1. In 1802, the first Illinois territorial governor, Ninian Edwards, arrived in Kaskaskia, marking the beginning of organized government in the region.

2. On April 3, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln visited his longtime friend and political ally, Joshua Fry Speed, at his farm near Louisville, Illinois. This was just two days before Lincoln was assassinated.

3. In 1944, the first trainload of prisoners arrived at the recently built internment camp in Granada, Illinois. This camp would hold over 7,000 Japanese Americans throughout World War II.

4. On April 3, 1966, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle held its first classes. The university was formed by merging the medical and dental schools of the University of Illinois and two Chicago branches of Illinois University.

5. In 1970, the Illinois State Legislature passed the Public Health Smoking Act, which banned smoking in most public places. This made Illinois the first state in the nation to enact such a comprehensive smoking ban.