{"id":88327,"date":"2025-07-24T09:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T09:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/88327\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T09:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T09:51:11","slug":"844-people-drowned-aboard-the-eastland-in-the-chicago-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/88327\/","title":{"rendered":"844 people drowned aboard the Eastland in the Chicago River"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 24, according to the Tribune\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n<p>Is an important event missing from this date? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/07\/24\/chicago-history-july-24\/mailto:krumore@chicagotribune.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Email us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Ds5MIQNRfW\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/06\/22\/here-are-chicagos-hottest-days-with-temperatures-of-100-degrees-or-higher-on-record\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Here are Chicago\u2019s hottest days \u2014 with temperatures of 100 degrees or higher \u2014 on record<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Weather records <\/strong>(from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/wrh\/climate?wfo=lot\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High temperature: <strong>105 degrees<\/strong> (1934)<\/li>\n<li>Low temperature: <strong>53 degrees<\/strong> (2000)<\/li>\n<li>Precipitation: <strong>3.64 inches<\/strong> (2010)<\/li>\n<li>Snowfall: <strong>Trace<\/strong> (1911)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"A victim is carried up the SS Eastland as the steamship lies on its side in the Chicago River after slowly rolling over and drowning 844 people July 24, 1915. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)\" width=\"5772\" height=\"398\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CTHIST-eastland-3_229048559.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"25505799\" \/>A victim is carried up the SS Eastland as the steamship lies on its side in the Chicago River after rolling over. More than 800 drowned on July 24, 1915. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1915:<\/strong> The <a href=\"http:\/\/graphics.chicagotribune.com\/news\/local\/eastland\/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SS Eastland<\/a> \u2014 packed with Western Electric Co. employees and their families for a day trip to Michigan City, Indiana \u2014 rolled to its side in the Chicago River between LaSalle Drive and Clark Street. More than 840 people of the 2,500 aboard died, many of them trapped inside the vessel as water poured in when the ship tipped over only a few feet from the riverbank.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"The Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue where Dillinger was slain by FBI bullets in 1934. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)\" width=\"4800\" height=\"403\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753350671_48_ctc-181815911.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"24562382\" \/>The Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue where John Dillinger was killed by FBI bullets in 1934. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1934:<\/strong>\u00a0Chicago recorded its hottest temperature \u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/enews.chicagotribune.com\/q\/5WVKs4OQ4eG0YLKOzVh0P07kexjHOH2KRFDuZcOJa2pydW1vcmVAZ21haWwuY29tw4grCAE3TSodZEL7l-4XuqAyEqUhDQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/enews.chicagotribune.com\/q\/5WVKs4OQ4eG0YLKOzVh0P07kexjHOH2KRFDuZcOJa2pydW1vcmVAZ21haWwuY29tw4grCAE3TSodZEL7l-4XuqAyEqUhDQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753365931527000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1sjERlw-ysoTxTwVwm-68Q\">105 degrees<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Sid Luckman, right, shakes the hand of Chicago Bears owner George Halas after signing a two-year contract with the Bears in July 1939. Luckman broke out into another smile a bit later when he was told he had been elected to a place on the Tribune's All-Star squad. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)\" width=\"4611\" height=\"399\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-CTHIST-chicago-bears-048-2-_229045811.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"25506182\" \/>Sid Luckman, right, shakes the hand of Chicago Bears owner George Halas after signing a two-year contract with the Bears in July 1939. Luckman broke out into another smile a bit later when he was told he had been elected to the Tribune&#8217;s All-Star squad. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1939:<\/strong> Columbia University halfback and future Hall of Famer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2019\/09\/01\/ranking-the-100-best-bears-players-ever-no-5-sid-luckman\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sid Luckman<\/a> signed his first contract with the Chicago Bears after he was selected by the team with the second pick of the 1939 NFL draft.<\/p>\n<p>The 6-foot, 197-pound Brooklyn native was voted first-team All-Pro five times in the 1940s.<\/p>\n<p>The Bears have won nine championships in their 99-year history. Luckman was the quarterback for four of them, in 1940, 1941, 1943 and 1946. In 1943 he won the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL\u2019s most valuable player. He was elected to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profootballhof.com\/players\/sid-luckman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/www.profootballhof.com\/players\/sid-luckman\/\">Pro Football Hall of Fame<\/a>\u00a0in 1965.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"iVZRvRmH3O\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2019\/09\/11\/the-dark-secret-behind-the-success-of-sid-luckman-the-greatest-bears-quarterback-ever\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The dark secret behind the success of Sid Luckman, the greatest Bears quarterback ever<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to the free\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/membership.chicagotribune.com\/newsletters\/subscribe\/lid\/2d8200fe-eefd-4f1d-bcaa-26a0ce79a461\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/membership.chicagotribune.com\/newsletters\/subscribe\/lid\/2d8200fe-eefd-4f1d-bcaa-26a0ce79a461\">Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/762760217263236\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/762760217263236\/\">Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/tag\/chicago-history\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vintagetribune\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vintagetribune\/\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n<p>Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/07\/24\/chicago-history-july-24\/mailto:krumore@chicagotribune.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/07\/24\/chicago-history-july-24\/mailto:mmather@chicagotribune.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 24, according to the Tribune\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":88328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[30225,960,531,6387,26073,59257,2096,5370,5386,1818,59256,59258],"class_list":{"0":"post-88327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-100-degrees","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-bears","11":"tag-chicago-history","12":"tag-chicago-river","13":"tag-eastland","14":"tag-heat","15":"tag-heat-wave","16":"tag-il","17":"tag-illinois","18":"tag-july-24","19":"tag-sid-luckman"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}