This week in Indiana’s history …
1851 – The new Indiana State Constitution went into effect, replacing the original version written at the time of Statehood in 1816. Meeting in the Statehouse in Indianapolis, 150 delegates had taken four months to craft the new document, which was created to adapt to changing times. This 1851 Constitution continues to this day to serve as the foundation of state government.
1892 – The First automatic telephone system went into operation in La Porte. Local mortician Almon Strowger used hat pins and electromagnets to create a rotary dial mechanism which would become the basis of telephone technology for decades to come. Calls could be made without the assistance of an operator. Strowger called his method “cuss-less, out-of-order-less, and wait-less.”
1917 – James Bethel Gresham, from Evansville, was killed in action in a battle near Artois, France. The 23-year-old Army Corporal was the first Hoosier, and one of the first three Americans, to die in combat during World War I. He and his comrades were buried on the battlefield where they fell, but Gresham’s remains were later returned to Evansville and interred at Locust Hill Cemetery.
1935 – Amelia Earhart was the special guest of the Hammond Junior Women’s Club at the Lyndora Hotel. Introduced by Mayor Frank R. Martin, the famous flyer fascinated the audience as she spoke of her solo flights over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A dinner was followed by ice cream desserts topped with airplane motifs. She later spoke to 900 people at Hammond High School. As she described her adventures, she said she loved flying “for the beauty of the view over land and sea.”
1942 – Arcada Stark Balz became the first woman elected to the Indiana State Senate. Born on a farm near Bloomington, she had grown up in Indianapolis and attended Manual High School. A teacher of history, literature and art, she had also served as president of the Indiana Federation of Women’s Clubs. In the Senate, she represented Johnson and Marion counties.
1957 – Architect Frank Lloyd Wright visited Indianapolis. At age 90, he had become a legend in what became known as “organic architecture.” He was critical of many of the city’s buildings, but expressed admiration for the J. C. Penney Store on Monument Circle. He also approved of Weir Cook Airport, which he said was “very nicely designed.”