This week in Indiana’s history …
1840 – Mother Theodore Guerin and five other Sisters of Providence began organization of St. Mary of the Woods College near Terre Haute. In 1846, the college was granted the first charter for higher education of women in the state of Indiana. Mother Theodore also established schools in other cities, including Jasper, Vincennes, Madison, Fort Wayne, Evansville and Columbus.
1920 – Over 13,000 Indiana teachers were in Indianapolis for their annual convention. They met in five different venues in the city: Tomlinson Hall, Caleb Mills Hall, the Masonic Temple, the Claypool Hotel and the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Guest speakers included former United States Senator Albert J. Beveridge and Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
1929 – “The Celebration of Light’s Golden Jubilee” was held in Indianapolis. The event honored the 50th anniversary of Thomas Edison’s invention of the electric light. Airplanes flew over the World War Memorial while searchlights “spotted” them in the air. One beam was rated at one billion candlepower. Other planes flew low over residential sections of the city with “Edison” spelled out in lights on their lower wings.
1930 – Indianapolis residents with a sense of adventure were invited to take a ride in the Goodyear Blimp. Named The Vigilant, the zeppelin-type ship was 128 feet long and 37 feet in diameter. It carried 86,000 pounds of helium. For a fee of $5, passengers were given a 15-minute ride over the city at 1,500 feet. The craft was under the command of Charles E. Brannigan, a world war test pilot.
1954 – The TR-1, the first transistor radio, went into production by the Regency Company in Indianapolis. Selling at $50, the radio was expensive for its time but caught on quickly because of its small “pocket size.” Over 100,000 were sold the first year. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the TR-1 “launched the portable electronic age.”
1987 – Under a heavy cloud cover, an Air Force Corsair jet crashed into the Ramada Inn near the Indianapolis airport. The plane was en route to Tinker Air Base in Oklahoma when the engine flamed out. The pilot was able to eject, but 10 people in the hotel were killed.