October 29 Black Tuesday hits Wall Street when investors trade 16,410,030 shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, to wipe out thousands of investors, and stock tickers ran hours behind because the machinery could not handle the tremendous volume of trading.
It was time to visit Indianapolis and enjoy the libraries. “Patsy the Panda” was ready for her new homes there. It is a reasonable drive time at less than four hours. So off we went! Traffic was busy and crazy with cars zooming past me at unbelievable speeds. Saw no
October 22 In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, U.S. president John F. Kennedy announces that U.S. spy planes have discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile sites, under construction, but nearing completion, housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in the United States, including
The year was 2002 and I was meeting with Merritt King in Geneva for research on my history of Geneva book with Arcadia Publishing. He invited me to his beautiful Geneva home and was gracious and a gentleman. Merritt King (1918-2012) had an illustrious career as a Geneva alderman for
October 15 President Woodrow Wilson signs the Clayton Antitrust Act, often referred to as “Labor’s Magna Carta,” which established that unions are not conspiracies under the law. It, for the first time freed unions to strike, picket, and boycott employers. In the years that followed, however, numerous state measures and
“Rich diamond and Pearl and Gold in evry Place was seen. Rare Splendors, Yellow, Blew,Red, White and Green, Mine eyes did evry where behold.” —Thomas Treherne’s “Wonder” Welcome to Russia, 1885-1917. Come inside to the world of Peter Carl Faberge. He was born May 18, 1846 and passed this life
Information will be available for readers to celebrate, investigate, and engage with the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment! Jane Addams Hull-House Museum Chicago, four Illinois libraries and the RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) in a virtual suite of exhibits and programs will make the celebration
October 8 Flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary and ignite a two-day blaze that kills between 200 and 300 residents, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless, and causes an estimated $200 Million, equivalent of $3.8 Billion in today’s dollars, in damages. – 1871. A massive
October 1 An act of Congress creates Yosemite National Park. U.S. president Benjamin Harrison paved the way for generations of hikers, campers, and nature lovers, along with countless “Don’t Feed the Bears” signs. – 1890. T.E. Lawrence, a legendary British soldier known as Lawrence of Arabia and instrumental commander in
September 24 The prophet Muhammad completes his Hegira, or flight, from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution. In Medina, Muhammad set about building the followers of his religion, Islam, into an organized community and Arabian power. The Hegira later would mark the beginning (year 1) of the Muslim calendar. –
The face mask, in the view of the Aurora Historical Society, will become the icon of the Covid-19 era. For historians it will be the pictorial marker of a time and a symbol standing for how Aurora and the world strove to deal with a public health menace. It will
It was a lovely, warming, September day, that month of 1965, and the hills were a great vibrant green stretching far into the distance. The girls all were excited because they were riding their bikes into town for such adventure. Molly, Patrice, and Bridgit, were cousins who lived close to
I began writing this piece because I was appalled by what Donald Trump had said about our veterans, calling them “losers” and “suckers.” In the back of my mind I had an inkling it might be old news by the time it made it into print, because another Trump scandal
September 17 At a New York convention of the National Labor Congress, Susan B. Anthony calls for the formation of a Working Women’s Association. As a delegate to the Congress, she persuades the committee on female labor to call for votes for women and equal pay for equal work. But
September 10 A 25-year-old London taxi driver named George Smith becomes the first person to be arrested for drunk driving after he slams his cab into a building. Smith later pled guilty and was fined 25 shillings. -1897. September 11 Approximately 75,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia,
“The voice of the last cricket across the first frost is one kind of good-by. It is so thin a splinter of singing.” Carl Sandburg It was September 1977. Annunciation School in Aurora. My kindergarten class of 32 with no aide. How I loved the children. We shared that year
September 3 The American Revolution officially comes to an end when representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain, and France sign the Treaty of Paris. – 1783. Twenty-five workers die, unable to escape a fire at the Imperial Poultry processing plant in Hamlet, N.C.. Managers had loacked fire doors
Invited to share the ironmonger’s dinner of black bread and soup and sour red wine, Galileo was already searching for a patron for his inventions. The ironmonger had let Galileo forage for parts from his stockpile of junk items. Galileo was too poor to continue his medical studies. He wondered
August 27 The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatau, called Krakatoa, a small, uninhabited volcanic island west of Sumatra in Indonesia. Heard 3,000 miles away, the explosions throw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, create 120-foot tsunamis, and kill 36,000 humans. Fine
The city of Aurora has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of 1,000 places in the United States that have seen history made by women. The action came after the Aurora Historical Society nominated Maud Powell, the 19th Century violinist from Aurora who rose above
