This week in Hoosier History Highlights for the week of Dec. 10:
1816 – President James Madison signed a Congressional resolution admitting Indiana to the Union as the 19th state. Each year, Dec. 11 is celebrated as “Statehood Day.” The first state capital was Corydon.
1909 – Workers placed the last of 1.2 million ten-pound bricks on the 2 1/2 mile oval track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The new surface proved to be much better than the original one which was primarily gravel. Today, the historic track is affectionately called “The Brickyard.”
1917 – Thirty Indiana delegates attended the National Women’s Suffrage Association meeting in Washington, D.C. Women from around the nation met for the three-day event at Poli’s Theater. The Indiana group was led by Mrs. R. E. Edwards of Peru, president of the Indiana Franchise League.
1937 – Harry G. Leslie died in Miami, Fla., while visiting the home of Hoosier author George Ade. Leslie was the 33rd Governor of Indiana, serving from 1929 to 1933. Born in Lafayette, he attended Purdue University and was president of his class every year. He was a star baseball and football player, and, though badly injured, survived the 1903 train wreck in which 14 members of the Purdue football team were killed.
1958 – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke to a crowd of 4,000 at Cadle Tabernacle in Indianapolis. He said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
2007 – Julia Carson died in Indianapolis. A graduate of Crispus Attucks High School, she served many years in the Indiana legislature. She also served as Trustee of Center Township in Indianapolis. In 1996, she won a seat in the United States House of Representatives, a position she held until her death.