Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 19, 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: 86 degrees (1985)
- Low temperature: 22 degrees (1983)
- Precipitation: 1.52 inches (1970)
- Snowfall: 2 inches (1888)
1924: The National Barn Dance debuted on WLS, which from 1924 to 1960 blasted its 50,000-watt clear channel signal across the Midwest and Great Plains night, first from the Sherman Hotel and then from the 8th Street Theatre on the Loop’s southern edge (now the site of Hilton Chicago’s International Ballroom).
1925: Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi — who became the first athlete to win five gold medals at a single Olympics in 1924 — dominated the first Loyola Relays held at Soldier Field.
1947: Chicago Tribune editor and publisher Robert McCormick was credited with being the first person to suggest U.S. Navy pilot Edward “Butch” O’Hare‘s name for Chicago’s Orchard Place airport.
O’Hare was 29 when he died Nov. 26, 1943, while leading the Navy’s first nighttime fighter attack launched from an aircraft carrier. His plane and his body were never recovered. O’Hare was the first naval aviator recipient of the Medal of Honor.
In his April 19, 1947, radio address, McCormick spoke of the nation’s military heroes and the speed with which they were forgotten. He said public facilities should be named in their honor.
Also in 1947: Chicago Cardinals owner Charles Bidwill died of pneumonia, leaving the team to his widow Violet Bidwill. She became the first female owner of an NFL team.
The Cardinals broke through in 1947, winning the NFL championship with a 28-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the title game at Comiskey Park.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Meet Violet Bidwill, the NFL’s first female owner of the Cardinals
Violet Bidwill moved the team to St. Louis, where her second husband Walter Wolfner was from. Though she, too, later died suddenly, the Bidwill family still retains ownership of the team because of her efforts.
1979: In a coin flip to determine who would have the No. 1 pick in the 1979 NBA draft, the Bulls called heads. It came up tails, giving the Los Angeles Lakers the right to select Earvin “Magic” Johnson out of Michigan State. According to newspaper archives, the Bulls went so far as to poll fans about whether to call heads or tails and went with the slight consensus. While in Chicago for the 1991 Bulls-Lakers NBA Finals, Johnson told the Los Angeles Times he would have returned to Michigan State if fate had allowed the Bulls the chance to take him.
2023: 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke attended his final City Council meeting as an alderman.
Burke was the 14th Ward alderman for more than half a century. He not only claimed the record as the longest-serving City Council member in the history of Chicago, but he also became one of the most powerful until he was convicted on 13 of 14 counts in a landmark federal corruption trial in December 2023.
The Dishonor Roll: Meet the public officials who helped build Illinois’ culture of corruption
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