Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 24, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 82 degrees (2017)
- Low temperature: 5 degrees (1974)
- Precipitation: 1.26 inches (1969)
- Snowfall: 4.5 inches (1947)
1913: A painting by Pablo Picasso — or “Paul Picasso,” as the Tribune called him — was displayed for the first time in the United States. “The Woman and the Pot of Mustard” was part of the International Exhibition of Modern Art.
In 1913, a culture war erupted over an exhibition of modern works at the Art Institute of Chicago
Though audiences were frosty toward modern art, the exhibition paved the way for Picasso’s first solo exhibition of work in the U.S. 10 years later — also at the Art Institute of Chicago.
1924: Archbishop George William Mundelein became Chicago’s first cardinal.
1966: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley met. “I think Dr. King is a religious leader who feels intently the causes he espouses. But you can’t lay deprivation of education and slums solely to Chicago,” Daley said afterward. “The city’s problems in these areas did not originate here but came from the various Southern states.”
1967: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. publicly criticized the city’s “failure to live up to last summer’s open housing agreement.” Two days later, he led a march on State Street against the Vietnam War. Though he previously threatened to spend another summer in Chicago leading protests in favor of open housing, he abandoned that effort in July 1967.
1984: Fans of the 1985 film “The Breakfast Club” might remember this as the date that five students served detention.
2004: The body of Kevin Clewer, 31, was found by his father in the Clewers’ home in the 3400 block of North Elaine Place. Police estimated he was killed between 10 p.m. March 23 and 6 p.m. March 24, 2004. Clewer was seen with a person of interest at two locations in the 3300 to 3500 blocks of North Halsted Street before the killing, police said. The case remains unsolved.
2018: Loyola beat Kansas State to advance to the Final Four. They did it with relative ease, with a 78-62 blowout against ninth-seeded Kansas State and its vaunted defense.
Fans waved their maroon and gold scarves above their heads as their chants of “L-U-C” changed to “Final Four.” Players poured confetti on themselves. The band played “Sweet Home Chicago” as players cut down the nets. Coach Porter Moser hopped over press row for a long embrace with his wife and four kids, and assistant coaches sought out their fathers and brothers in the stands.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team’s 98-year-old chaplain whose own NCAA bracket busted after Loyola defeated Nevada in the South Region semifinal, sat gleefully in her wheelchair, watching the celebration scene unfold as she has through each game of this incredible run.
2021: Anosh Ahmed, Loretto Hospital’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, resigned amid ongoing controversy over improperly administered coronavirus vaccinations.
Ahmed was charged in July 2024, alleging he embezzled at least $15 million from Loretto.
Want more vintage Chicago?
Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.
Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com
