Today in Chicago History

Chicago Bears halfback Walter Payton acknowledges the cheers of the crowd after his record-setting afternoon in a 20-7 win against the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 7, 1984, at Soldier Field. (Bob Fila/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Walter Payton becomes the NFL’s all-time leader rusher

By Kori Rumore

October 7, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Oct. 7, according...

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...

George Molchan, shown here atop a Wienermobile in 1976, was the official greeter at the Oscar Mayer restaurant at Walt Disney World in Florida. Editor’s note: This historic print shows some hand painting in the background. (Ron Bailey/baiduhai)

Vintage baiduhai: Oscar Mayer Wienermobile celebrates 90th birthday

By Kori Rumore

August 7, 2026 at 1:55 p.m.

The vehicle that bears Oscar Mayer's name is king of the road. A look back...

Enrico Fermi, right, demonstrates his neutron velocity selector to Walter H. Zinn between sessions of a meeting at Argonne National Laboratory on Dec. 2, 1946, commemorating the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction achieved four years earlier. (Ray Gora/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: City’s role in development of atomic bomb revealed

By Kori Rumore

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

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

Martin Luther King Jr., center right, and supporters pause before a realtor's office during their fair housing march through Marquette Park on Aug. 5, 1966, in Chicago. On the neighborhood's reaction to the march, King later said, “I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hateful as I’ve seen here in Chicago.” (baiduhai historical photo)

Today in Chicago History: Rev. Martin Luther King felled by rock during Marquette Park protest

By Kori Rumore

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

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

United Airlines Chairman James Hartigan, right, Mayor Harold Washington, center, and architect Helmut Jahn gather before the opening of United's "Terminal of Tomorrow" at O'Hare International Airport on Aug. 3, 1987. (Ernie Cox Jr./baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Futuristic United Airlines terminal — designed by Helmut Jahn — opens at O’Hare airport

By Kori Rumore

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

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

Members of the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, including Misty McMichael representing her husband, Steve McMichael, gather for pictures during the Enshrinees' Gold Jacket Dinner at the Canton Civic Center on Aug. 2, 2024, in Canton, Ohio. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Bears greats Steve McMichael and Devin Hester inducted into Hall of Fame

By Kori Rumore

August 3, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 3, according...

White Sox star first baseman Frank Thomas on May 22, 1997. (Phil Greer/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Frank Thomas makes his White Sox debut — and knocks in the winning run

By Kori Rumore

August 2, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 2, according...

Striking shopmen show their strength as the rail strikers parade through the Burnside district on Aug. 20, 1922, in the afternoon. At the head of the parade are former service men who carried a banner with the words: "We fought the world war so this country might live; let us live." (baiduhai historical archive)

Today in Chicago History: Great Railroad Strike suspends service on streetcars and elevated lines

By Kori Rumore

August 1, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 1, according...

Walter Payton embraces his 12-year-old son, Jarrett, after the boy introduced his father as an inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on July 31, 1993, in Canton, Ohio. (Mark Duncan/AP)

Today in Chicago History: Walter Payton inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame

By Kori Rumore

July 31, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 31, according...

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., kneeling on left, leads civil rights marchers singing and praying in front of a real estate office on Chicago's Southwest Side on Aug. 5, 1966. Neighborhoods that King visited included Chicago Lawn, where he was confronted by an angry white mob and was struck by a rock. "I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I've seen here in Chicago," King said at the time. (AP)

Vintage baiduhai: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march through Marquette Park

By Kori Rumore

August 4, 2026 at 3:45 p.m.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. encountered one of the angriest mobs of his lifetime not...

The gate to the former Union Stock Yards, 850 W. Exchange Ave., in Chicago, on April 27, 2016. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Today in Chicago History: Union Stock Yards close after 106 years on city’s South Side

By Kori Rumore

July 30, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 30, according...