1779 – George Rogers Clark and his small army of frontiersmen captured Fort Sackville at Vincennes, marking the end of British influence on the United States western frontier. The George Rogers Clark Memorial stands at the site of the old fort.
1888 – The Ball Brothers began glass production in Muncie. The company had relocated to Indiana to take advantage of the abundant natural gas in the area. The firm became famous for their glass canning jars.
1894 – Two of the most popular authors of the era, Mark Twain and James Whitcomb Riley, appeared together on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York. The New York Times reported that the audience had “an evening of laughter.” Riley, the “Hoosier Poet,” received three encores.
1920 – Three-year-old Morrison Marshall died in the Vice Presidential Suite of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D. C. He was the adopted son of Vice President and former Indiana Governor Thomas Marshall and his wife Lois. The little boy, a favorite at the White House, died of acidosis. His father described him as “beautiful as an angel, brilliant beyond his years.”
1937 – The Indiana General Assembly adopted a resolution which declared “The Crossroads of America” to be the official motto or slogan for the state. The Hoosier State has historically been at the hub of travel across the nation, from the Old National Road to railroad lines to modern interstate highways.
1940 – Harold Jones was born in Richmond. As a professional drummer, he has become a legend, appearing with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, B. B. King, Ray Charles, Count Basie and Oscar Peterson. He still teaches drumming at college workshops and recently toured with Tony Bennett.