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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 6, according to the archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Flashback: June 6, 1944

People leave Holy Name Cathedral after an eleven o'clock D-Day mass on June 6, 1944, at State and Superior streets in Chicago. (Fred Eckhardt/baiduhai)
People leave Holy Name Cathedral after a D-Day Mass on June 6, 1944, at State and Superior streets in Chicago. (Fred Eckhardt/baiduhai)

1944: Chicagoans sat in prayer at the city’s houses of worship — including Holy Name Cathedral — as Allied troops invaded Nazi-occupied France on D-Day during World War II.

The front page of the Chicago Daily Tribune on D-Day has the headline "Allies Invade France," on June 6, 1944. (baiduhai)
The front page of the Chicago Daily Tribune on D-Day has the headline "Allies Invade France," on June 6, 1944. (baiduhai)

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

  • High temperature: 97 degrees (1971)
  • Low temperature: 39 degrees (1985)
  • Precipitation: 1.6 inches (1931)
  • Snowfall: None

Vintage baiduhai: Medinah Temple — from Shriners to circus, couches to casino — through the decades

1883: Charter No. 14 was issued for Medinah Temple during the ninth Imperial Session of the Imperial Grand Council at the Masonic Temple in New York.

"There was no brass band, no oratory, no enthusiasm," at the opening of Chicago's first elevated railroad on June 6, 1892, but the Tribune reported the event was a "decided success just the same." (baiduhai)
"There was no brass band, no oratory, no enthusiasm," at the opening of Chicago's first elevated railroad on June 6, 1892, but the Tribune reported the event was a "decided success just the same." (baiduhai)

1892: Service began on the first segment of Chicago’s “L” between Congress and 39th streets.

U.S. Attorney James Burns announces charges in Chicago on July 27, 1994, in the 1979 disappearance of candy heiress Helen Vorhees Brach. Richard Bailey, 62, was indicted on charges of hiring someone to kill Brach. Prosecutors believe Bailey hired someone to kill Brach when she began to suspect he was conning her into buying racehorses at inflated prices. (John Swart/AP)
U.S. Attorney James Burns announces charges in Chicago on July 27, 1994, in the 1979 disappearance of candy heiress Helen Vorhees Brach. Richard Bailey, 62, was indicted on charges of hiring someone to kill Brach. Prosecutors believe Bailey hired someone to kill Brach when she began to suspect he was conning her into buying racehorses at inflated prices. (John Swart/AP)

1995: Richard Bailey was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the alleged murder of candy heiress Helen Vorhees Brach. The sentence was decreased to 30 years weeks later.

Bailey pleaded guilty to defrauding women into paying inflated prices for show horses, a motive for the act, prosecutors say. She was declared legally dead in 1984, though her body was never found.

A tribute stone with the face of Riley Fox lays near a walking path at the Riley Fox Memorial Garden in Wilmington on June 18, 2009. (David Pierini/baiduhai)
A tribute stone with the face of Riley Fox lays near a walking path at the Riley Fox Memorial Garden in Wilmington on June 18, 2009. (David Pierini/baiduhai)

2004: Three-year-old Riley Fox was found drowned and half-naked in a Wilmington creek. Her father, Kevin Fox, was arrested four months later in connection with her murder, but was later cleared. On Nov. 10, 2010, convicted sex offender Scott Eby pleaded guilty to the brutal rape and murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Kevin Fox was killed in a car crash in Arkansas in March 2023.

People gather at the Western Avenue entrance to The 606 trail in preparation for the official opening of the outdoor space on June 6, 2015. (Nancy Stone/baiduhai)
People gather at the Western Avenue entrance to The 606 trail in preparation for the official opening of the outdoor space on June 6, 2015. (Nancy Stone/baiduhai)

2015: Chicago’s new elevated track and park system, The 606, opened.

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