1862 — The 70th Indiana Regiment was organized in Indianapolis under the command of Colonel Benjamin Harrison. The unit participated in many Civil War engagements, including the Battle of Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, the Siege of Atlanta and the March to the Sea.
1907 — Orville Redenbacher was born in Brazil, Ind. After attending Purdue University, he served as a Farm Bureau agent in Terre Haute and worked for Princeton Farms in Princeton, Ind. In 1951, he moved to Valparaiso where he developed his own brand of hybrid popcorn.
1913 — Comedian Red Skelton was born in Vincennes. Starting as a circus clown, he became famous in vaudeville, movies, radio and television. He was also an accomplished artist, famous for his colorful portraits of clowns.
1923 — Jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton performed in a recording session at the Gennett Studios in Richmond, Ind. The company made some of the earliest records of Morton, Hoagy Carmichael, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
1926 — Dedication ceremonies were held near Angola for land that would become Indiana’s fifth state park. Originally called Lake James Park, the name was changed to Pokagon to reflect the area’s Native American heritage. On hand for the ceremony were Governor Ed Jackson, Former Governor James Goodrich and Richard Lieber of the Indiana Department of Conservation.
1945 — The USS Indianapolis left San Francisco just after dawn with a secret cargo that included parts to be used in the atomic bombs that would be dropped on Japan. On its return voyage, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, resulting in the deaths of 880 men.