1859 – Professor John Wise, a balloonist, was authorized to carry mail by air from Lafayette to the East Coast. An estimated 30,000 people gathered to see the ascent. After a one-day delay, the balloon rose. Blown off course, it landed in Crawfordsville and the mail was sent on its way east by train.
1940 – Over 260,000 crowded Wendell Willkie’s hometown of Elwood to see him accept the Republican nomination for President. In his speech, Willkie said, “I have an engagement to keep in this town. It was made a long time ago with a young man I know well … he was devoted to the ideal of individual liberty … he knew that the greatest country on earth was the United States of America … that boy was myself.”
1945 – Japanese forces surrendered, bringing an end to World War II. Approximately 338,000 men and 118,000 women from Indiana served in the war. Of these, nearly 12,000 lost their lives and 17,000 were wounded.
1992 – Larry Bird retired from the National Basketball Association. A star in his hometown of French Lick and at Indiana State University, he was a leading scorer for the Boston Celtics. NBA Commissioner David Stern said, “In the future, great players will be judged against the standards he has set.”
2011 – Wind gusts from an approaching thunderstorm caused a stage to collapse at the Indiana State Fair. A temporary roof fell onto a crowd of spectators, killing seven and injuring 58.
2017 – Wreckage of the USS Indianapolis was discovered 72 years after it had been sunk by a Japanese torpedo during World War II. Using high-tech sonar, a civilian research team found the remains of the ship 18,000 feet beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.