June 7 Hudson Stuck, an Alaskan missionary, leads the first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, Alaska, the highest point on the American continent at 20,320 feet. – 1913. June 8 During the Six-Day War, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attack the USS Liberty in international waters off of Egypt’s Gaza
Pallbearers carry the casket from the Healy Chapel in Aurora following a prayer service for Walter Backman Monday, Memorial Day, to a hearse. Backman, of the U.S. Navy, died December 7, 1941 in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His remains recently were identified and flown to Illinois for burial
The Aurora Historical Society will have many events during the Summer months at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place, and at the Tanner House Museum, 304 Oak Avenue, corner of Oak and Cedar Streets. Pierce Art and History Center: • Wednesdays-Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m., through
May 31 The famous tower clock known as Big Ben, at the top of the 320-foot-high St. Stephen’s Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, England. – 1859. The South Fork Dam collapses and causes a flood in Johnstown, Pa., that kills more than 2,200 residents.
Aurora Police Department Police Week Memorial, Saturday, at A.P.D. Headquarters, 1200 E Indian Trail, included an annual memorial service dedicated to the memories of Alfred Olin (badge 105) and Thompson Richardson (badge 113), the only two Aurora Police officers killed in the line of duty. Memorialized were the six retired
June 5 will mark a half-century since Robert Kennedy’s assassination, in the midst of his presidential campaign and a tumultuous 1968 that claimed the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. just two months earlier. University of Illinois communication professor John Murphy has written about both Robert Kennedy
Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anghalt-Zerbst Dornburg, later known as Catherine the Great, was born in the Kingdom of Prussia in Stettin, Pomerania April 21, 1729. Her father was a Prussian general. Two of her first cousins were Kings of Sweden, Gustav III, and Charles XIII. She was not Russian
May 24 After 14 years of construction and the deaths of 27 workers, the Brooklyn Bridge over New York’s East River opens. Newspapers call it “the eighth wonder of the world.” – 1883. A referee’s call disallowed an apparent goal for Peru in a soccer match between Peru and Argentina,
Aurora Downtown will hold an inaugural Aurora Museum Week this year June 17-23. Brian Failing made the announcement at the Aurora Regional Fire Museum during the inaugural Fox River Arts Ramble April 21. Failing, executive director of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, debuted the event poster created by artist and
The National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. has 100 statues donated by individual states to honor notable leaders in their state’s history. Even before the completion of the present House wing in 1857, the idea of a National Statuary Hall was considered. Representative Justin S.
By Anthony Stanford – Aurora’s First Fridays event May 4 brought the largest food truck festival in the city’s history to its burgeoning downtown. The event offered an array of entertainment, including art, music, and pop-up events. At the Santori Public Library, the event had special significance because not only
There will be a short prayer service for Pearl Harbor casualty Walter H. Backman at Healy Chapel, 332 W. Downer Place in Aurora at 1 p.m. Memorial Day, Monday, May 28. Click here for more information. At 1:30 p.m. a memorial procession will leave Healy Chapel go west on Downer
Three students from East Aurora High School recently qualified to compete in the 2018 Illinois History Day competition May 3 in Springfield. State History Day qualifiers include Sam Stade and Sebastian Valerio, whose documentary on the Haymarket Riot qualified for the competition. The third state qualifier is sophomore Sama Kreidi,
May 17 U.S. Supreme Court outlaws segregation in public schools. – 1954. May 18 A crowd of more than one million protesters marches through the streets of Beijing, which was later known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. – 1989. Mount St. Helens in Washington erupts, and kills 57. Ash from
April 30, 2018 Dear editor; I was pleased to find I am in the company of great thinkers, such as Nietzsche, who need to get away to contemplate or write because of a mind full of thoughts. A lot of times I think about our government and our participation as
Plano Train Day Saturday Plano’s annual National Train Day will be at the Plano Depot 101 W. Main Street, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Attendees can tour the historic depot and enjoy coffee with Plano’s mayor, Bob Hausler from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.. There will be various
Sometimes, by design or destiny, one person changes the course of human history. Think of Jesus Christ, Charlemagne, Joan of Arc, Michael Faraday, Queen Victoria, Gutenberg, or Jonas Salk. What fascinates is the charisma, the intelligence, the raw emotional power that one individual possesses and which transforms the world. Today’s
John Russell, grant writer for the city of Aurora, presents information about the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in Aurora at the Kiwanis Club of Aurora Tuesday at the Prisco Center in Aurora. The GAR Memorial Hall and Museum in Aurora, 23 E. Downer Place, is one of a
Arlene Hawks, one of the speakers at the opening dedication of the Marie Wilkinson exhibit at the Santori Public Library of Aurora Saturday, had a long-time relationship with the community leader. Mayor Richard Irvin of Aurora and John Savage, Aurora Public Library president of Board, were speakers. Carter Crane/The Voice
May 10 through May 16 May 10 Thanks to an army of thousands of Chinese and Irish immigrants, who laid 2,000 miles of track, the Nation’s first transcontinental railway line is finished by the joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines at Promontory Point, Utah. – 1869. May
