Portal:Chicago/Selected biography
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Selected biographies list
[edit]Portal:Chicago/Selected biography/1
Michael Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he became one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA (National Basketball Association) around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. After a standout career at the University of North Carolina, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as one of the stars of the league, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the foul line at Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness." He also gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Though Jordan abruptly left the NBA in October 1993 to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998). His 1995–96 Bulls team won an NBA-record 72 regular-season games. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but he returned for two more NBA seasons as a member of the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.
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Wesley Clark is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. Clark was valedictorian of his class at West Point, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in PPE, and later graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in military science. He spent 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Clark joined the 2004 race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination as a drafted candidate on September 17, 2003, but withdrew from the primary race on February 11, 2004 in favor of campaigning for the eventual Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Clark currently leads a political action committee — "WesPAC: Securing America" — which was formed after the primaries, and used it to support numerous Democratic Party candidates in the 2006 midterm elections.
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CM Punk is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) brand. Punk initially came to prominence through his career on the professional wrestling independent circuit, primarily as a member of the Ring of Honor (ROH) roster where he was an ROH Tag Team Champion, ROH World Champion, the first head trainer of the ROH wrestling school and was considered to be one of the three icons of ROH (along with Samoa Joe and Homicide). In June 2005 Punk accepted a developmental contract from WWE and was sent to WWE's developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in which he won all the championships in the promotion, including the OVW Heavyweight Championship. When the ECW brand was revived in 2006 Punk was brought into the brands roster where he had early success when, from his debut in June 2006 until January 2007, he was undefeated in singles competition.
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Gustavus Franklin Swift founded a meat-packing empire in the Midwest during the late 19th century, over which he presided until his death. He is credited with the development of the first practical ice-cooled railroad car which allowed his company to ship dressed meats to all parts of the country and even abroad, which ushered in the "era of cheap beef." Swift pioneered the use of animal by-products for the manufacture of soap, glue, fertilizer, various types of sundries, even medical products. Swift generously donated large sums of money to such institutions as the University of Chicago, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). He established Northwestern University's "School of Oratory" in memory of his daughter, Annie May Swift, who died while attending the school. When he died in 1903, his company was valued at between $25 million and $35 million, and had a workforce that was more than 21,000 strong. "The House of Swift" slaughtered as many as two million cattle, four million hogs, and two million sheep a year. Three years after his death, the value of the company's capital stock topped $50 million.
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Timothy Blackstone served as president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad from 1864 through 1899. He was also a one-term mayor of La Salle, Illinois, and a founding president of the Union Stock Yards. He was also the benefactor of the James Blackstone Library in Branford, Connecticut, and a nearly identical library was donated to the Chicago Public Library by Timothy Blackstone's widow in 1902. Additionally, the Blackstone's funded Blackstone Hall at for the Art Institute of Chicago's Building. Chicago's Blackstone Library is the first dedicated branch of the Chicago Public Library system, and later his mansion became the site of the Blackstone Hotel and the Blackstone Theatre.
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Harold Innis was a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on Canadian economic history, media, and communication theory. In spite of his dense and difficult prose, Innis is considered by many scholars to have been one of Canada's most original thinkers. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of staples such as fur, fish, wood, wheat, mined metals and fossil fuels. Innis's communications writings explore the role of media in shaping the culture and development of civilizations. He argued, for example, that a balance between oral and written forms of communication contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization in the 5th century BC. He warned however that Western civilization is now imperilled by powerful, advertising-driven media obsessed by "present-mindedness" and the "continuous, systematic, ruthless destruction of elements of permanence essential to cultural activity".
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Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States. He was the first African American to hold the office and the first president born outside the continental United States. Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, he spent most of his early life in Honolulu, Hawaii. From ages six to ten, he lived in Jakarta, Indonesia with his mother and Indonesian stepfather. He married his wife, Michelle Robinson, in 1992 and has two daughters. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before running for public office and serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote. He began his presidential campaign in 2007 and, after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2008, he won sufficient delegates in the Democratic Party primaries to receive the presidential nomination. He then defeated Republican nominee John McCain in the general election, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Nine months after his inauguration, Obama was controversially named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He was reelected president in November 2012, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
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Dominik Hašek is a professional ice hockey goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. In his 15-season NHL career, he has also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, and the Ottawa Senators. During his years in Buffalo, he became one of the league's finest goaltenders, earning him the nickname "The Dominator." His strong play has been credited with establishing European goaltenders in a league widely dominated by North Americans. Hašek has been one of the league's most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1993 to 2001 he won six Vezina Trophies, and in 1998 he became the first goaltender to win consecutive Hart Trophies. During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal. The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game." While with the Red Wings in 2002, Hašek became the first European starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup. In the process, he set a record for shutouts in a playoff year.
