This week we’re handing over the newsletter to Paul Durica, director of exhibitions at the Chicago History Museum. In his own words, he reflects on his past year of research:
“Over the last year, I have started my day by reading the Chicago Tribune, that is, the corresponding edition from 100 years ago.
“The decision to read each day’s newspaper from 1924 came from a realization that two events that have meant a lot to my work occurred in the same calendar year. Those events are the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Robert Franks by Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, considered the crime of the century at the time, and the passage by the United States Congress of the nation’s most restrictive piece of immigration legislation.
“I wondered what else happened in 1924 and what would I learn by letting the year unfold day by day, in real time. Much from that year is still remembered, while many events, meaningful in their moment, have faded from memory.
“I discovered a year that continues to shape Chicago. In many ways, we are all living in the city that came into existence in 1924. We engage with that year on the streets we walk, the buildings we enter, and the festivals and events we attend.
“Despite many successes and advances, the year serves as a warning. In Chicago, crime is out of control. In Washington, corruption is rampant. And in Europe, authoritarianism is on the rise. We know what became of the people who lived through that year. What will become of those who lived through 2024 is the task of a future historian.”
— Paul Durica
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Chicago history headlines
- Dec. 26, 1908: Jack Johnson became the first Black heavyweight boxing champ, in Sydney, Australia. He defeated Tommy Burns of Canada after the fight was stopped in the 14th round.
- Dec. 26, 2018: Retiring Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis signed a secret agreement with federal prosecutors in which he admitted to taking bribes from real estate developers in exchange for his help on zoning issues. The terms of the unprecedented deferred-prosecution agreement that Solis signed with the U.S. attorney’s office that day weren’t made public until April 2022. He became a government mole by wearing an undercover wire to help federal investigators build cases against former 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke and ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Durica’s top picks for stories in 1924 (at the local, national and international levels)
January 1924
Local: Kate Buckingham and John G. Shedd made gifts to the South Park Commission that will change the city.
National: Teapot Dome scandal began to emerge in Washington.
International: V.I. Lenin died in Russia.
February 1924
Local: Police shut down screening of “The Birth of a Nation” at the Auditorium Theatre.
National: Former President Woodrow Wilson died.
International: Adolf Hitler went on trial in Munich for having helped lead a failed coup there in 1923.
March 1924
Local: Archbishop George Mundelein was elevated to cardinal — the city’s first — in Rome.
National: Harry K. Thaw received the right to a new trial for the 1906 murder of architect Stanford White.
International: The Tribune interviewed Mahatma Gandhi not long after his release from prison.
April 1924
Local: Beulah Annan, the inspiration for Roxie Hart in “Chicago,” killed her lover Harry Kalstedt.
National: The U.S. Senate passed a restrictive immigration bill.
International: Fascists won big in Italian parliamentary elections.
May 1924
Local: Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Robert Franks.
National: Black Gold, owned by Osage woman Rosa M. Hoots, won the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby.
International: Several nations vied for the “death ray” technology purportedly developed by British inventor Harry Grindell Matthews.
June 1924
Local: Belva Gaertner went on trial for killing her lover.
National: Republicans nominated Calvin Coolidge for president and Evanston resident Charles Gates Dawes for vice president.
International: George Mallory and A.C. Irvine were reported dead after attempting to summit Mount Everest.
July 1924
Local: Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway was reported to have been gored by a bull in Pamplona, Spain; largest fleet to date set off from Belmont Harbor on the race to Mackinac Island.
National: Deadlocked Democrats compromised on John W. Davis and Charles W. Bryan for their presidential ticket.
International: Olympic games kicked off in Paris, where Chicago swimmers Sybil Bauer and Johnny Weissmuller excelled.
August 1924
Local: Cigarette foe Lucy Page Gaston died of throat cancer.
National: Conman Charles Ponzi was released from prison but faced state charges.
International: Astronomers from around the world — including from Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin — observed Mars, which was passing the closest it would be to Earth until 2007. “Jumpy conditions,” however, prevented local experts from a clear view.
September 1924
Local: The trial of Leopold and Loeb ended with a verdict of life in prison with no possibility of parole.
National: Miss Philadelphia Ruth Malcomson won what became the Miss America contest in Atlantic City. Miss Chicago Margaret Leigh placed second.
International: A trio of American flyers — who stopped in Chicago — successfully circumnavigated the globe by plane.
October 1924
Local: The Prince of Wales visited Chicago.
National: The Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in a seven-game World Series.
International: Conservatives toppled the Labor government in a snap election in England.
November 1924
Local: North side gang leader Dean O’Banion was assassinated in his flower shop.
National: Calvin Coolidge and the GOP won big in federal elections.
International: Composer Giacomo Puccini died.
December 1924
Local: President Coolidge visited Chicago; John J. Glessner donated his house to the American Institute of Architects; and the Field Museum purchased the lions of Tsavo.
National: Labor leader Samuel Gompers died; tobacco magnate James B. Duke established a trust that led to Trinity College becoming Duke University.
International: Sun Yat-Sen arrived in modern-day Bejing and set out to become China’s president early in 1925.
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