Ron Grossman – Page 11

Mrs. Philip Lieber and Mrs. Richard Robinsdale sit next to a large illuminated globe at the Illinois Central Rail Exhibit in the Travel and Transport Building , circa May 1933.

Women helped burnish Chicago’s image for Century of Progress World’s Fair 90 years ago

May 14, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

In 1929, a group of socially prominent women pledged to keep the Chicago World's Fair scheduled for 1933 from being an embarrassing dud. No one asked them to assume that...

A gas tank at 73rd Street and Central Park Avenue exploded when a B-24 bomber crashed into it on May 20, 1943, killing all 12 onboard. The U.S. Army plane from Texas had been trying to land at nearby Midway Airport in bad weather.

More than 13,000 were killed in WWII flight training, including in B-24 bomber crash on South Side

May 7, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

On May 20, 1943, a B-24 bomber of the 1014th Pilot Transition Training Squadron took off from an Army airfield in Texas and headed to Chicago. It was a miserable...

Perched high on the Sears Tower, workmen go about the task of constructing the world's tallest building on April 13, 1973.

Starting with a 50-foot hole, Sears (now Willis) Tower rose to record-breaking height in just 3 years

April 30, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s announcement that it would build the world's tallest building in downtown Chicago was a psychological shot in the arm for a city suffering from urban disorder...

Belle Gunness with her children Philip Gunness, on lap, Myrtle and Lucy Sorenson in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Belle Gunness, the ‘La Porte Ghoul’ whose siren song led lonely farmers to an untimely demise

April 23, 2023 at 3:52 p.m.

In March 1908, Asle Helgelien, a South Dakota farmer worried about his missing brother, wrote to Belle Gunness, who had a farm near La Porte, Indiana. Andrew Helgelien hadn't returned...

The Cubist room at the International Exhibition of Modern Art at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 24 through April 16, 1913. The show was also known as the "Armory Show."

In 1913, a culture war erupted over an exhibition of modern works at the Art Institute of Chicago

April 17, 2023 at 2:44 p.m.

In 1913, the Art Institute of Chicago was the scene of what is now known as a culture war, a spitting match between defenders of tradition and partisans of innovation....

Bruno Bettelheim, an author and child psychologist at University of Chicago, takes off his glasses while talking in 1962.

Bruno Bettelheim was once revered in child psychiatry. After his death, a darker story emerged.

April 2, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

By 2007, when the United Nations designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, Bruno Bettelheim had been knocked off his pedestal in the field of child psychiatry. But three...

Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 21, 2023.

Ron Grossman: Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ fate is a cautionary tale for our nation’s Trump quandary

March 29, 2023 at 5:17 p.m.

It's only human to ponder the wisdom of trying Donald Trump for a nonviolent offense related to buying a porn star's silence. Richard Nixon's story suggests it is better for...

The WGN-TV mobile unit shoots pictures of the polar bears at Brookfield Zoo, circa April 23, 1948.

WGN-TV went on the air 75 years ago, and for decades its biggest star was a clown

March 27, 2023 at 2:46 p.m.

About the time WGN-TV went on the air 75 years ago, Larry Harmon was starting to make appearances as the clown that later helped make the station a lunchtime and...

Opera star Rosa Raisa, soprano, called the Chicago Opera home for 16 seasons.

Rosa Raisa, the Chicago prima donna Puccini tapped for a premiere at Milan’s La Scala

March 19, 2023 at 9:02 a.m.

Chicago scored big time when Milan's La Scala announced that soprano Rosa Raisa would perform the title role in the world premiere of "Turandot" at the famed opera house. In...

A photo shows the Marlborough Diamond set in a necklace. Worth 400,000 pounds in 1980, it was stolen from a Knightsbridge, London, jewelers on Sept. 11, 1980.

Two Chicago crooks stole the Marlborough Diamond 43 years ago. They did time, the gem remains at large.

March 12, 2023 at 4:23 p.m.

Arthur Rachel and Joseph Scalise had to be full of themselves when a British Airways jet reached the gate at O'Hare Airport's international terminal on Sept. 11, 1980. A few...

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