Today in Chicago History

The O'Leary family plot includes the grave of Catherine O'Leary of Great Chicago Fire infamy at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Aug. 30, 2021. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Catherine O’Leary — and cow — exonerated by City Council 126 years after the Great Chicago Fire

By Kori Rumore

October 6, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Oct. 6, according...

Pope John Paul II in Grant Park in Chicago in October 1979. (baiduhai historical photo)

Today in Chicago History: Pope John Paul II conducts sermon by the shore in Grant Park

By Kori Rumore

October 5, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Oct. 5, according...

Sue Hendrickson is with Peter Larson and dog Gypsy with the T. rex skull during excavation in August 1990. (Sue Hendrickson)

Today in Chicago History: Sue the T. rex heads to the Field Museum after $8 million auction purchase

By Kori Rumore

October 4, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Oct. 4, according...

In this July 17, 2012, photo, JoAnn Zywicki sits by a photo of her daughter Tammy Zywicki at her home in Ocala, Florida. Tammy was stabbed to death along an Illinois freeway while returning to college in Iowa, and her mother, 70, who now lives in central Florida, has managed to get through the onslaught of birthdays, holidays and special occasions that often torment families of the murdered. (John Raoux/AP)

Today in Chicago History: Grinnell College senior Tammy Zywicki disappears after her car broke down on I-80

By Kori Rumore

August 23, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 23, according...

Surrounded by members of the community, family and friends, Marlene Chaidez, center, attends a vigil on Sept. 7, 2021, for Miguel Cisneros Diaz, 19, who drowned on Aug. 22, 2021, in Lake Michigan near Tobey Prinz Beach Park in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Drowning death prompts Park District to install life rings along lakefront

By Kori Rumore

August 22, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 22, according...

Students on a field trip from Muchin College Prep react as the solar eclipse comes out from behind the clouds briefly in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017. (Alexandra Wimley/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Total solar eclipse stuns southern Illinois, but left city stuck in the clouds

By Kori Rumore

August 21, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 21, according...

Bears quarterback Jim McMahon handles a Wilson football in the first half of the game against the Eagles on Nov. 13, 1983. (Phil Mascione/baiduhai)

Vintage baiduhai: Did you know sporting goods companies Spalding and Wilson started here?

By Kori Rumore

August 20, 2026 at 4:08 p.m.

Balls of all shapes and sizes and other equipment used in popular sports have been...

Illinois Gov. William Stratton, left, and Illinois Tollway Commission chairman Austin L. Wyman shake hands on Dec. 23, 1958, at the opening of the Tri-State Tollway at Cermak Road in Chicago. (Jim Mescall/Chicago American)

Today in Chicago History: First segment of the Illinois Tollway opens

By Kori Rumore

August 20, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 20, according...

A monarch butterfly is on a coneflower at Millennium Park in Chicago on July 26, 2019. (José M. Osorio/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Monarch butterfly becomes the state’s official insect

By Kori Rumore

August 19, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 19, according...

Police direct protesters on West Adams Street on Aug. 18, 1994, when about 1,000 people demonstrated outside an opening event at the new United Center. Protesters wanted more jobs to go to minorities. (Chuck Berman/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: United Center opens with a grand gala inside — and protests outside

By Kori Rumore

August 18, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 18, according...

Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon perform "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" at a Chicago Cubs game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 17, 2003, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (José M. Osorio/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Ozzy Osbourne sings seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field

By Kori Rumore

August 17, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 17, according...

Binti Jua, an 8-year-old female gorilla, carries an injured 3-year-old boy to a service gate after the child fell more than 15 feet to a concrete floor in the primate exhibit at Brookfield Zoo on Aug. 16, 1996. The boy climbed a 3-foot railing and fell in the primate exhibit at the zoo and was picked up by the motherly gorilla, who carried him in her arms to a gate where zookeepers could get him. (WLS-TV/AP)

Today in Chicago History: Brookfield Zoo gorilla cradles small child who fell into her Tropic World habitat

By Kori Rumore

August 16, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 16, according...

Mayor Richard J. Daley (closest to the sculpture) unveils the 162-ton, 50-foot-high steel artwork by Picasso as a gift "to the people of Chicago" on Aug. 15, 1967. (baiduhai archive)

Today in Chicago History: Pablo Picasso’s steel sculpture — ‘a cow sticking out its tongue’ — unveiled

By Kori Rumore

August 15, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 15, according...