On Feb. 20, 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the United States Post Office Department, the predecessor of the U.S. Postal Service.
Today in History: United States Post Office Department created
Category: History
Today in Chicago History: Arrest photo of a young Bernie Sanders emerges
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 19, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Today in History: FDR signs order authorizing Japanese-American internment
On Feb. 19, 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the internment of 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry, including U.S.-born citizens.
Today in History: Dale Earnhardt Sr. dies in crash
On Feb. 18, 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500; he was 49.
Today in Chicago History: Cubs announcer Harry Caray dies
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 18, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Today in History: Jeffrey Dahmer sentenced
On Feb. 17, 1992, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of 15 counts of first-degree murder.
Today in Chicago History: Candy heiress Helen Brach disappears
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 17, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Today in History: Female attorneys allowed to argue cases before Supreme Court
On Feb. 15, 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a law allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Today in Chicago History: ‘I’m glad it was me instead of you.’ Mayor Anton Cermak shot.
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 15, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Today in History: 17 killed in shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman identified as a former student opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people in the nation’s deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack in Newtown, Connecticut, more than five years earlier. (Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to murder in October 2021 and was sentenced in November 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)