A serious railroad accident in Indiana kills dozens when floods wash away tracks

Heavy rains had had caused flooding and weakened a culvert over the Springbrook Run on the tracks midway between South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana.  The night express from Chicago, travelling at normal speeds and completely unaware of the danger, derailed and was thrown into the usually dry ravine now filled with water.  Around one hundred and fifty people were were aboard;  thirty-eight passengers and crew were killed and another fifty injured. (By John Osborne)
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In Italy, Papal troops regain control of the dissident city of Perugia

With the armies of Victor-Emmanuel advancing across Italy, the population of Perugia in the Papal States revolted against rule from the Vatican.  In an action that was to cause controversy throughout Europe, the Pope ordered Swiss mercenary troops to restore order in the city.  This they did amid rumors and allegations of "extraordinary cruelty," although the actual casualty figures were ten Swiss killed and twenty-seven Perugians dead.  From then on, Swiss mercenary troops across Italy were compromised and the Pope suffered a public relations disaster.  (By John Osborne)

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Palm Sunday riot in Panama brings hundreds of U.S. sailors ashore to protect American residents

In the midst of Palm Sunday celebrations in Panama City, an argument between young white Panamanians and a black to whom they owed money escalated into a full scale riot with troops called out.  A tragic and angry exchange of gunfire killed the commander of the soldiers and the situation became very tense.  The U.S. Consul made a pre-arranged signal to the U.S. Navy vessels in the harbor and eight hundred men were speedily dispatched to lay off the beach.  The riot petered out, however, and the sailors and marines were back on their ships before midnight.  (By John Osborne)   

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In Paris, the French Loan called to fund with Austria is massively over-subscribed

The French Government, in anticipation of war with Austria, had called for a public loan of 500,000 francs and opened subsciptions on May 7, 1859.  War excitement in Paris, however, saw more than 525,000 individuals subscribe 2,307,000 francs in ten days and the loan was closed on this day.  (By John Osborne) 

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Weeks of heavy rainfall bring serious flooding to the upper Mississippi

A late, damp spring had produced unseasonably heavy rains during the last weeks of May 1859 in the upper Mississippi River Valley and during the first week in June heavy flooding took place.  The damage was especially heavy in St. Paul, Minnesota where the the river reached unprecedented levels.  Hundreds of tons of logs on the river were lost to the timber industry and several Minnesota bridges were carried away.  (By John Osborne)
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Benjamin Peffer Lamberton (Dickinson Chronicles)

Scholarship
John Osborne and James W. Gerencser, eds., “Benjamin Peffer Lamberton,” Dickinson Chronicles, http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/l/ed_lambertonB.htm.
Benjamin Lamberton was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania on February 25, 1844.  He attended Carlisle High School and the Dickinson Preparatory School before spending three years as a member of the Dickinson College class of 1862.  He was a member of Belles Lettres Literary Society.
Dickinson Chronicles

Tornadoes strike Morgan County, Illinois, destroying farmhouses and killing at least eight

A severe storm moving in from the southeast spawned several tornadoes over Jacksonville, Illinois and the rest of Morgan County.  Early reports gave as many as ten people killed, along with many injuries, while livestock was killed and barns and farmhouses across the county reduced to kindling. (By John Osborne)
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