This week in Indiana’s history…
1865 – The side-wheeler steamboat Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis. The boat, built to carry 376 passengers, was vastly overloaded with paroled Civil War prisoners of war. Many of the over 1,200 who died were from Indiana. A monument in the Beech Grove Cemetery in Muncie honors the 55 Delaware County members of the 9th Cavalry, 121st Regiment, who died in the disaster.
1884 – Benjamin Wallace of Peru, Ind., introduced his traveling circus show with the impressive title of “Wallace and Company’s Great World Menagerie, Grand International Mardi Gras, Highway Holiday Hidalgo and Alliance of Novelties.” The first performance in Peru drew huge crowds and Wallace went on to become one of the biggest circus promoters in history.
1921 – Eleven members of the graduating class of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College traveled to Washington, D.C. They were greeted by President Warren G. Harding and also met Madame Jusserand, the wife of the French Ambassador. At the Capitol, they met their senators and representatives and sat in the galleries to observe the 67th Congress. While in the city, they gave a musicale at the Immaculata Seminary.
1935 – James Martin, the postmaster at Santa Claus, Ind., died at the age of 60. To children around the world, he was Santa Claus himself. For 28 years, he ran the post office from the back of his general store. Each Christmas, with the help of community members, the office handled thousands of letters from children to Santa Claus. Martin and his assistants did their best to reply to each letter. Many times the child received a requested gift.
1949 – George Crowe became the first African American from Indiana to sign with a major league baseball team. The state’s first “Mr. Basketball,” he joined the Boston Braves. Born in Whiteland, he graduated from Franklin High School and Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis.)
1961 – The first commercial jet landed at Weir Cook Airport in Indianapolis. The TWA Corsair 880 brought 85 passengers from New York City in one hour and 33 minutes. Mayor Charles H. Boswell and other officials greeted the arrival and accepted a plaque from the airline. Mayor Boswell called it “a great day for the city of Indianapolis.”