As interpreted from the 1670 translation of the de Soto narrative into French by Pierre Richelet, the Chucagua River, was believed to be the Mississippi. La Salle named Checagou, the transliterated from Spanish, as the gateway to the River of de Soto.Site ofChicagou on the lake, inGuillaume de L'Isle's map (Paris, 1718)
1687: The first known written reference to what is now known as Chicago came fromRobert LaSalle's memoir, referencing the site as "Checagou", derived from a French rendering of theMiami-Illinois word "shikaakwa", referring to the wild leek, garlic and onion that grew abundantly in the area.[2]
1763: The Illinois Country falls to British Troops after the defeat of New France.
1775: TheRevolutionary War begins with America declaring independence from Britain.
1778: TheIllinois Campaign is born under the command ofGeorge Rogers Clark to lead the fight against major British outposts scattered across the country.
Rush Medical College is founded two days before the city was chartered. It is the first medical school in the state of Illinois which is still operating.
Merchants' Hotel on left, looking North from State and Washington Streets, before 1868Chicago in 1830, as depicted in 1884Chicago in 1832, as depicted in 1892Chicago in 18361893 Bird's eye view of ChicagoFort Dearborn depicted as in 1831, sketched 1850s although the accuracy of the sketch was debated soon after it appeared.
867 Confederate prisoners atCamp Douglas (Chicago) died, bringing the total death toll at the camp to 4,454. The majority of the Confederate prisoners were buried in a mass grave atOak Woods Cemetery.
The original library, inside the old water tower on the site that is now theRookery Building.This former water tower was the site of the original public library, exterior view
Asmallpox epidemic killed around 2,500 people.[20]
Home Insurance BuildingField Museum in Chicago
1885:
Home Insurance Building building was the firstskyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to 1931. Originally ten stories and 138 ft (42.1 m) tall, it was designed byWilliam Le Baron Jenney in 1884[21][22] Two floors were added in 1891, bringing its now finished height to 180 feet (54.9 meters). It was the first tall building to be supported both inside and outside by a fireproofstructural steelframe, though it also includedreinforced concrete. A landmark lost to history and is considered the world's first skyscraper.
March 12, The Chicago Elevator Protective Association of Chicago was formed. Later, on July 15, 1901, to become the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2.
All Star Tournament, 18 Inch Balke Line, Chicago, May 7–14, 1906Jewish men and boys standing on a sidewalk in Chicago, 1903Theodore Roosevelt in Chicago, 1915During construction, 1915 (Chicago Daily News)
March 6: MayorAnton Cermak was killed while riding in a car with President-elect Roosevelt. The assassin was thought to have been aiming for Roosevelt.
May 28, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago,Sony proudly revealed that it was working withNintendo to create a version of the Super NES with an in-built CD drive. The two Japanese companies had been working together in secret on the project, tentatively titled the Nintendo PlayStation, since 1989 and with the hype about CD-ROM reaching fever pitch, Sony’s announcement should have been a highlight of the trade show. Eventually leads to betrayal of the company Nintendo to Sony into Leading to the beginning ofPlayStation console.[71]
October 2 - All CTA train lines were re-named to color designations: Red Line (Howard-Dan Ryan); Blue Line (O'Hare-Forest Park-54/Cermak); Orange Line (Midway); Brown Line (Ravenswood); Purple Line (Evanston); Green Line (Lake-Ashland/63-East 63rd); and Yellow Line (Skokie Swift).[73]
Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup yet again for the third time in six years, establishing a "puck dynasty" nationwide and arguably becoming the best team in theNHL.
14th Street Coach Yard and Willis Tower, October 2018
2019
May 20:Lori Lightfoot became the first female African-American andLGBTQ mayor of Chicago.
July 9: AlligatorChance the Snapper was found swimming in a lagoon inHumboldt Park, Chicago, was eventually captured and sent to an alligator sanctuary in Florida.
2020
February 16: TheNBA hosts its 69th All-Star game at theUnited Center in Chicago.
March 16: First Chicago death due to theCOVID-19 pandemic; GovernorJ. B. Pritzker and MayorLori Lightfoot issue a stay at home order. Over 7,700 people in Chicago died in the pandemic.
^Plumbe, George Edward; Langland, James; Pike, Claude Othello (1915)."Chicago at a Glance (chronology)".Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1916.
^abGregg Lee Carter, ed. (2012)."Chronology".Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. ABC-CLIO.ISBN978-0-313-38671-8.
^John Bassett McCleary (2004)."Anti-War Events".The Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s. Ten Speed Press. pp. 602+.ISBN978-1-58008-547-2.
^Patricia A. Langelier (1996)."Local Government Home Pages".Popular Government.6 (3). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 38+.ISSN0032-4515.Special Series: Local Government on the Internet