250 Years of the Encyclopaedia Britannica – And Chicago's Role in Its Success
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, which was first published 250 years ago, became a proud emblem of the American middle class during the 20th century in large part thanks to the efforts of Chicago institutions and people.
Remembering George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, died on Friday at the age of 94. Remember his legacy as a non-ideological contrast to his predecessor Ronald Reagan and as overseer of a number of significant foreign policy achievements.
Angels Too Soon: The Tragic Our Lady of the Angels School Fire
60 years ago, 92 children and three nuns died in a fire at the Our Lady of the Angels school on Chicago's West Side. The tragedy could easily have been prevented, and had a wide-reaching effect on fire safety measures across the country.
"We're Still Here": Chicago's Native American Community
After their removal from the region around Chicago in the early nineteenth century, Native Americans began returning to the city in the 1950s under the federal government's ill-planned relocation policy. Chicago has the oldest urban Indian center, and the third largest urban population of Native Americans.
A Chance to Ride (or See) a Historic CTA Train Car
In celebration of the opening of Chicago's first subway transit line 75 years ago, the CTA is sending out two vintage train cars that ran from 1923 to 1973 and are the same model of car that was among the first to run on the State Street subway line.
A New Podcast Bringing Studs Terkel into the 21st Century
Bughouse Square with Eve Ewing takes interviews between the legendary Studs Terkel and people such as James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry and pairs them with contemporary conversations and musings on the same themes from Studs's kindred spirit Eve Ewing.
Fascism in Chicago
From the feted arrival of an Italian Fascist in Chicago during the Century of Progress World's Fair (commemorated with the renaming of a street and a monument donated by Mussolini) to the infamous controversy where neo-Nazis tried to march in Skokie, learn about fascist flare-ups in Chicago.
What the Bahá’i Temple Reveals About the Bahá’i Faith
The Bahá’i House of Worship on the lakefront north of Chicago is sometimes called the "silent teacher" for the way that it illustrates principles of the faith, many of which are incorporated into the striking, innovative, ornate design, which took 50 years to realize.
Chicago's Deadliest Disaster
One hundred and three years ago, on July 24, 1915, more than 800 people lost their lives in Chicago's deadliest tragedy, when a top-heavy boat rolled onto its side in the Chicago River only twenty feet from the shore. Watch an archival Chicago Stories episode about the Eastland Disaster.
Remembering Nelson Mandela on His Centennial
Look back on the life and legacy of the revered human rights icon and first democratically elected president of South Africa with a biographical portrait from Frontline, special reports from PBS NewsHour, and an archival segment on Mandela from Chicago Tonight.
How Tom Burrell Convinced Corporations That "Black People Are Not Dark-Skinned White People"
In 1961, Tom Burrell became the first African American to work in a Chicago advertising agency – in the mailroom. Within a decade, he had started his own agency, which became a pioneer of targeted advertising, incorporating black culture and positive images of black people into commercials.
"The World Will Never Be the Same After This": 50 Years of the Special Olympics
The first Special Olympics were held 50 years ago in Chicago, thanks in part to the championing efforts of a Kennedy. A celebration of the Special Olympics will be held on their anniversary here in July.
When Chicago Was 'Hog Butcher to the World'
A square mile of the city just upstream from downtown devoted to turning livestock into products that saw 18 million animals in a year at its peak: the Union Stock Yards are almost unimaginable now, but they once epitomized Chicago, and gave us the assembly line and refrigerated rail cars.
The Harlem (Actually Chicago) Globetrotters
The name is deceiving: they're not from Harlem, and they definitely didn't travel the globe at first. The Harlem Globetrotters were founded in Chicago by five high school stars and a short Jewish man, and originally played in small town gyms outside the city.
50 Years After the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
50 years ago today, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the midst of the 1968 presidential campaign. Explore his unrealized potential in a 1969 Studs Terkel interview. "There was this great strength to him, a decency and simplicity and a willingness to listen and a willingness to learn."
