1900 At least 208 Arabic-speaking immigrants live in Indiana; Sadie Hider is one of them
1905 Martha and Salma Freije arrive in the Syrian colony on Willard Street
1910 Syrian immigrants in Indiana now total more than 1,000 people
1924 National Origins Act virtually bans immigration from Syria; Julia David weds Nicholas Shaheen
1926 St. George Syrian Orthodox Church is established
1927 Waheeb Salim Zarick receives M.D. degree from Indiana University
1935 There are dozens of Arabic-speaking grocers in Indianapolis
1936 The Syrian American Brotherhood clubhouse hosts first meeting of the Midwest Federation of Syrian and Lebanese Clubs
1937 John Haramy finishes IU dissertation, “The Palestine Mandate: A Study in Conflicting Interests”
1957 Michael Tamer leads fundraising for St. Jude Children’s Hospital
1964 Helen Corey becomes first Arab American elected to statewide office
1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act opens door to more Arab immigrants
1972 St. Vincent’s Hospital asks Dr. William Nasser to establish their cardiology center
1990 Former Warren Central High School quarterback Jeff George selected first overall in NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts
2004 Mitch Daniels, grandson of Syrian immigrants, elected Indiana Governor
2010 U.S. Census reports 19,720 Hoosiers of Arab descent; Arab American institute says it’s 46,122—the largest group is Syrian-Lebanese
2015 Gov. Mike Pence attempts, unsuccessfully, to ban Syrian refugees from settling in Indiana
2017 Immigrants from Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan are more numerous; Syrians and Lebanese remain largest group
2018 Nermeen Mouftah, specialist in Islamic studies, appointed assistant professor at Butler University
2020 Fady Qaddoura is the first Arab Muslim elected to the Indiana State Senate