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Lee Arthur Smith is a retired American right-handed relief pitcher who played for eight teams in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1997. In his 18-year major league career, Smith's longest tenure with any one team was with the Cubs, with whom he spent his first eight seasons. One of the dominant closers in history, Smith held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when San Diego Padres relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman passed his final total of 478 on September 24. Smith was known as an intimidating figure on the pitcher's mound at 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 m) and 265 pounds (120 kg) with a 95 mile per hour (150 km/h) fastball. In 1991, Smith set a National League record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young Award; it was the second of three times he led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League once while with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994. He also set the major league career record for games finished (802), and his 1,022 career games pitched were the third most in history when he retired; he still holds the team records for career saves for the Cubs (180), and he also held the Cardinals record (160) until 2006.
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Nancy Davis Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins) is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and served as an influential First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Born in New York, her parents divorced soon after her birth; she grew up in Maryland, living with an aunt and uncle while her mother pursued acting jobs. As Nancy Davis, she was an actress in the 1940s and 1950s, starring in films such as Donovan's Brain, Night into Morning, and Hellcats of the Navy. In 1952 she married Ronald Reagan, who was then president of the Screen Actors Guild; they had two children. Nancy became the First Lady of California when her husband was Governor from 1967 to 1975. She became the First Lady of the United States in January 1981 following her husband's victory, but experienced criticism early in his first term largely due to her decision to replenish the White House china. Nancy restored a Kennedy-esque glamor to the White House following years of lax formality, and her interest in high-end fashion garnered much attention, as well as criticism for accepting unreported loans and gifts from fashion designers. She championed recreational drug prevention causes by founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign, which was considered her major initiative as First Lady.
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Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he became an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and a spokesman for General Electric (GE). His start in politics occurred during his work for GE; originally a member of the Democratic Party, he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and election in 1980. As president, Reagan implemented new political initiatives as well as economic policies, advocating a limited government and economic laissez-faire philosophy, but the extent to which these ideas were implemented is debatable. The supply side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics", included substantial tax cuts implemented in 1981. After surviving an assassination attempt and ordering controversial military actions in Grenada, he was re-elected in a landslide victory in 1984. Reagan's second term was marked by the ending of the Cold War, as well as a number of administration scandals, notably the Iran–Contra affair. The president ordered a massive military buildup in an arms race with the Soviet Union, forgoing the previous strategy of détente.
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Morris "Moe" Berg was an American professional baseball player who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, Berg was never more than an average player, and was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball" than for anything he accomplished in the game. A graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School, Berg spoke several languages and regularly read 10 newspapers a day. His reputation was fueled by his successful appearances as a contestant on the radio quiz show Information, Please!. As an agent of the United States government, Berg traveled to Yugoslavia to gather intelligence on resistance groups the government was considering supporting. He was then sent on a mission to Italy, where he interviewed various physicists concerning the German nuclear program.
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Edward Teller was a Hungarian-born American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," even though he claimed that he did not care for the title. Teller is best known for his work on the American nuclear program, specifically as a member of the Manhattan Project during World War II, his role in the development of the hydrogen bomb, and his long association with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He achieved infamy in the 1950s due to his controversial testimony in the security clearance hearing of his former Los Alamos colleague J. Robert Oppenheimer, and as such became ostracized from much of the scientific community. He continued to find support from the U.S. government and military research establishment, particularly for his advocacy for nuclear energy development, a strong nuclear arsenal, and a vigorous nuclear testing program. In his later years he became especially known for his advocacy of controversial technological solutions to both military and civilian problems, including a plan to excavate an artificial harbor in Alaska using thermonuclear explosives. He was a vigorous advocate of Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, perhaps overselling the feasibility of the program.
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Milton Friedman was an American Nobel Laureate economist and public intellectual. He made major contributions to the fields of macroeconomics, microeconomics, economic history, and statistics. In 1976, he was awarded the Nobel memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy. He was an advocate of economic freedom. According to The Economist, Friedman "was the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century…possibly of all of it". Alan Greenspan stated "There are very few people over the generations who have ideas that are sufficiently original to materially alter the direction of civilization. Milton is one of those very few people." In his 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Friedman advocated minimizing the role of government in a free market as a means of creating political and social freedom. In his 1980 television series Free to Choose, Friedman explained his view of how free markets work, emphasizing his conviction that free markets have been shown to solve social and political problems that other systems have failed to address adequately. His books and columns for Newsweek were widely read, and even circulated underground behind the Iron Curtain.
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Brian Keith Urlacher is an American football player for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Urlacher, an alumnus of the University of New Mexico, is a six-time Pro Bowl player and has established himself as one of the NFL's most productive linebackers. He is regarded as one of the best defensive players in the NFL, winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2000 and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2005, becoming only the fifth player in NFL history to win both awards.
