November 24 On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England. Darwin’s theory argued that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called natural selection. In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment
There is no certificate of the birth of Charlie Chaplin April 16, 1889 nor a record of a baptismal registry. The place of his birth is thought to be East Lane off the Walworth Road. It had a loud and vigorous Sunday morning street market with its costermongers, old-clothes sellers
November 17 The Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, is inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony attended by French Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. – 1869. November 18 At exactly noon on this day, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the
Based on the fictional story, loosely based on the Chanel sisters of the time: It was an ordinary time in 1890. Well, at least for me it was. I was enjoying a lemon pastille as I walked down the boulevard rue Cambon in Paris. My journey had taken me from
It’s hard to believe that 59 years have passed since the shocking assassination of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Yet, for the Nation, the November 22, 1963, murder of Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, was a watershed event. As a nine-year-old, I saw my mother’s and
Ansel Adams was 14 years old when he first visited the mountains. His solitude was just as important as visiting with friends. Rocks, snow, mountains, skies, and long views into remote valleys interested him. His first trip to the high Sierra was during a family vacation in 1916. In the
Oswego’s Little White School Museum invites all area residents to visit their annual “Remembering our Veterans” special exhibit at the museum, 72 Polk Street (Jackson at Polk), just two blocks from historic downtown Oswego. This is the 16th year the exhibit to honor area veterans has been hosted by the
November 3 The Soviet Union launches the first animal into space, a dog name Laika, aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft. – 1957. The Lebanese magazine Ash Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling arms to Iran in an effort to secure the release of seven American hostages
Connie Kross of Sandwich, left, and Barbara Johnson, Yorkville, perform Norwegian American Women in Illinois.
By Al Benson Approximately 70 persons gathered Saturday, Oct. 22, to celebrate Ruth VanSickle Ford’s 125th birthday. Guests dined at the Aurora Country Club amid 50 oil and watercolor paintings loaned by patrons of the late Aurora artist, educator, and entrepreneur. Ford (1897-1989) owned and operated the Chicago Academy of
October 27 The New York City subway opens to the general public, and more than 100,000 individuals pay a nickel each to take their first ride under Manhattan that day. More than 100 workers died during the construction of the first 13 miles of tunnels and track. – 1904. October
It is time to re-visit my Wildly Important Goals (WIG) for Aurora. I’ve added a few new goals to my previous list, although the older recommendations are still uppermost in my mind for the improvement of “Life in Cythera.” (Sorry, that was a shameless plug for my two satiric novels
Cantigny Park continues its Headlines from History series with “A Century of Headlines: Exploring the Tribune by the Decade,” a program by Jeffrey Anderson, one of Cantigny’s resident historians. The free presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, may be attended in person at the Cantigny Park Visitors Center (parking
The Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street (Jackson at Polk) in Oswego invites all former Oswego School District athletes, coaches, sponsors, and other sports staffers to their first “School Reunion – Athletics,” to gather to reminisce about the fun they had during their school careers. The “School Reunion –
Standing amid Tschannen family headstones, John Aman of Montgomery portrays Herbert Tschannen, a Swiss immigrant during the Village of Montgomery’s annual cemetery walk at Riverside Cemetery Wednesday, Oct. 5.
October 6 The surprise attack by Egyptian and Syrian forces on Israel in October 1973, called the Yom Kippur War, throws the Middle East into turmoil and threatens to bring the United States and the Soviet Union into direct conflict for the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis in
Little Timothy was without parents at age four after they died in a mining accident. The year was 1840. Timothy was a small child with egg-shell blue eyes and a mop of golden ringlets. He had a certain elan with a cheerful disposition that belied his circumstances. For the next
By Beth Johnson In the 1880s, Aurora women lived much different lives than they do today. Most didn’t have the opportunity to travel far from their homes in the horse-and-buggy time, and it was rare for women to continue their formal education past high school. Because they felt a need
The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton will continue its Date with History series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, with a program on our Nation’s highest award for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor. The presentation is both in person and online. Registration is not required
September 29 On the outskirts of Kiev in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine, Jews are marched in small groups to the Babi Yar ravine north of the city, ordered to strip naked, and were machine-gunned into the ravine. The massacre ended September 30 and the approximate 34,000 Jewish dead and wounded were
