readings at Plymouth Church in downtown Indianapolis.  A reviewer from the Indianapolis Sentinel reported that “the audience was in a high state of hilarity throughout the night.”

1890     President Benjamin Harrison welcomed Alice Sanger as the first female ever to work on the White House staff.  She had earlier served as a stenographer at Harrison’s law firm in Indianapolis.  Historians consider the appointment an early step towards the day when more women would work in government.

1900     Service began on an Interurban line from Indianapolis to Greenwood to Franklin and back.  Riders could purchase six tickets for 25 cents.  By 1910 every city within a 120-mile radius of Indianapolis could be reached by electric Interurban cars.

1925     Indiana Secretary of State Frederick E. Schortemeier gave a talk on the new medium of radio.  His topic on WFBM was the “The Blue Sky Law and how it protects.”  The talk was part of the first regular programming on the new station, operated by the Merchants Heat and Light Company.

1967     Purdue University capped a 9-2 season with a trip to the Rose Bowl.  The team, coached by Jack Mollenkopf, won a hard-fought 14–13 victory over the University of Southern California.  Senior defensive back John Charles was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

1970     Indianapolis adopted “Uni-Gov,” which expanded the city’s boundaries to include nearly all of Marion County.  Overnight, the Indiana capital went from the 26^th to the 11^th largest city in America.

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Indiana Statehouse Tour Office

Indiana Department of Administration

Visitors are welcome at the Indiana Statehouse Monday through Saturday.  For more information, please contact the tour office.

Note:  The Indiana Statehouse will be closed Saturday, December 31 through Monday, January 2.

(317) 233-5293
captours@idoa.in.gov

Indiana A Century Ago

Choose the correct answer for each question from the list below.

1.  Who served as Governor in 1923?

2.  Name the Hoosier author of the classic 1923 novel titled “The Genius.”

3.  What was the name of the recording studio in Richmond, Indiana?

 A. Meredith Nicholson   B. Decca  C. Warren McCray   D. Theodore Dreiser   E. Thomas Marshall    F. Gennett

     “If I have accomplished anything in life, it is because I have been willing to work hard.”

Madam C. J. Walker (1867 – 1919)

Answers:  1. C   2. D   3. F