33rd Governor of Indiana. On October 30, 1903, Harry Leslie, as a member of the Purdue University football team, was seriously injured in a train wreck carrying the team to a game. At first, he was thought to have been killed, but miraculously his pulse was found after he was in the morgue, which followed with him being rushed to the hospital. As the results of his injuries, he walked with a cane the rest of his life. Sixteen of his fellow team mates on board the train were killed. In 1904 he was elected Senior Class President and later became the University's first athletic director. In 1905 he graduated from Purdue University before receiving his law degree from Indiana University. Leslie opened his law office in Lafayette, and became involved in Tippecanoe County politics after being elected county treasurer in 1912 and 1914. He engaged in farming from 1914 to 1924, serving also as a bank president. He was the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1925 and 1927, 33rd Governor of Indiana from January 14, 1929 to January 9, 1933, and a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Indiana in 1932. While Speaker of the House, he brought to justice the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan. His term as governor was marked by the start of the Great Depression and the state's farms facing a serious drought. He reduced taxes and helped with the state's unemployment. After politics, he became the founder and president of Standard Life Insurance Company. He died suddenly of a heart attack while on vacation in Florida. He married and had three children.
33rd Governor of Indiana. On October 30, 1903, Harry Leslie, as a member of the Purdue University football team, was seriously injured in a train wreck carrying the team to a game. At first, he was thought to have been killed, but miraculously his pulse was found after he was in the morgue, which followed with him being rushed to the hospital. As the results of his injuries, he walked with a cane the rest of his life. Sixteen of his fellow team mates on board the train were killed. In 1904 he was elected Senior Class President and later became the University's first athletic director. In 1905 he graduated from Purdue University before receiving his law degree from Indiana University. Leslie opened his law office in Lafayette, and became involved in Tippecanoe County politics after being elected county treasurer in 1912 and 1914. He engaged in farming from 1914 to 1924, serving also as a bank president. He was the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1925 and 1927, 33rd Governor of Indiana from January 14, 1929 to January 9, 1933, and a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Indiana in 1932. While Speaker of the House, he brought to justice the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan. His term as governor was marked by the start of the Great Depression and the state's farms facing a serious drought. He reduced taxes and helped with the state's unemployment. After politics, he became the founder and president of Standard Life Insurance Company. He died suddenly of a heart attack while on vacation in Florida. He married and had three children.
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