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Abram Lincoln Harris, Jr. was an American economist, academic, anthropologist and a social critic of blacks in the United States. Considered by many as the first African American to achieve prominence in the field of economics, Harris was also known for his heavy influence on black radical and neo-conservative thought in the United States. As an economist, Harris is most famous for his 1931 collaboration with political scientist Sterling Spero to produce a study on African American labor history titled The Black Worker and his 1936 work The Negro as Capitalist, in which he criticized black businessmen for not promoting interracial trade. He headed the economics department at Howard University from 1936 to 1945 and taught at the University of Chicago from then until his death. As a social critic, Harris took an active radical stance on racial relations by examining historical black involvement in the workplace, and suggested that African Americans needed to take more action in race relations.
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Andrés Marcelo Nocioni is an Argentine basketball player who played five seasons for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, and for the Argentine national team. Nocioni won a gold medal with the Argentine national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. His natural position is small forward, though with the Bulls he has played some minutes at power forward. He shares both Argentine and Italian citizenship. Nocioni is known as Chapu after the Mexican children TV series El Chapulín Colorado. Nocioni has a wife named Paula and a son named Laureano.
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Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert (1920–2016) was an All-Pro American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team captain. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league All-Pro team eight times. He played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines. He was one of the three Wistert brothers (with Alvin and Francis) who were named All-American Tackles at Michigan and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was the first Michigan Alum to be selected to the National Football League Pro Bowl. The brothers are three of the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football program.
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William Ashley Sunday was an American athlete and religious figure who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Born into poverty, Sunday spent some years in an orphanage before taking a series of odd jobs in several small Iowa towns as he demonstrated his prowess in amateur athletics. Converted to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. He gradually developed his skills as a pulpit evangelist in the Midwest and then, during the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his colloquial sermons and frenetic delivery. Sunday held heavily reported campaigns in America's largest cities, made a great deal of money, and was welcomed into the homes of the wealthy and influential. He may have personally preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than any other person in history up to that time. Sunday almost certainly played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919.
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Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wade was named 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Despite the unorthodox spelling, Wade's first name is pronounced as Dwayne; often in print media, it is misspelled as such. Wade had the top selling jersey in the NBA for nearly two years, as he led the NBA in jersey sales from the 2005 NBA playoffs, until the mid-point of the 2006-07 NBA season. After entering the league with little fanfare as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Wade has become one of the more accomplished young players in the NBA today. After making the All-Rookie team in his first season, and the All-Star team the following two seasons, Wade led the Miami Heat to their first NBA Championship in franchise history in his third pro campaign. He was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP as he led the Heat to a 4–2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks.
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Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. He was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, as well as the veterans of World War One later known as "the Lost Generation", as described in his posthumous memoir A Moveable Feast. ("'That's what you are. That's what you all are,' Miss Stein said. 'All of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.'" Stein had overheard a garage owner use the phrase to criticize a mechanic.) He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway's distinctive writing style is characterized by economy and understatement, in contrast to the style of his literary rival William Faulkner. It had a significant influence on the development of twentieth-century fiction writing. His protagonists are typically stoic men who exhibit an ideal described as "grace under pressure." Many of his works are now considered canonical in American literature.
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Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey, Ph.D., M.D. (1914–2015), was a naturalized American pharmacologist, most famous as the reviewer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the drug's safety. Her concerns proved to be justified when it was proven that thalidomide caused birth defects. Kelsey's career intersected with the passage of laws strengthening the FDA's oversight of pharmaceuticals.
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George Lawrence Mikan, Jr. was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Invariably playing with thick, round spectacles, the 6 ft 10 in 245 lb. Mikan is seen as one of the pioneers of professional basketball, redefining it as a game of so-called big men. Mikan had a successful player career, winning seven NBL, BAA and NBA championships, an All-Star MVP trophy, three scoring titles and being member of the first four NBA All-Star and the first six All-BAA and All-NBA Teams. Mikan was so dominant that he caused several rule changes in the NBA, among them widening the foul lane and introducing the shot clock. After his player career, Mikan became one of the founding fathers of the American Basketball Association (ABA), and was also vital for the forming of the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his later years, Mikan fought against the meager pensions for players who had retired before the league became lucrative. Mikan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959, made the 25th and 35th NBA Anniversary Teams of 1970 and 1980 and was elected one of the NBA 50 Greatest Players in 1996.
