In recognition of International Workers’ Day, we’re spotlighting the Teamsters Union and its history in Chicago. Historically, the term “teamsters” referred to commercial road transportation workers. Before 1945, most teamsters worked locally, driving “teams” of horses throughout Chicago. By the late twentieth century, national road networks enabled an interstate trucking industry, which employed many long-haul More
Portrait of Ella G. Berry. Published on in The Story of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs 1900–1922 by Elizabeth Lindsey Davis, 1922. CHM, ICHi-177302A Ella Berry was born Ella Tucker in 1876 in Stanford, Kentucky. Little is known about her father, Dave Tucker, but in 1870, her mother, Matilda Portman, was working as More
On January 26–27, 1967, Chicago experienced its worst snowstorm on record. The snow began at 5:02 a.m. on Thursday, January 26, and by 10:10 a.m. the next day, a record 23.0 inches of snowfall from a storm blanketed the city. High winds caused considerable blowing, with drifts of 4 to 6 feet widespread throughout the More
Thirty years ago today, the Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship with a 108–101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. With a starting lineup of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, and John Paxson, and led by head coach Phil Jackson, the Bulls won the final series in five games. This victory More
In this photo essay, take a look back at the events surrounding the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal. The text is adapted from “Black Sox” by Robert I. Goler, which appeared in Chicago History, fall/winter 1988–89. One hundred years ago, the Chicago White Sox lost the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. The infamous More