Indiana History Today
February 17
- 1892 - James F. Hanley was born in Rensselaer. He became a popular songwriter and in 1917 published "Back Home Again in Indiana." Another of his hits: "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart."
February 18
- 1851 - Ida Husted Harper was born in Fairfield in Franklin County. She became a nationally known journalist and advocate of women's suffrage.
February 19
- 1909 - The Overland Automobile Company incorporated in Indianapolis. The Model 30, with a four-cylinder, 30 hp engine, sold for $1,250.
February 20
- 1842 - The first medical school in Indiana opened as a department of LaPorte University. A graduate of the school was William Worrall Mayo, who established the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in 1889.
February 21
- 1940 - At Rochester, fire swept through the winter headquarters of the Cole Brothers Circus. Over 100 animals were killed, including elephants, lions, tigers, and leopards. For a while, circus animals roamed the Rochester area.
February 22
- 1862 - The first group of Confederate soldiers arrived at Camp Morton prison in Indianapolis.
February 23
- 1985 - Bobby Knight, coaching the IU basketball team at Purdue, picked up a chair from the IU bench and tossed it across the playing floor. The incident ignited widespread national comment.
