July 6 In Hartford, Conn., a fire breaks out under the big top of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, to kill 167 individuals and injure 682. The cause of the fire was unknown, but it spread at incredible speed, racing up the canvas of the circus tent.
“L’Abbaye de Thelene” Do what you will J. Baker. Josephine Baker, American beauty, French hero, and British spy, was born in poverty and named Freda Josephine McDonald, June 3, 1906 in St. Louis. Her grandparents were former slaves. She lived in a series of run-down dwellings without gas or electricity,
June 29 In Furman v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court rules by a vote of 5-4 that capital punishment, as it is employed on the state and federal level, is unconstitutional. The majority held that, in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, the death penalty qualified as “cruel
Imagine enjoying a light lunch al fresco when a shattering boom roars through the marketplace of Pompeii. The ground around you shakes so violently that your meal of fresh fish and red tomatoes ends up in the street. Inhabitants look to Mount Vesuvius, a massive volcano that rises above the
June 22 U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the G.I. Bill, an unprecedented act of legislation designed to compensate returning members of the Armed Services, known to thank G.I.s, for their efforts in World War II. – 1944. During World War II, the U.S. 10th Army overcomes the last major
Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin, shared his thoughts after hearing the news of the death of Aurora alderwoman Scheketa Hart-Burns, at Aurora’s Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony, Monday, June 19.“Scheketa was a mother, a sister. We called her the dean of the alderman.“Most importantly, she was a friend of so many.“She will
More than a century and a half ago, the last enslaved Black people received the news that they were indeed free. Now, 158 years later, the youngest Black mayor in American history will join the first Black mayor of Aurora, Illinois, to honor the Juneteenth holiday. Mayor Jaylen Smith, 19,
Aurora launched its Juneteenth series of celebrations by unveiling a unique, culturally custom-designed Juneteenth squad car. A large crowd, including Black police officers from Aurora and neighboring agencies, gathered today at the Aurora Police Department for the unprecedented occasion. “This is more than symbolic. It is a statement of fact
Dr. James Varney is a retired educator who spent nearly five decades working with students from preschool through master’s degree candidates. He served as principal at several Aurora schools and directed the Partnership School for fourth and fifth graders at Aurora University. Varney taught both undergraduate and graduate students at
June 15 Arkansas becomes the 25th state to join the United States. – 1836 More than 1,000 individuals taking a pleasure trip on New York City’s East River on the riverboat-style steamer General Slocum, are drowned, or burned to death, when a fire sweeps through the boat. It was one
It was a party with a purpose in Aurora Thursday night. The purpose was to celebrate iconic artist Andy Warhol while attracting residents and visitors to the downtown business district. Hundreds danced the night away at Aurora’s kick-off to its Color Me Warhol Summer Experience with a special Studio 54
June 8 Some 35,000 members of the Machinists union begin what is to become a 43-day strike, the largest in airline history, against five carriers. The mechanics and other ground service workers wanted to share in the airlines’ substantial profits. – 1966. During the Six-Day War, Israeli aircraft and torpedo
June 1 Approximately 12,500 longshoremen strike the Pacific Coast, from San Diego, Calif. to Bellingham, Wash.. – 1916. A Warsaw Poland underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, makes public the news of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a death camp in Poland. – 1942. A coal
“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” President A. Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19,
May 25 With George Washington presiding, the Constitutional Convention formally convenes on this day in 1787. The convention faced a daunting task: The peaceful overthrow of the new American government as it had been defined by the Articles of Confederation. – 1787. Thousands of unemployed WWI veterans arrive in Washington,
May 18 In what may have been baseball’s first labor strike, the Detroit Tigers refuse to play after team leader Ty Cobb is suspended: He went into the stands and beat a fan who had been heckling him. Cobb was reinstated and the Tigers went back to work after the
May 11 Nationwide railway strike begins in Pullman, Ill. and 260,000 railroad workers ultimately joined the strike to protest wage cuts by the Pullman Palace Car Co.. – 1894. A massive storm sends millions of tons of topsoil flying from across the parched Great Plains region of the United States
The Geneva History Museum, 113 S. Third Street in Geneva, will explore the history of Geneva High School’s Viking mascot at noon Tuesday, May 9. Continuing the museum’s Brown Bag noontime series, “The History of Geneva Vikings” will be presented by museum educator Heidi Howlett. Admission is free. Reservations are
May 4 Haymarket massacre. A bomb is thrown when Chicago police start to break up a rally for strikers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. A riot erupts, and 11 police and strikers die, mostly from gunfire, and scores more are injured. – 1886. In Kent, Ohio, 28 National Guardsmen
April 27 After going three-quarters of the way around the globe, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan is killed during a tribal skirmish on Mactan Island in the Philippines. Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating comrades. – 1521. Afghanistan president Sardar Mohammed Daoud is
