Timeline of Chicago history

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Early America

• 1673: French-Canadian explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, on their way to Québec, pass through the area that will become Chicago.
• 1677, Father Calude Allouez arrived to try to convert the natives to Christianity
• 1682: French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, passes through Chicago en route to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
• 1696: Jesuit missionary Francois Pinet founds the Mission of the Guardian Angel. It is abandoned four years later.
• 1705: Conflicts develop between French traders and the Fox tribe of Native Americans.
• 1780s: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable establishes Chicago's first permanent settlement near the mouth of the Chicago River.
• 1795: Six square miles (16 km²) of land at the mouth of the Chicago River are reserved by the Treaty of Greenville for use by the United States.
• 1796: Kittahawa, du Sable's Potawatomi Indian wife, delivers Eulalia Point du Sable, Chicago's first recorded birth.

19th century

1800s-1840s

• 1803: The U.S. Army constructs Ft. Dearborn near the mouth of the Chicago River.
• 1812
  • June 17, Jean La Lime is killed by John Kinzie, making him the first recorded murder victim in Chicago.
  • August 15, the Battle of Fort Dearborn.
• 1816: The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri. Ft. Dearborn is rebuilt.
• 1818: December 3, Illinois joins the union.
• 1837
  • C. D. Peacock jewelers was founded. It is the oldest Chicago business still operating today.
  • Chicago receives its first charter.
  • Rush Medical College is founded two days before the city was chartered. It is the first medical school in the state of Illinois which is still operating.
• 1840
  • July 10, Chicago's first legally executed criminal, John Stone was hanged for the rape and murder of Lucretia Thompson, a farmer's wife.
  • August 4, Chicago is surveyed and platted for the first time by James Thompson.
• 1847: June 10, The first issue of the Chicago Tribune is published.
• 1848
  • Chicago Board of Trade opens on April 3 by 82 local businessmen.
  • Illinois and Michigan Canal opens and traffic begins moving through the city at a much higher rate.
  • Galena and Chicago Union Railroad enters operation becoming the first railroad in Chicago

1850s-1890s

• 1851: Chicago's first institution of higher education, Northwestern University, is founded.
• 1852: Mercy Hospital becomes the first hospital in Illinois.
• 1853: October: State Convention of the Colored Citizens held in city.
• 1854: A cholera epidemic took the lives of 5.5% of the population of Chicago.
• 1855: April 21, Lager Beer Riot.
• 1856: Chicago Historical Society founded.
• 1857
  • Iwan Ries & Co. Chicago's oldest family-owned business opens. Still in operation today, it is the oldest family-owned tobacco shop in the country.
  • Mathias A. Klein & Sons(Klein Tools Inc.), Still family owned and run today by fifth and sixth generation Klein's.
• 1860
  • September 8, the Lady Elgin Disaster.
  • Population: 112,172.
• 1866: Chicago Academy of Design founded.
• 1867: Construction began on the Water Tower designed by architect W. W. Boyington.
• 1868: Rand McNally is formed as a railway guide company.
• 1870: Population: 298,977.
• 1871: October 8–October 10, the Great Chicago Fire.
• 1872: Montgomery Ward in business.
• 1878
  • Chicago Academy of Fine Arts established.
  • Conservator newspaper begins publication.
• 1880: Polish National Alliance headquartered in city.
• 1885: Home Insurance Building is world's first skyscraper.
• 1886: May 4, the Haymarket Riot.
• 1887: Newberry Library established.
• 1889 - Hull House founded.
• 1890: The University of Chicago is founded by John D. Rockefeller.
• 1892
  • June 6, The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad, Chicago's first 'L' line, went into operation.
  • Masonic Temple is, for two years, the tallest building in the world, using highest occupied floor criteria.
• 1893
  • May 1–October 30, The World's Columbian Exposition (World's Fair); World's Parliament of Religions held.
  • October 28, Mayor Carter Harrison, Sr. was assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast.
  • Sears, Roebuck and Company in business.
  • First Ferris wheel built by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr..
  • Art Institute of Chicago building opens.
  • Universal Peace Congress held.
  • Chicago Civic Federation founded.
• 1894
  • May 11–August 2, the Pullman Strike.
  • Ženské Listy women's magazine begins publication.
• 1896
  • 1896 Democratic National Convention held; Bryan delivers Cross of Gold speech.
  • Abeny beauty shop and Tonnesen Sisters photo studio in business.
• 1897: The Union Loop Elevated is completed.
• 1899
  • Municipal Art League founded.
  • Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building constructed.

