This Day In History for March 4

1789 - the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned for the lack of a quorum.)

1791 - Vermont became the 14th state.

1829 - an unruly crowd mobbed the White House during the inaugural reception for President Jackson.

1837 - the Illinois state legislature granted a city charter to Chicago.

1861 - Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president....more

On Monday, March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was formally sworn in as the sixteenth President of the United States. Lincoln was replacing James Buchanan. Lincoln had arrived in Washington by a secret route to avoid danger, and his movements were guarded by General Winfield Scott's soldiers. Ignoring advice to the contrary, the President-elect rode with President Buchanan in an open carriage to the Capitol, where he took the oath of office on the East Portico. Chief Justice Roger Taney administered the executive oath for the seventh time. The Capitol itself was sheathed in scaffolding because the copper and wood "Bulfinch" dome was being replaced with a cast iron dome designed by Thomas U. Walter.¹

1902 - the American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago.

1925 - President Calvin Coolidge's inauguration was broadcast live on 21 radio stations coast-to-coast.

1933 - Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated president, pledging to lead the country out of the Great Depression.

1933 - the start of President Roosevelt's first administration brought with it the first woman to serve in the Cabinet: Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.

1952 - Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married in San Fernando Valley, California.

1989 - Time Incorporated and Warner Communications Incorporated announced plans to merge into the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate.