The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) continues to celebrate Indiana’s upcoming Bicentennial with a nod to some familiar names in Marion County. Reformer May Wright Sewall, businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker and author Kurt Vonnegut are among those recognized with the release of Indiana’s 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State edited by Linda C. Gugin and James E. St. Clair. It is a compilation of biographical essays featuring 200 people who have made enduring contributions to Indiana since it became a state in 1816.
Subjects profiled in the book include individuals from all fields of endeavor: law, politics, art, music, entertainment, literature, sports, education, business/industry, religion, science/invention/technology as well as “the notorious.”
Also among the 200 selected are famous names such as James Whitcomb Riley, Hoagy Carmichael, Theodore Dreiser, Gus Grissom, Saint Theodora Guérin, Michael Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Otis Bowen, Cole Porter, Red Skelton, T.C. Steele, Gene Stratton-Porter, Tecumseh, Ryan White, Sarah Bolton and John Wooden.
The biographical profiles were produced by 136 writers representing a variety of fields. They include such well-recognized names as James H. Madison, A’Lelia Bundles, Charles W. Calhoun, Donald Davidson, David Edmunds, Wes D. Gehring, Ray E. Boomhower, Bob Hammel, Peter P. Jacobi and Rachel Berenson Perry.
For more information on this book and other ways IHS is commemorating the state’s Bicentennial, call (317) 232-1882 or visit Indianahistory.org.
