“From life’s school of war: what does not kill me makes me stronger.” –Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.
On January 3, 1889, philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche saw a man about a horse. He was staying in Turin, …
Archive for the ‘History’ Category
On the Origin of Species
Nov
24
On November 24th, 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. It upended notions of our classifications of living things. The impact …
Louis Lingg Goes Out with a Bang
Nov
10
Condemned for a crime he (probably) did not commit, Louis Lingg escaped the hangman’s noose when he chose to eat it. Literally. He blew a blasting cap in his mouth.
Lingg was one of the eight anarchists who were convicted …
Alfred Stieglitz and the 19th Century
Oct
27
The Art Institute of Chicago will exhibit Alfred Stieglitz and the 19th Century. Stieglitz helped to elevate photography to fine art and contributed to the Pictorialist movement.
Born on January 1, 1864, Stieglitz was educated among the New …
Over She Goes!
Oct
20
Going over Niagara Falls in a barrel doesn’t sound like a secure retirement plan, but it was the course of action for trendsetter Anne Edison Taylor. On October 24, 1901, her 63rd birthday, the daredevil plunged into the Niagara …
Remember Haymarket!
Sep
01
On Tuesday May 4, 1886, workers striking for an eight-hour day gathered at Haymarket Square in Chicago. A bomb went off, seven cops were killed and seven anarchists were sentenced to death. A combination of a partisan judge and a …
The Wingfoot Air Express Disaster
Jul
21
Some twenty years prior to the Hindenburg, Chicago had its own airship disaster. Thirteen people were killed and twenty-six were injured when the Wingfoot Air Express dirigible crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building.
On July 21, 1919, the …
The Lager Beer Riot
Apr
16
Raise a glass to the Lager Beer Riot! It exposed a strain of bigotry that ran through the Temperance movement and opened doors to recreation.
In the 1840s, Chicago’s population expanded with the influx in immigrants. Irish escaped the Great …
Ray Johnson: Friend of the White City
Apr
14
Author Ray Johnson is truly a friend of the White City. He provides free lectures and tours on Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition via The Friends of the White City. He was kind enough to answer a few questions …
