September 21 During the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold meets with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British, in return for the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. The plot was foiled and Arnold,
Ingrid Bergman delivered her audition pieces to the Royal Dramatic Theatre. The year was 1933. One of her choices was a Hungarian play about a peasant girl who flirts with a bold country boy. She jumps out of the wings on to the stage and stands there, hands on hips,
September 14 U.S. president William McKinley dies after being shot by a deranged anarchist during the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y.. – 1901. September 15 The Battle of Britain reaches its climax when the Royal Air Force (RAF) shoots down 56 invading German aircraft in two dogfights lasting less than
“Memory is the scribe of the soul.” —Aristotle Salt water, storms, and headwinds, leaky decks and the November winds coming in did not deter the 102 passengers on the Mayflower in 1620. The thin-walled cabins below deck overflowed with chests of clothing, “casks of food, chairs, pillows, and rugs. A
September 7 The United States gets its nickname, Uncle Sam. The name is linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, N.Y., who supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. Wilson, 1766-1854, stamped the barrels with “U.S.” for United States, but soldiers
August 31 More than 325,000 unionists gather in Washington, D.C. for a Solidarity Day march and rally for work-place fairness and health care reform. – 1991. September 1 At 4:45 a.m., 1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. Simultaneously, the German Luftwaffe bombs
August 24 After centuries of being dormant, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, to devastate the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum to kill thousands. A flow of rock and ash follows to bury the dead and freeze the citizens in time, which tells the story of their every-day
It was a different kind of party with a purpose in Aurora, Wednesday, Aug. 16. Community volunteers gathered for a special school supplies packing party in preparation for Aurora’s largest and longest-running back-to-school bash this weekend. More than 1,000 school supply kits were packed for elementary, middle, and high school
August 17 Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman is struck in the temple by a ball pitched by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. He dies 12 hours later. It was the first and only death as the result of a pitched ball in Major League Baseball history. – 1920.
August 10 Missouri becomes the 24th state, the first state entirely west of the Mississippi River. Missouri was admitted within the Missouri Compromise in 1820 which admitted Maine as a northern state. – 1821. Construction on the St. Lawrence Seaway begins. Ultimately 22,000 workers spent five years building the 2,342-mile
August 3 From the Spanish port of Palos, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sets sail in command of three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, on a journey to find a western sea route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. – 1492.
In 1743, King Louis XV had a so-called, “flying chair” that connected his apartments with his favorite mistress. By 1895 The Biltmore Estate had installed an elevator. Hotels began to install them for their rich customers’ comfort. Following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, new Tiffany & Co. art deco
July 27 The House Judiciary Committee recommends that America’s 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. The impeachment proceedings resulted from a series of political scandals involving the Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as Watergate. – 1974. In Atlanta, Ga., the XXVI Summer
It was the shot which ignited the Battle of Gettysburg, a key turning point for Union forces during the Civil War. Saturday, July 1, the Illinois National Guard, the City government of Wheaton, and the DuPage County Historical Museum, commemorated the actions of 1st Lieutenant Marcellus Jones and the 8th
Jeanne d’ Arc was a peasant girl who heard voices, saw visions, raised the siege of Orleans and was burned to death by the English at Rouen. It was said that an English soldier made two pieces of wood into a cross and gave it to her as flames rose
July 20 New York City newsboys, many so poor that they were sleeping in the streets, begin a two-week strike. Several rallies drew more than 5,000 newsboys, complete with charismatic speeches by strike leader Kid Blink, who was blind in one eye. The boys had to pay publishers up front
“New feet within my garden go. New fingers stir the sod. A Troubadour upon the Elm, Betrays the solitude.” —Emily Dickinson Poet Emily Dickinson created in her writing a distinctively elliptical language for expressing what might be possible, but not yet realized. The literary marketplace offered new ground for her
July 13 At Wembley Stadium in London, Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially open Live Aid, a worldwide rock concert organized to raise money for the relief of famine-stricken Africans. Continued at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia and at other arenas around the world, the 16-hour superconcert was linked
“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.” —Abraham Lincoln The man who would serve as the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln,
Answers are available for those who wonder why kids from Joliet, Plainfield, Minooka, Yorkville, Montgomery, and Aurora all go to Oswego schools. Or, how Oswego got its name? Or, who the first white settlers of the community were? Or, who the Native People already living here were who greeted the
