author
Jacob Piatt Dunn
1855–1924
A lively Indiana historian and newspaper writer, he helped shape how the state remembered its past while also pushing for practical political reform. His books on Indiana and Indianapolis made him one of the best-known interpreters of the region in his time.
1 Audiobook
The Word Hoosier; John Finley Indiana Historical Society Publications, Volume IV, Number 2
by Jacob Piatt Dunn, Sarah A. Finley Wrigley
About the author
Born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 1855, he moved to Indianapolis as a child and went on to study at Earlham College and the University of Michigan. Early in his career he worked as a lawyer and spent several years in Colorado, where he also wrote for newspapers before returning to Indianapolis.
He became known as a historian, journalist, and public-minded reformer. Dunn served for decades as secretary of the Indiana Historical Society, wrote major works including History of Indiana and Greater Indianapolis, and was closely involved in civic issues such as ballot reform and the writing of a new Indianapolis city charter.
His work joined scholarship with everyday public life: he cared about archives and local history, but also about how government functioned. That mix of careful research and practical politics helped make him an important figure in Indiana's cultural and civic history until his death in 1924.