1851 – Ida Husted Harper was born in Fairfield in Franklin County. She became a nationally known journalist and advocate for women’s suffrage. In addition to her many publications, she authored a three-volume biography of Susan B. Anthony.
1892 – James F. Hanley was born in Rensselaer. He became a popular songwriter for the Broadway stage. In 1917, he published “Back Home Again in Indiana.” Among his many other hit songs are “Second Hand Rose,” “Dreams for Sale,” and “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart.”
1923 – Governor Warren McCray appointed a commission of nine people to purchase 12 acres where Abraham Lincoln grew up in Southern Indiana. $5,000 was appropriated for the transaction, which would create an important historic state property. The proposal was made 62 years to the day after Lincoln had addressed the state legislature. Former State Senator Roscoe Kiper of Boonville called Lincoln “one of the pillars of our democracy.”
1929 – Five men from Chicago were arrested in Indianapolis and questioned about their possible participation in the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” the day before. The suspects told police they were members of the Al Capone gang and “plenty of money and help would be down from Chicago” to get them released. To this day, no one has been charged with the murders.
1966 – Lebanon High School’s Rick Mount became the first high school athlete to be pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The same year, he was voted the state’s “Mr. Basketball” and the “USA Basketball Yearbook Player of the Year.” He went on to be a scoring leader at Purdue University followed by a professional career in the American Basketball Association.
1997 – Jeff Gordon of Pittsboro won the Daytona 500-Mile Race. At age 25, he was the youngest person ever to win the NASCAR event, which is sometimes called “The Great American Race.” He recorded an average speed of 148.295 mph, taking home a purse of more than $377,000.