1816 – President James Madison signed a Congressional resolution admitting Indiana to the Union as the 19th state. The new state government would be centered in the capital city of Corydon.
1866 – Meredith Nicholson was born in Crawfordsville. With Booth Tarkington, George Ade and James Whitcomb Riley, he was part of the “Golden Age of Literature” in Indiana. His popular novels include The House of a Thousand Candles. He also served in the Indiana legislature and was Envoy to Paraguay, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
1888 – Vice-President-Elect Levi Morton and his wife Anna arrived at Indianapolis Union Station. They were taken by carriage to the home of President-Elect Benjamin Harrison on Delaware Street where they had dinner and discussed issues facing the new administration.
1916 – Using no hooks or ladders, Harry Gardiner climbed up to the top of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in Lafayette. Over 10,000 spectators witnessed the event. Gardiner, who called himself “The Human Fly,” performed similar feats in Muncie, Fort Wayne, Richmond and other Indiana cities.
1972 – Eugene Cernan, Commander of Apollo 17, walked on the moon, becoming the last (or most recent) person to do so. He graduated with an engineering degree from Purdue University. When Cernan died last year, Purdue President Mitch Daniels called him a “pioneer in aviation and one of the greatest Boilermakers of all time.”
1977 – A DC-3 airplane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Evansville airport, killing all 29 aboard, including nearly the entire University of Evansville “Purple Aces” basketball team.