1. On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln, who was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, spent a significant portion of his early political career in Illinois.

2. In 1837, the city of Chicago was incorporated on March 4. At the time, the young city had a population of just over 4,000, but it would go on to become one of the largest and most influential cities in the world.

3. On March 4, 1916, the Chicago Cubs played their first game at their new home park, Weeghman Park (later renamed Wrigley Field). The Cubs lost to the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in front of a crowd of over 20,000 fans.

4. The first edition of The Crisis, the official publication of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was published on March 4, 1910. The Crisis, which is still in circulation today, has served as an important platform for African American writers and activists for over a century.

5. On March 4, 1830, Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church), organized the first Mormon congregation in Illinois in the small town of Fayette. The Mormon presence in Illinois would eventually lead to the establishment of the city of Nauvoo, which became the largest city in the state in the mid-1840s.