This week in Indiana’s history …
1825 – The Indiana General Assembly approved an act which established a state library. It was one of the first decisions approved after the move to the new capital of Indianapolis. The Secretary of State was designated as the first state librarian.
1851 – The Constitutional Convention concluded in Indianapolis. The new document, created by the 150 delegates, replaced the original 1816 version. 50,000 copies were printed in English and 5,000 more were printed in German. The convention had been in session for 127 days.
1861 – On the way to his inauguration in Washington, President-Elect Abraham Lincoln spent a night in Indianapolis. He gave a speech from the balcony of his hotel, the Bates House, at the northwest corner of Washington and Illinois Streets. When he departed the next morning, February 12, it was his 52nd birthday.
1929 – Indianapolis Boy Scouts honored three generations of the Harrison family in ceremonies at Crown Hill Cemetery. Gathered at the grave of President Benjamin Harrison, the scouts met Russell B. Harrison, the son of the President, Russell’s son William Henry Harrison, and his grandchildren William Henry Harrison III and Mary Elizabeth Harrison.
1948 – Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown died in Terre Haute. Growing up in Parke County, he suffered serious injuries to his right hand. He picked up the nickname which followed him through an outstanding pitching career in major league baseball. Starring on a number of teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, he was inducted posthumously into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.
2008 – An Indiana Historical Marker was dedicated at the Benjamin Banneker School in Bloomington. Opened in 1915, the school served African-American students and was segregated until 1951. The building now serves as a community center.