Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Sept. 8, 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: 96 degrees (1960)
- Low temperature: 43 degrees (1986)
- Precipitation: 1.65 inches (1885)
- Snowfall: None
Replica of the Lady Elgin steamship on display at the Chicago Maritime Museum in Chicago on May 9, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
1860: The Lady Elgin — a 252-foot side-wheel steamer ship headed from Chicago to Milwaukee on Lake Michigan — collided with the lumber schooner Augusta just before midnight during a thunderstorm. Because the Augusta was under sail it had the right of way, but the ship was difficult to see since it was running without marker lights. The collision left Lady Elgin with a gash in its side that caused it to sink 2 to 3 miles east of Highland Park within half an hour.
Many of those on board — including members of a Democratic organization from Milwaukee — didn’t know how to swim. Lifeboats were few. About 100 passengers were swept south to Winnetka where they were rescued by residents and Northwestern University students, according to the Winnetka Historical Society. An estimated 300 to 400 others died.
In the aftermath of the disaster — the greatest loss of life on the Great Lakes — better lighting became required on ships.
The Lady Elgin shipwreck was discovered by private salvor Harry Zych off Highland Park in 1989. Some of the vessel’s treasures are displayed at the Chicago Maritime Museum.
An illustration in the Aug. 18, 1918, Chicago Daily Tribune boasts of the great number of sailors at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois. (John T. McCutcheon/Chicago Tribune)
1918: The arrival of the flu pandemic in the Chicago area was first reported among sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes.
Up to 40% of U.S. Army and Navy personnel became infected with the flu and pneumonia from September through November 1918, according to a University of Michigan study.
Chicago Cubs manager Phil Cavarretta, third from left, at Wrigley Field on Sept. 14, 1953, with newcomers, left to right, outfielder Bob Talbot, shortstops Gene Baker and Ernie Banks and pitcher Bill Moisan. Talbot, Baker and Moisan played for Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League and Banks was a member of the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
1953: The Chicago Cubs bought the contract of Ernie Banks, a 22-year-old shortstop, from the Negro leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs for $10,000.
Archdiocese of Chicago Cardinal Samuel Stritch presided in a Mass at Soldier Field on Sept. 8, 1954 that included singing, prayer and thousands of late arrivals due to traffic jams. (Chicago Tribune)
1954: An estimated 260,000 people — 180,000 inside Soldier Field and another 80,000 outside — gathered for a Mass in tribute to the Virgin Mary at Soldier Field.
Hoping to get a closer look at “Miami Vice” cast members, fans of the hit TV series surged against a police barrier on Sept. 8, 1985, outside the Marshall Field’s State Street store in Chicago. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1985: About 20,000 fans of “Miami Vice” gathered outside Marshall Field’s State Street store to get a glimpse of the show’s stars Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. The duo signed autographs for fans decked out in sleeveless T-shirts, silk blazers and Hawaiian shirts on the store’s ninth floor.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Oprah Winfrey — 10 moments from her Chicago years
1986: Oprah Winfrey’s first nationally syndicated talk show debuted. Just seven months after Winfrey received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her professional acting debut performance as Sofia in “The Color Purple,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show” was broadcast at 9 a.m. CDT to audiences outside Chicago for the first time.
The theme of the first show: “How to marry the person of your choice.”
Third-grader, Latoya Shaw, 8, watches as her mother, a teacher aide, walks in the picket line at the school board office on Sept. 8, 1987. It was the first day of a strike that would last 19 days. (Carl Hugare/Chicago Tribune)
1987: The longest strike in Chicago Public Schools history began — on the first day of school. Some 430,000 students were stuck at home as 99% of Chicago’s public school teachers vowed to stay out of their classrooms as long as necessary to win a new contract with salary increases.
102 days on strike: Take a look back at Chicago’s 11 teacher strikes since 1969
How it was resolved: The record monthlong strike ended Oct. 3, 1987 in a two-year contract with a 4% salary increase the first year and another 4% raise next year (if money was found to finance the second wage boost). Class size was to be reduced by two students in kindergarten through third grade in 36 overcrowded schools and 100 underachieving schools. The $43.8 million package would be financed by cutting 1,800 positions, the Tribune reported.
Mayor Harold Washington promised the strike — which provoked outrage from parents and students across the city — would bring sweeping reform of Chicago public schools.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates while coming off the field after a victory over the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 8, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
2024: Rookie Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams told reporters the team’s 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in the season opener felt “unbelievable.”
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