The year began and ended with Washington D.C. in turmoil. A government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018 lingered into the new year, ending on January 25, 2019. The shutdown affected about a fourth of government activity, and 800,000 employees. The impasse was created by President Trump’s demand for billions in federal funds for the border wall with Mexico. In January, the Democrats took the House of Representatives, ushering in an era of deep political divisions. In March of 2019, the ongoing presidential saga, with first the Mueller Report being issued that showed serious improprieties, but did not make any legal recommendations. This was followed in September by the revelation that President Trump may have attempted to strong-arm the President of Ukraine in an attempt to get dirt on a potential political rival. Hearings in the House quickly followed, and on December 18, President Trump became only the third President to ever be impeached in American history. The articles of impeachment now go to the Senate, where a trial will likely be held in 2020.
World events included the political upheaval in the United Kingdom over the timing of Brexit, forcing Prime Minister Theresa May to step down and Conservative Party member Boris Johnson to step into No. 10 Downing Street. A December election was called and the Conservative support increased. As it stands, the UK will likely leave the European Union on January 31, with or without an agreement. Other leaders faced populist backlash, including France’s Macron and Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau.
Notre-Dame Cathedral burned on April 15, causing heavy damage to the 850 year-old iconic structure. Fifty people were killed in a terrorist attack in New Zealand, prompting a crackdown on private ownership of weapons. Japan’s Emperor Akihito stepped down from the Chrysanthemum Throne, and his son Naruhito ascended the throne — the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in 200 years. In the British royal family, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor was born to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Prince Andrew withdrew from public life as a result of his links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Nature was not kind to the world in 2019. Wildfires in California and Australia raged, burning millions of acres of forests and encroaching on homes. Typhoons ravaged the Philippines, China, and in March, 900 people were killed in Africa due to Typhoon Idai. Two heat waves in Europe in June and July caused over a thousand deaths between them. Closer to home, the city of Beech Grove experienced a tornado that did extensive damage to the high school and businesses in the area.
Indiana politics got a little more interesting in 2019. Curtis Hill, the Republican Attorney General, faced allegations of sexual harrassment. Governor Eric Holcomb distanced himself from the controversy, and Hill did not resign and no formal charges were filed. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigeg ran as a Democratic candidate for President, making a big splash as the first openly gay candidate running for the highest office.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett roundly defeated Jim Merritt, and it was a Democratic Party sweep in the City-Council elections. Indianapolis saw some significant challenges, including job losses from Celadon trucking company’s abrupt closure in December, a failed development along the White River that temporarily killed hopes of a revitalization on the near west side, and the loss of the innovative BlueIndy rideshare program. The city also saw several big developments take shape, including Bottleworks on Mass Ave.
Notable deaths in 2019 included several politicians, including former Indiana Senators Birch Bayh and Richard Lugar, Michigan Representatives John Dingell and John Conyers, Rep. Elijah Cummings, H. Ross Perot, ex-president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, former president of France Jacques Chirac, and former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volker. It was a rough year for music fans, as we lost rapper Juice Wrld, James Ingram, Ginger Baker from Cream, opera diva Jessye Norman, Peter Tork, the Cars’ Ric Ocasek, Eddie Money, Dr. John, Leon Redbone, Nipsey Hussle, Dick Dale (the king of Surf Guitar), composer Andre Previn, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s long-time musical director Raymond Leppard. Holocaust survivor Eva Kors passed away. Journalist Cokie Roberts, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, business icons Lee Iaccoca and T. Boone Pickens, conservative philanthropist David Koch, fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and Gloria Vanderbilt, architect I.M. Pei, and socialite and Jackie O’s sister Lee Radziwill, also left this earthly plane.
Actors who took their final bow this year included Carol Channing, Kaye Ballard, Albert Finney, Katherine Helmond, Luke Perry, Jan-Michael Vincent, Georgia Engel, Rutger Hauer, Hoosier native Ken Kercheval, Peter Mayhew, Barbara Perry, Peggy Lipton, Doris Day, Tim Conway, Arte Johnson, Rip Torn, Peter Fonda, Valerie Harper, Diahann Carroll, Robert Forester, Bill Macy, Ron Leibman, Philip McKeon, Danny Aiello, Rene Auberjonois, and Shelley Morrison. Hollywood powerhouse Robert Evans, Broadway producer Hal Prince, and director Franco Zeffereli made their last calls. Caroll Spinney, Big Bird and Oscar’s voice on Sesame Street, passed away. Neil Innes, a member of Monty Python, passed on.
Sports figures we lost in 2019 include former Colts player Eric Paterson, racers Jessi Combs and Niki Lauda, golf course designer Alice Dye, LA Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, and NBA great John Havlicek. Authors who wrote their final chapters included bestselling writers Rosemunde Pilcher, Judith Krantz, and Herman Wouk, as well as poets W.S. Merwin and Mary Oliver.
