It’s National Popcorn Day! A whole lot of kernels were once popped and packaged at the Cracker Jack plant in Chicago’s Clearing neighborhood. In 1869, F. W. Rueckheim emigrated from Germany to Chicago, and by 1872, he and his brother Louis formed F. W. Rueckheim & Bro., a small candy and popcorn shop. Business grew More
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” Today, we honor and recognize the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. More than sixty years ago, Dr. More
On this day in 1942, Muhammad Ali (né Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He began boxing at twelve years old and rose quickly to national prominence, becoming an amateur boxing champion by the time he graduated high school. Ali gained valuable experience in the late 1950s—in 1958, he competed in the More
On this day in 2011, the Germania Club Building in the city’s Old Town neighborhood was designated a Chicago Landmark. The history of this neighborhood club can be traced back to the Germania Männerchor, a men’s chorus comprising German American Civil War veterans who sang at President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral ceremonies in Chicago in 1865. More
On this day in 1882, Walter T. Bailey was born in Kewanee, Illinois, to Emanuel and Lucy Bailey. He was the first African American to graduate with a BS in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the first licensed African American architect in the state of Illinois, and the first licensed African More