Flashback:<\/strong> June 22, 1958<\/p>\n 1958:<\/strong> The last remaining Chicago streetcar made its final run<\/a>. The last paying trolley customer was Al Carter<\/a>. Carter was also the last customer at the 1933-34 Century of Progress<\/a>, which was the second World\u2019s Fair hosted by the city.<\/p>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1920:<\/strong> U.S. Army veteran Carl Wanderer claimed his wife Ruth Wanderer<\/a> was fatally shot by an unknown man during a robbery attempt in the vestibule of their apartment complex before he fatally shot the assailant.<\/p>\n Wanderer later admitted to killing both and staging the scene in what was to be known as \u201cThe Case of the Ragged Stranger.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n 1921:<\/strong>\u00a0Bessie Coleman<\/a>\u00a0became the first Black woman to earn a\u00a0pilot\u2019s license<\/a>. The International Aeronautical Federation in France presented it to her\u00a0almost two years<\/a>\u00a0before fellow aviator Amelia Earhart.<\/p>\n Coleman\u00a0returned<\/a>\u00a0to the United States aboard the steamer ship Mancuria amid fanfare on Sept. 25, 1921. She proclaimed herself the \u201conly Negro aviatrix in the world,\u201d the Tribune reported, and intended \u201cto give exhibition flights and thus inspire the colored citizens with a desire to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n 1964: <\/strong>The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/a> was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights held at Soldier Field, where he\u00a0told the crowd of more than 57,000<\/a>, \u201cWe must continue to engage in demonstrations, boycotts, and rent strikes and to use all the resources at our disposal. We must go to the ballot box and vote in large numbers. But nonviolence is the most total weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for human dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leads \u2018the first significant freedom movement in the North\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The predominantly Black crowd that gathered to hear him speak was smaller than expected, however, due to rain.<\/p>\n 1971:<\/strong> The Chicago Teachers Union voted by a 2-1 ratio to accept a plan to integrate faculties<\/a> in the city\u2019s public schools. The plan called for the faculty of any one school to be limited to no more than 75% Black or 75% white teachers. The vote of 11,681 to 5,566 represented a larger membership turnout than for the teachers\u2019 contract vote<\/a> at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n 1996:<\/strong> Doors to the Museum of Contemporary Art\u2019s new building<\/a> on East Chicago Avenue opened for the first time to the public at 7 p.m. and remained so until 7 p.m. the following day. The unique 24-hour concept was considered its own performance piece for the approximately 25,000 people who visited during that time period.<\/p>\n Missing, however, was the museum\u2019s founder Joseph Randall Shapiro<\/a>, who died just days earlier at the age of 91.<\/p>\n 2011: <\/strong>Ferocious winds spawned tornadoes that hit Downers Grove and Mount Prospect, but warning sirens in the communities remained silent<\/a>. In both cases, tornadoes about 200 yards wide traveled roughly 2 miles, toppling trees, tossing lawn furniture and knocking down power lines.<\/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![\"Al](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-AL-CARTER-LAST-CHICAGO-STREETCAR-RIDER-1958-01.jpg\")
Al Carter was the last paying customer on the last Chicago streetcar, which was on the last trolley line in the city. He also was the last person off the streetcar on June 21, 1958. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Carl](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-CTHIST-Carl-Wanderer-002_229045199.jpg\")
Carl and Ruth Wanderer in an undated photo. Wanderer set his wife up to be murdered during a fake robbery attempt on June 21, 1920. She was pregnant at the time. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n![\"Bessie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ctc-bessie-coleman-2jpg-CT0019884908-e1718289985933.jpg\")
Bessie Coleman’s pilot license was on display in 2011 as part of the “Black Wings, American Dreams of Flight” exhibit at the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago. (Antonio Perez\/ Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-CTHIST-AKH-009-CT_F_226342211.jpg\")
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., keynote speaker, waves to the crowd at Soldier Field as he sat in a white convertible at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights on June 21, 1964, in Chicago. (James O’Leary\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-MUSEUM-CONTEMPORARY-ART-1996_230597416.jpg\")
The Museum of Contemporary Art opened at its new 220 E. Chicago Ave. location on June 21, 1996. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Quinn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-MET-AJ-PG1-STORM-FOLO_189001661.jpg\")
Quinn Dircks, from left, Pam Dircks, Reid Dahlstrom and Kevin Dircks help in the cleanup on June 22, 2011, after a tree fell on top of the Dircks’ Mount Prospect home a day earlier when a tornado moved through the area. (William DeShazer\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n