1821 – The first state prison was authorized by the Indiana Legislature. The facility was established on Market Street in Jeffersonville. Prisoners were committed to hard labor. Within 20 years, the prison was too small, and another was built in Clarksville.
1882 – The Indianapolis News reported that hundreds of people had gone to Union Depot to see the first installation of electric lights. The brilliance of the scene amazed those who passed through the building.
1895 – Indiana attorney Helen Gougar was admitted to the Tippecanoe County Bar. On the same day, she argued before the Tippecanoe County Superior Court that the Indiana Constitution did not specifically prohibit women from voting. The Court ruled against her, and she later appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court.
1927 – George Taliaferro was born in Tennessee, but his family moved to Gary, Ind., where he graduated from Gary Roosevelt High School. He became a star football player and attended Indiana University where he played halfback, quarterback, defensive back, and kicker. He led the Hoosiers to an undefeated Big Ten Conference championship. He became a professional player and the first African American drafted by the National Football League.
1942 – The Von Trapp Family Singers were on stage at the English Theater on the Circle in Indianapolis. Baron Von Trapp introduced his wife Maria and seven of their 10 children who were on the tour. The family sang many old songs from their Austrian homeland. The Indianapolis Star said the program was “pleasantly nostalgic of the days when large families gathered around the home organ on winter’s nights.”
1982 – Renowned conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein arrived at Indiana University to begin a six-week residency at the School of Music. “I’m very happy to be in Bloomington,” Bernstein said. “Even the cold weather should stimulate the creative work … I have come here to do.”