Front page flashback:<\/strong> Feb. 21, 1958<\/p>\n 1958:<\/strong> Nathan Leopold<\/a>, who was convicted with Richard Loeb of killing\u00a0Bobby Franks\u00a0in 1924, was released on parole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Leopold and Loeb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1852:<\/strong> The first direct train from the East arrived in Chicago<\/a> to the sound of a firing cannon and the sight of an immense crowd on the Michigan Southern Railroad.<\/p>\n 1942:<\/strong> U.S. Navy pilot Edward \u201cButch\u201d O\u2019Hare<\/a> became a World War II hero when he singlehandedly downed a number of Japanese bombers attacking his aircraft carrier. This would make him the first naval aviator recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor<\/a>. In presenting the award, President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to O\u2019Hare\u2019s skill as \u201cthe most daring single action in aviation history.\u201d After being awarded the Medal of Honor, O\u2019Hare was brought home by the Navy to barnstorm on a Lindbergh-style celebrity tour.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare International Airport: From farm to global terminal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n O\u2019Hare was 29 when he died on Nov. 26, 1943<\/a>, while leading the Navy\u2019s first nighttime fighter attack<\/a> launched from an aircraft carrier. His plane and his body were never recovered.<\/p>\n Other than through his father, mob-connected racetracker owner Edward J.<\/a>, O\u2019Hare had only loose ties to Chicago. When his parents were divorced, he stayed in St. Louis with his mother, moving his family to Phoenix during the war. That was no deterrent to Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick in his campaign to have Chicago\u2019s Orchard Place Airport rechristened to honor Butch O\u2019Hare, and in 1949 Ald. John Hoellen\u2019s proposal passed the City Council, creating O\u2019Hare Field<\/a>.<\/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![\"After](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-NATHAN-LEOPOLD-RELEASED-ON-PAROLE-1958-01.jpg\")
After spending a third of a century in prison, Nathan Leopold was released on Feb. 20, 1958, from Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet. Leopold and friend Richard “Dickie” Loeb, the pampered sons of prominent Kenwood families, killed Robert “Bobby” Franks in 1924 after they offered him a ride home from school. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Edward](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ctc-butch-ohare-3jpg-CT0019841173.jpg\")
Edward “Butch” O’Hare waves during a parade in his honor in his hometown of St. Louis in 1942. Flanking him are his mother, Selma O’Hare, left, and his wife, Rita O’Hare, right. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n\n