February 7, 1853 – Death of Robert Lucas, first Governor of the Territory of Iowa, at Iowa City.
On July 4, 1838, Iowa, which had been part of Wisconsin Territory since 1836, officially became a separate U.S. Territory, and President Martin Van Buren decided to look to Ohio, hand-picking his friend, the 57-year-old Robert Lucas, as Iowa’s first Territorial Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. On August 15th of 1838, the new Territorial Governor and his small traveling party arrived by steamboat in Burlington. Over the next three years, Lucas moved the capital to Iowa City, establishing Iowa as one of the most progressive territories in the West.
A Day-by-Day Calendar of Historical Events In Iowa, William J. Petersen, State Historical Society of Iowa, 1946, p 19
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