Henry Smith Lane was a United States Representative, Senator, and the 13th Governor of Indiana he was by design the shortestserving Governor of Indiana, having made plans to resign the office should his party take control of the Indiana General Assembly and elect him to the United States Senate. He held that office for only two days, and was known for his opposition to slavery. A Whig until the party collapsed, he supported compromise with the south. He became an early leader in the Republican Party starting in 1856 serving as the president of the first party convention, delivering its keynote address, and was influential in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. With the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he became a fullfledged abolitionist, and in the Senate he was a proUnion advocate and a strong supporter of the war effort to end the rebellion.
Henry Smith Lane was born in Bath County, Kentucky near Sharpsburg on February 24, 1811 the son of James H. and Mary Higgins Lane. He received a classical education from private tutors and studied law he was admitted to the bar in Mount Sterling, Kentucky in 1832. He moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1835 working at the Bank of Indiana and opening a law office, taking mainly criminal cases.
Source: Wikipedia