Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Avenue Bridge, was first garrisoned in
1803 under the command of Captain
John Whistler, grandfather of the
famous painter.
At first the settlement grew slowly,
impeded by continued Native Ameri-
can efforts to drive the new Americans
from the Illinois Territory. During the
War of 1812, inhabitants abandoned
Fort Dearborn, and many were slain
during the evacuation. But before long
the trappers drifted back; by 1816 the
military too had returned.
Conflict diminished after that, but
even as a civil engineer plotted the
building lots of the early town as
late as 1830, periodic raids continued,
ceasing only with the defeat of Chief
Black Hawk in 1832. A year later the
settlement of 300-plus inhabitants was
officially incorporated under the name
Chicago, said to derive from a Native
American word referring to the pow-
erful odors of the abundant wild
vegetation (most likely onions) in the
marshlands surrounding the river-
banks.
COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
Land speculation began immediately,
as Chicago was carved piecemeal and
sold off to finance the Illinois and
Michigan Canal that would eliminate
the narrow land portage and fulfill the
long-standing vision of connecting the
two great waterways. Thus the domes-
ticated East would be linked to the
pioneer West, with Chicago at mid-
point, directing the flow of commerce
in both directions. Commercial activity
was quick to follow: Within 2 to 3
years, local farmers in the outlying areas
were producing a surplus. Chicago
grew in size and wealth, shipping grain
and livestock to the eastern markets
and lumber to the treeless prairies of
the West. Ironically, by the time the
Illinois and Michigan Canal was com-
pleted in 1848, the railroad had
arrived, and the water route that gave
Chicago its raison d'être was rapidly
1908
The Chicago Cubs win their
second World Series. They haven't
won one since!
■
1917
The Chicago White Sox win the
World Series. They haven't won one
since!
■
1919
“Black Sox” bribery scandal per-
petrated by eight Chicago White Sox
players stuns baseball.
■
1920-33
During Prohibition,
Chicago becomes a “wide-open town”;
rival mobs battle violently throughout
the city for control of distribution and
sale of illegal alcohol.
■
1924
University of Chicago students
Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb
murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks.
They are defended by famed attorney
Clarence Darrow and are found guilty
but spared the death penalty, in the
“Trial of the Century.”
■
1929
On St. Valentine's Day, Al
Capone's gang murders seven mem-
bers of rival George “Bugs” Moran's
crew in a Clark Street garage.
■
1931
Al Capone finally goes to jail,
not for bootlegging or murder but for
tax evasion.
■
1932
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is
nominated for the presidency by the
Democratic National Convention,
held at Chicago Stadium (since
demolished).
■
1933
Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak,
on a political trip to Miami, is shot
and killed during an attempt on
president-elect FDR's life.
■
1933-34
Chicago hosts its second
World's Fair, “A Century of Progress.”
The biggest attraction is fan dancer
Sally Rand, who wears only two large
ostrich feathers.
■
1934
Bank robber and “Public Enemy
Number One” John Dillinger is
gunned down by police outside the
Biograph Theater.
■
1942
Scientists, led by Enrico Fermi,
create the world's first nuclear chain
reaction under Stagg Field at the
University of Chicago.
■
1945
The Chicago Cubs make their
last appearance in the World Series—
and lose to Detroit.
■
continues