20th century

1900s-1940s

See also: Chicago in the 1930s

• 1900
  • The Chicago River is completely reversed.
  • Municipal Reference Library active (approximate date).
  • Population: 1,698,575.
• 1903
  • December 30, Iroquois Theater Fire
  • City Club of Chicago formed.
• 1905
  • The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in June
  • Chicago Defender newspaper begins publication.
• 1906
  • The Chicago White Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs in the only all-Chicago World Series
  • Sinclair's fictional The Jungle published.
• 1907: Adolph Kroch opens a bookstore which will evolve into Kroch’s and Brentano’s
• 1908
  • The Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the second year in a row
  • Binga Bank in business.
• 1909: Burnham's Plan of Chicago presented.
• 1910: Population: 2,185,283.
• 1913
  • Great Lakes Storm of 1913
  • Wabash Avenue YMCA opens.
• 1914: Alpha Suffrage Club active.
• 1915: July 24, the SS Eastland Disaster.[1]
• 1918: Micheaux Film and Book Company in business.
• 1919
  • July 27, the Chicago race riot of 1919.
  • Real estate broker Archibald Teller opened the first Fannie May candy store.
• 1922: Chicago Council on Global Affairs established.
• 1925
  • Goodman Theatre established.
  • The Tribune Tower was completed on Michigan Avenue. The building's large Gothic entrance contains pieces of stone from other famous buildings: Westminster Abbey, Cologne Cathedral, the Alamo, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid, and the Arc de Triomphe.
• 1927: Originally called the Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport opened. It was renamed in 1949 to honor the Battle of Midway in World War II. Midway was the world's busiest airport until 1959.
• 1929
  • February 14, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
  • Oscar De Priest becomes U.S. representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district.
• 1930
  • May 30, Shedd Aquarium opens.
  • The Merchandise Mart was built for Marshall Field & Co. The $32 million, 4.2 million square foot (390,000 m²) building was the world's largest commercial building. It was sold it to Joseph P. Kennedy in 1945.
  • Adler Planetarium opened, through a gift from local merchant Max Adler. It was the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.
• 1933: March 6, Mayor Anton Cermak was killed while riding in a car with President-elect Roosevelt. The assassin was thought to have been aiming for Roosevelt.
• 1933-34: Century of Progress World's Fair.
• 1934: July 22, John Dillinger was shot by the FBI in the alley next to the Biograph Theater.
• 1935
  • January 19, Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs.
  • Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago is awarded the very first Heisman Trophy
• 1938: Community Factbook begins publication.
• 1944: Premiere of Williams' play The Glass Menagerie.
• 1945: Ebony magazine begins publication.
• 1948: Chicago Daily Sun and Times newspaper begins publication.

1950s-1990s

• 1950: Chess Records in business.
• 1954: Johnson Products Company in business.
• 1955: The first McDonald's franchise restaurant, owned by Ray Kroc, opened in the suburb of Des Plaines.
• 1958
  • December 1, Our Lady of the Angels School Fire.
  • The last streetcar ran in the city. At one time, Chicago had the largest streetcar system in the world.
• 1959: Second City comedy troupe active.
• 1960
  • September 26: Nixon-Kennedy televised presidential debate held.
  • The first of the Playboy Clubs, featuring bunnies, opened in Chicago.
• 1963 - Donald Rumsfeld becomes U.S. representative for Illinois's 13th congressional district.
• 1967: January 26–January 27, Major snowstorm deposits 23 inches of snow, closing the city for several days.[2]
• 1968: August 26–August 29, 1968 Democratic National Convention.
• 1969
  • October: Weathermen's antiwar demonstration.
  • December 4: Black Panther Fred Hampton assassinated.
  • The Chicago 8 trial opens.
  • The 100-floor John Hancock Center was built.
• 1970
  • Soul Train television program begins broadcasting.
  • Casa Aztlán (organization) founded.
• 1971: Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center founded.
• 1972: Vietnam Veterans Against the War headquartered in Chicago.
• 1973: Sears Tower, the tallest building in the world for next 30 years, was completed.
• 1974: Steppenwolf Theatre Company founded.
• 1977: Chicago Marathon begins.
• 1978
  • Heavy snowstorm and city's perceived slow response lead to upset of incumbent mayor.
  • First BBS goes online on February 16.
• 1979
  • May 25, the American Airlines Flight 191 crashes.
  • Chicago's first female mayor, Jane M. Byrne, takes office.
  • Woodstock Institute headquartered in city.
• 1983
  • Harold Washington became the first African-American Mayor.
  • Ordinance banning handguns takes effect.
• 1984
  • The Chicago Cubs reach the postseason for the first time since 1945
  • Heartland Institute headquartered in city.
• 1986
  • Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, Inc. in business.
  • The Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX
• 1988
  • Lights are installed in Wrigley Field
  • Christian Peacemaker Teams headquartered in city.
• 1990: Population: 2,783,726.
• 1992: April 13, the Chicago Flood.
• 1995
  • The Chicago Heat Wave of 1995.
  • Your Radio Playhouse begins broadcasting.
  • Kroch’s and Brentano’s, once the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the US, closes.
• 1998: The Chicago Bulls won their sixth NBA championship in eight years

21st century

• 2001: Chicago International Speedway is opened.
• 2002: Lakeview Polar Bear Club founded.
• 2003
  • Meigs Field closed.
  • Chicago Film Archives founded.
• 2004: Millennium Park opens.
• 2005: The Chicago White Sox win their first World Series in 88 years
• 2006
  • May 1, the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests draw over 400,000
  • Cloud Gate artwork installed in Millennium Park.
• 2008: November 4, US President-elect Barack Obama makes his victory speech in Grant Park.
• 2010
  • June 28: US supreme court case McDonald v. City of Chicago decided; overturns city handgun ban.
  • Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup.
  • City of Chicago Data Portal launched.[3]
  • Population: 2,695,598.
• 2011
  • Rahm Emanuel becomes mayor.
  • Population: 2,707,120; metro 9,504,753.
• 2012: 38th G8 summit and 2012 Chicago Summit are to take place in Chicago.
• 2013
  • Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup scoring 2 goals in 17 seconds to defeat the Boston Bruins
  • Robin Kelly becomes U.S. representative for Illinois's 2nd congressional district.
• 2014: November 2: Wallenda performs high-wire stunt.
• 2015: Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup yet again for the third time in six years, establishing a "puck dynasty" nationwide and arguably becoming the best team in the NHL.

See also

• History of Chicago
• List of mayors of Chicago
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Chicago
• Timeline of Illinois

Further reading

Main article: Bibliography of Chicago history