Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is the largest city by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest. It is a dominant center of finance, industry and culture in the region. The city, for much of its history, has been known informally as America's "Second City." The area was settled by the Potawatomi Native Americans when the first European-American, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, arrived here in the 1770s. In the 1795, American victory in the Northwest Indian War forced the Native Americans to cede this territory to the United States to be used as a fort. Fort Dearborn was built here in 1803, but the fort and surrounding settlement were captured and destroyed by the British and Potawatomis during the War of 1812. In 1833 the Potawatomi were ejected from the area by the Americans. The town of Chicago was organized the same year, and the city was incorporated in 1837. The name Chicago is a French rendering of a Miami-Illinois word for wild onion, shikaakwa.

The building of westward railways plus the connection of the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via canals spurred growth of the city. Much of the city was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but was quickly rebuilt. The Home Insurance Building, the first skyscraper, was built here in 1885. In 1893 the World's Columbian Expedition, also known as the Chicago's World's Fair, was held here. During the Prohibition Era the city became an infamous center of gang activity and organized crime. The first controlled nuclear reaction was conducted here in 1942 as part of the Manhattan Project.

The home of major universities like the University of Chicago and the nearby Northwestern University. Famous natives and residents include Richard M. and Richard J. Daley, Chicago mayors, gangster Al Capone, American president Barack Obama, political activist Jesse Jackson, Attorney General John Ashcroft, actors John Belushi and Harrison Ford, filmmaker Orson Welles, entertainer Oprah Winfrey, and writer Michael Crichton. Major sports teams located here include the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bulls. The Chicago O'Hare Airport is the third busiest in the world. It is home to the Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and at one point tallest building in the world. In 1983 Harold Washington, was the first African American to be elected mayor of Chicago.

www.cityofchicago.org/
www.explorechicago.org/