This week in Indiana’s history …
1849 – General Zachary Taylor stopped in Indiana on his way to Washington to take the oath as the 12th President of the United States. Traveling the Ohio River on the boat Ben Franklin, he stayed overnight in Madison. News of his presence spread quickly and large crowds came to greet him. The Indiana Sentinel reported that “the whole affair was got up in grand style, an expensive supper ordered, and committees dispatched in various directions.”
1898 – The U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. The tragedy helped ignite the Spanish-American War. Indiana sent over 7,000 volunteers into the conflict, which lasted six months. The U.S.S. Indiana played an important role in the blockade of Cuba and the Battle of Santiago.
1921 – It was a special Valentine’s Day in Indianapolis as two dozen movie stars arrived by special train from New York. They had come to launch the opening of the new Loew’s State Theater on North Pennsylvania Street. Accompanied by Company President Marcus Loew, they paraded to the Indiana Statehouse where they were greeted on the east steps by Governor Warren McCray. Movie patrons were delighted to meet the Hollywood stars of the silent screen, including Ruth Roland, Helen Flint, Crauford Kent, Creighton Hale, and Hope Hampton.
1936 – Indiana Governor Paul McNutt urged schools to temporarily close in order to save the dwindling coal supply. He and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Floyd I. McMurray, said the situation was especially acute in smaller communities. State coal mines had been hampered by frozen water mains, train car shortages, and the freezing-over of the Ohio River, hindering the passage of coal barges.
1955 – The Procter and Gamble Company gave a tube of Crest toothpaste to Indiana University President Herman B Wells. The gift symbolized the firm’s major research project at the school. The five-year program consisted of clinical trials in cavity prevention. Over 1,500 children and 40 adults participated. The new toothpaste was placed on the market in 1956 with an ad campaign centered on the slogan, “Look, Mom! No cavities!”
1961 – Oscar Robertson, a graduate of Indianapolis Crispus Attucks High School, was on the cover of Time Magazine. The article described his success in basketball at the University of Cincinnati. He had already served as co-captain of the U.S. Basketball Team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He went on to a legendary NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks.