1811 – Robert Fulton’s “New Orleans” passed Madison, Ind. It was the first steamboat on the Ohio River.
1912 – The Chambers Company of Shelbyville began producing sturdy and stylish stoves that were sold throughout the nation. The company introduced many innovations in cooking and won national and international awards.
1928 – Daisy Riley Lloyd was born in Kansas. She attended Howard University and went on to receive her doctorate at Purdue University. In Indiana, she became a leader in desegregation and community improvement. In 1965, she became the first African American woman elected to the Indiana General Assembly.
1933 – John Dillinger and his gang raided the police station in Auburn, Ind. They stole a submachine gun, rifles, pistols, and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
1948 – President Harry Truman gave a major campaign address at the Indiana World War Memorial. He was introduced to a crowd of over 200,000 by Indianapolis Mayor Al Feeney. Later the President visited the Masonic Hall in Beech Grove.
1969 – Robert Merrill, star baritone of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, was the guest soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Izler Solomon, in his 14th year as ISO conductor, introduced Merrill to the capacity crowd at Clowes Hall. Indianapolis News reviewer Charles Staff reported that the famous baritone “charmed listeners out of their seats.”