1. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted its first automobile race on September 14, 1909. The event drew thousands of spectators and signaled the beginning of a new era in American auto racing.

2. The iconic basketball coach, Bobby Knight, began his tenure as head coach of Indiana University's men's basketball team on September 14, 1971. Knight would go on to lead the Hoosiers to three national championships during his 29 years at the helm.

3. The USS Indianapolis, a U.S. Navy cruiser that was famously torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II, was commissioned on September 14, 1932. The ship served in various capacities for over a decade before meeting its tragic fate in 1945.

4. The Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley was born on September 14, 1849, in the town of Greenfield, Indiana. Riley would go on to become one of America's most beloved poets, known for his folksy works such as "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man."

5. The USS Indiana, a battleship that served in the Spanish-American War and World War I, was launched on September 14, 1893. The ship was decommissioned in 1924 and eventually scrapped, but its legacy lives on through various relics and memorials throughout the state.