Historical figures in Chicago
The atlas holds 22 people and 32 moments here, from 1858 to 2007. The most recorded lives are John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King Jr.. Among them Writers, Performers and Political Leaders, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
John F. Kennedy
from 1942 to 1960
3 moments here
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…
Ronald Reagan
from 1914 to 1980
2 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Martin Luther King Jr.
in 1966
2 moments here
American Baptist minister and civil-rights leader who advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest.…
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
from 1932 to 1937
2 moments here
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as New York state senator, assistant secretary of the Navy,…
Nikola Tesla
from 1893 to 1899
2 moments here
Serbian-American engineer and inventor best known for foundational work on alternating-current power systems, the induction motor, high-frequency…
Walt Disney
from 1901 to 1917
2 moments here
Walter Elias Disney was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. His documented movements include childhood residences in…
Ernest Hemingway
from 1899 to 1920
2 moments here
American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. Hemingway’s documented movements ranged from Illinois and Michigan to Italy in World War I,…
Theodore Roosevelt
from 1884 to 1912
2 moments here
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1858–1919) was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909.…
Golda Meir
from 1917 to 1948
2 moments here
Golda Meir was an Israeli political leader who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974.…
Abraham Lincoln
in 1858
1 moment here
American lawyer, Illinois legislator, congressman, and sixteenth president of the United States.…
Thomas Edison
in 1893
1 moment here
American inventor and industrialist whose laboratories developed and commercialized technologies in telegraphy, recorded sound, electric lighting and…
Mark Twain
in 1885
1 moment here
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…
Marie Curie
in 1921
1 moment here
Polish-born, naturalized-French physicist and chemist who pioneered research on radioactivity. With Pierre Curie she discovered polonium and radium.…
Harry S. Truman
in 1948
1 moment here
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953.…
Rudyard Kipling
in 1889
1 moment here
English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. Born in Bombay, Kipling spent his childhood in India and England, worked as a journalist…
Robin Williams
in 1951
1 moment here
Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian, born in Chicago and raised in Illinois, Michigan, and California.…
Judy Garland
in 1934
1 moment here
American actress, singer, and vaudevillian, born Frances Ethel Gumm. Garland rose from childhood vaudeville and MGM musical films to become a major…
Diana, Princess of Wales
in 1996
1 moment here
Diana Frances Spencer (1961–1997) was Princess of Wales from 1981 until her divorce in 1996.…
Amy Winehouse
in 2007
1 moment here
British singer and songwriter Amy Jade Winehouse was born in London and became internationally known for the albums Frank and Back to Black.…
Selena
in 1995
1 moment here
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and business owner.…
Heath Ledger
in 2007
1 moment here
Australian actor and music-video director whose career began in Australian television, expanded internationally after his 1998 move to the United…
Carrie Fisher
in 1979
1 moment here
Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress, writer, and public advocate, internationally known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.…
Moments
- 1858 Answered Douglas in Chicago Abraham Lincoln
- 1884 Republican National Convention appearance Theodore Roosevelt
- 1885 Twain–Cable tour reaches Chicago Mark Twain
- 1889 Journey to Chicago Rudyard Kipling
- 1893 World's Columbian Exposition demonstrations Nikola Tesla
- 1893 Visits Chicago Columbian Exposition Thomas Edison
- 1899 Commercial Club address Nikola Tesla
- 1899 Birth in Oak Park Ernest Hemingway
- 1901 Birth at the Disney family home Walt Disney
- 1912 Republican National Convention Theodore Roosevelt
- 1914 Moves to Chicago Ronald Reagan
- 1917 Poale Zion travel in Chicago Golda Meir
- 1917 Return to Chicago for high school Walt Disney
- 1920 Chicago editorial work Ernest Hemingway
- 1921 Receives University of Chicago honorary degree Marie Curie
- 1932 Accepts presidential nomination in Chicago Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- 1934 Garland Sisters at the Oriental Theater Judy Garland
- 1937 Delivers Quarantine Speech Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- 1942 Trained at Northwestern John F. Kennedy
- 1948 Fundraising speech in Chicago Golda Meir
- 1948 Chicago Stadium campaign address Harry S. Truman
- 1951 Birth at St. Luke's Hospital Robin Williams
- 1954 Addressed Chicago executives John F. Kennedy
- 1960 Faced Nixon in the first televised debate John F. Kennedy
- 1966 Moves into North Lawndale apartment Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1966 Marches through Marquette Park Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1979 Filming The Blues Brothers Carrie Fisher
- 1980 Debates Republican rivals in Chicago Ronald Reagan
- 1995 International Amphitheater concert Selena
- 1996 Cancer-research fundraiser in Chicago Diana, Princess of Wales
- 2007 Lollapalooza performance Amy Winehouse
- 2007 Films The Dark Knight in Chicago Heath Ledger