November 7, 1837 - Elijah Lovejoy Murdered

Presbyterian minister Elijah Lovejoy was murdered in Alton, Illinois, on November 7, 1837. A staunch abolitionist and fighter of slavery, Lovejoy also owned a newspaper. After his paper vigorously defended an enslaved person who had been burned alive by pro-slavery forces, a mob set fire to his warehouse. Lovejoy was shot while trying to beat back the fire. His death was a rallying cry for Northern Abolitionists before the US Civil War.  Pictured is a monument to him in Alton.