1865 – The funeral train carrying the body of President Abraham Lincoln arrived in Indianapolis at 7 a.m. on April 30. The fallen President lay in state in the rotunda of the old Capitol. Although there was a steady rain all day, over 50,000 people passed by the casket. The train departed at midnight to go to Michigan City, its last stop in Indiana before traveling to Chicago and on to Springfield, Ill., where burial would take place.
1876 – The Martin County Courthouse in Shoals was destroyed by fire. A defective chimney flue was the suspected cause. The loss was estimated at $20,000. A new two-story brick Courthouse opened the next year at the same location.
1896 – Dan Patch was foaled in a barn near Oxford in Benton County. At a time when harness racing was one of the biggest sports in the nation, Dan became a major celebrity. Starting at county fairs, he moved onto the world racing stage and set speed records at least 14 times. At his peak, he earned more than $1 million per year for his owner.
1920 – Heavy rain caused the Niblack levee to break way on the Wabash River near Vincennes. Four thousand acres were flooded, destroying over $100,000 worth of growing wheat. The levee was at the place where the Maria Creek enters the Wabash. Word had spread that the levee was failing, and farmers were able to remove livestock from bottomlands ahead of time.
1969 – Victor Borge was guest conductor for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at Clowes Hall. The Indianapolis Star said, “He was never in better form with his jokes about the music he proposed to play and sometimes did.” A first-rate conductor, Borge also led the orchestra in selected classics to preview the upcoming Festival of Romantic Music. Mayor Richard Lugar joined the maestro in a two-piano rendition of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”
2017 – Vice President Mike Pence joined Navy officials in Newport News, Va., for the christening of the new USS Indiana, a fast-attack nuclear-powered submarine. The vessel is 380-feet long and weighs nearly 8,000 tons. The Navy says the Indiana will help the United States maintain its undersea superiority for many years to come.