Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1850:<\/strong> Fire broke out at Rice\u2019s Theater<\/a> \u2014 the city\u2019s first permanent theater near Dearborn and Randolph streets \u2014 during the second act of a performance of Vincenzo Bellini\u2019s \u201cLa Sonnambula,\u201d which was the first opera performed in Chicago. Theater owner John B. Rice<\/a> apparently told patrons, \u201cSit down. Sit down. Do you think I would permit a fire to occur in my theater?\u201d They paused until someone else confirmed the theater was on fire. The building was totally destroyed.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare International Airport: From farm to global terminal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 1943:<\/strong> The first C-54 Skymaster<\/a> (then the U.S. Army\u2019s largest transport plane) built in the Douglas Aircraft factory at Orchard Place (then the world\u2019s largest cargo plane factory) took its maiden flight.<\/p>\n 1957:<\/strong> Chicago-born Frank A. Crossley<\/a> received U.S. patent No. 2,801,167 for titanium alloy.<\/p>\n Though he never worked directly for NASA, Crossley\u2019s ingenuity \u2014 creating metals that were stronger than steel but much lighter \u2014 would be vital in the crafts used for space exploration, according to \u201cWe Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program.\u201d<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Inventions and innovations by Black Chicagoans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But before his patents were in the planning stage, the Chicago-born DuSable High School graduate completed a rare trifecta of accomplishments: He was the first African American officer in the U.S. Navy<\/a>; the\u00a0first person<\/a> to earn a Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology; and the first person of African ancestry in the world to earn a doctorate in the field, according to Illinois Tech.<\/p>\n 1961: <\/strong>Illinois native Jerry Barber<\/a>, a 5-foot-5, 135-pound, 45-year-old father of five, sank putts of 20, 40 and 60 feet on the last three greens to tie Don January and force a playoff<\/a> in the PGA Championship at Olympia Fields. Barber went on to beat January in the playoff and became the oldest PGA champ at the time.<\/p>\n 1971:<\/strong> The Union Stock Yards<\/a> closed on the city\u2019s South Side. Called \u201cUnion\u201d<\/a> for the seven separate stockyards that contributed to build it, the stockyards opened on Christmas Day 1865 on more than 300 acres of swamp land purchased from two-time Chicago Mayor \u201cLong\u201d John Wentworth. More than 18.6 million head of cattle, hogs and sheep were marketed at its peak in 1924.<\/p>\n A massive fire<\/a>, which took out nearly 90% of the stockyards, erupted at the site in 1934. Fifty firefighters were injured in the blaze and hundreds of cattle were killed.<\/p>\n \u2018Hog butcher for the world\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But the stockyards had moments of glory, too. Research laboratories funded by the packers turned animal byproducts into everything from medicine to cosmetics. From 1900, there was a yearly International Live Stock Exposition as well as a 4-H Club show. In 1952, the Republicans and Democrats held their presidential nominating conventions at the International Amphitheatre, an exposition center located in the stockyards complex.<\/p>\n All that remains of the stockyards is its gate<\/a>, which includes a sculpted version of a prize-winning steer.<\/p>\n 1974:<\/strong>\u00a0At noon, Illinois Lottery tickets were sold for the very first time in the state at 7,500 outlets. Anyone\u00a018 years and older<\/a>\u00a0could buy them from a licensed vendor (though chances of being\u00a0struck by lightning<\/a>\u00a0were much better than winning the money). The\u00a0first one<\/a>\u00a0was sold by John Hucko, a news vendor in the State of Illinois Building, to Gov. Dan Walker\u2019s daughter, Roberta.<\/p>\n After almost\u00a07.5 million tickets<\/a>\u00a0had been sold, the first drawing took place on Aug. 8, 1974.<\/p>\n 1977:<\/strong> Chicago Bears running back and \u201cKansas Comet\u201d Gale Sayers<\/a> was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n \u201cReaching this point is not as great as striving to get there,\u201d Sayers said. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to settle<\/a> for yesterday\u2019s triumphs.\u201d<\/p>\n 1995:<\/strong> Saying he had lost \u201cthe desire to compete at this level,\u201d Chicago White Sox designated hitter John Kruk<\/a> got a hit in his final at-bat then abruptly retired.<\/p>\n The longtime Philadelphia Phillies player underwent surgery to remove a testicle on March 8, 1994, and was back in the lineup in the seventh game of the season. When the Phillies didn\u2019t want Kruk back in 1995, he decided to retire, but changed his mind and signed with the White Sox on May 12, 1995. After being sidelined briefly by a heel injury, Kruk returned to the lineup.<\/p>\n Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez \u2014 three core members of the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series team and featured in this iconic photograph from Game 7 \u2014 were sent to other teams before Major League Baseball\u2019s trade deadline in July 2021. (Chicago Tribune)2021:<\/strong> Just one day after sending first baseman Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs traded<\/a> Kris Bryant (San Francisco Giants), shortstop Javier Baez (to the New York Mets in exchange for prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong) and closer Craig Kimbrel (Chicago White Sox).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy for them. But outside of the manager side, I feel like I\u2019m losing some friends for a minute and I think that\u2019s difficult for me personally,\u201d Cubs manager David Ross said.<\/p>\n Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n Subscribe to the free\u00a0Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-RICE-THEATER-1851-01.jpg\")
A theater near Dearborn and Randolph streets, opened by John B. Rice in 1847, became the first of its kind in Chicago and the location of the first opera performed in the city. Rice’s Theater burned down in 1851. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CROSSLEYJPG-CT0134220637.jpg\")
Frank A. Crossley, instructor and graduate student in metallurgical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was awarded second prize in the graduate section of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers\u2019 national student paper contest, circa 1948. Crossley was a 1942 graduate of DuSable High School in Chicago. (Joseph J. Lucas Jr.\/Illinois Institute of Technology)<\/p>\n\n
![\"After](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-UNION-STOCK-YARDS-CLOSE-1971-01.jpg\")
After more than a century in operation, the Union Stock Yards on Chicago’s South Side closed on July 30, 1971. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Gov.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-dan-walkerjpg-CT0028461792.jpg\")
Gov. Dan Walker, right, counts out $12 dollars as he buys the first 24 lottery tickets printed for the Illinois State Lottery. Joining Walker is lottery Superintendent Ralph Batch and Director of Revenue Robert Allphin on Aug. 6, 1974. (Lynette Miller\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-AP-GALE-SAYERS-HALL-OF-FAME-1977-01.jpg\")
In this July 30, 1977, file photo, former Chicago Bears star Gale Sayers poses after his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Nicknamed “The Kansas Comet” and considered among the best open-field runners the game has ever seen, Sayers died on Sept. 23, 2020. (AP)<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-JOHN-KRUK-RETIRES-1995-01.jpg\")
John Kruk abruptly retired from the Chicago White Sox and major-league baseball during a game in Baltimore on July 30, 1995. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CHICAGO-CUBS-TRADE-2021-01.jpg\")
Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez \u2014 three core members of the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series team and featured in this iconic photograph from Game 7 \u2014 were sent to other teams before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline in July 2021. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n