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Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is a former United States Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator who was the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States in the 2016 election. She was the first female candidate to gain that status for a major American political party. Before being elected to the Senate, she served as First Lady of the United States during the presidency of Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001, and First Lady of Arkansas from 1983 to 1992. A native of Illinois, Hillary Rodham attracted national attention in 1969 when she delivered an address as the first student to speak at commencement exercises for Wellesley College. She began her career as a lawyer after graduating from Yale Law School in 1973. She moved to Arkansas in 1974 and married Bill Clinton in 1975. She was later named the first female partner at Rose Law Firm. As First Lady of the United States, her major initiative, the Clinton health care plan, failed to gain approval by the U.S. Congress in 1994. She became the only First Lady to be subpoenaed, testifying before a federal grand jury as a consequence of the Whitewater controversy in 1996. She was never charged with any wrongdoing in this or several other investigations during her husband's administration. Clinton served as the junior U.S. Senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, being elected in 2000 – the first female senator from New York and the only first lady ever to have sought elective office – and re-elected in 2006. She subsequently served as the 67th U.S. Secretary of State in the presidential administration of Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2013. Leaving office after Obama's first term, she authored her fifth book and undertook speaking engagements before announcing her second presidential run in the 2016 election.
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Jeannette Ridlon Piccard was an American teacher, scientist, priest, and aeronaut who was a pioneer of balloon flight. A member of the famed Piccard family of balloonists and of the International Space Hall of Fame, she was the first licensed female balloon pilot, the first woman to fly to the stratosphere, and a speaker for NASA. Her 1934 flight held the women's altitude record for three decades. Called a woman of causes and irrepressible, Piccard is remembered as one of the Philadelphia Eleven, the first women to be ordained Episcopalian priests.
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John Marshall Harlan II was an merican jurist. He served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1955 to 1971. He was the grandson of another Associate Justice, John Marshall Harlan, who served from 1877 to 1911. Harlan is often characterized as a member of the conservative wing of the Warren Court. He advocated a limited role for the judiciary, remarking that the Supreme Court should not be considered "a general haven for reform movements." In general, Harlan adhered more closely to precedent, and was more reluctant to overturn legislation, than many of his colleagues on the Court. He strongly disagreed with the doctrine of incorporation, which held that the guarantees of the federal Bill of Rights were applicable at the state level. At the same time, he advocated a broad interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, arguing that it protected a wide range of rights not expressly mentioned in the Constitution. Harlan is sometimes called the "great dissenter" of the Warren Court, and is often regarded as one of the most influential Supreme Court justices in the twentieth century.
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Kirk James Hinrich is an American professional basketball player, currently starting at point guard for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He is also a member of the USA National Team.
Hinrich was exposed to basketball at an early age, due to his father, Jim, being a high school basketball coach in Sioux City, Hinrich's father coached him from the third grade through high school. As a high school senior, Hinrich was named the 1999 Co-Iowa Mr. Basketball, along with future college teammate and roommate, Nick Collison. Hinrich originally committed to play basketball at Iowa State but when the coach at the time Tim Floyd took the head coaching position for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, Hinrich changed his mind and decided to attend the University of Kansas. While playing college basketball for Kansas, Hinrich helped his team reach the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament in 2002 and the championship game against the Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse University in 2003. Hinrich played all four years at Kansas before being drafted to the NBA. Hinrich is often referred to as "Captain Kirk" due to the fact that he has been voted a team captain for the Bulls for four consecutive years.
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Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American lawyer and writer who was First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is married to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and was the first African-American First Lady. She was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois and then educated at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She returned to Chicago after completing her formal education to work for the law firm Sidley Austin, on the staff of the Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Hospitals. She is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Brown University. She married Barack Obama in 1992 and the couple have two daughters. As First Lady, she became a fashion icon, a role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating.
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Norman Gary Finkelstein is an American political scientist and author, specialising in Jewish-related issues, especially the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A graduate of SUNY Binghamton, he received his Ph.D in Political Science from Princeton University. He has held faculty positions at Brooklyn College, Rutgers University, Hunter College, New York University, and most recently, DePaul University, where he was an assistant professor from 2001 to 2007. Finkelstein's career has been marked by controversy. His writings, noted for their support of the Palestinian cause have dealt with politically-charged topics such as Zionism. Amidst considerable public debate, Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul in June 2007, and placed on administrative leave for the 2007-2008 academic year. Among the controversial aspects of this decision were attempts by Alan Dershowitz, a notable opponent of Finkelstein's, to derail Finkelstein's tenure bid. On September 5, 2007 Finkelstein announced his resignation after coming to a settlement with the university on generally undisclosed terms.
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Paul Cornell was an American lawyer and Chicago real estate speculator who founded the Hyde Park Township that included most of what are now known as the south and far southeast sides of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. He turned the south side Lake Michigan lakefront area, especially the Hyde Park community area and neighboring Kenwood and Woodlawn neighborhoods, into a resort community that had its heyday from the 1850s through the early 20th century. He was also an urban planner who paved the way for and preserved many of the parks that are now in the Chicago Park District. Additionally, he was a successful entrepreneur with interests in manufacturing, cemeteries, and hotels. His modern legacy includes several large parks now in the Chicago Park District: Jackson Park, Washington Park, Midway Plaisance and Harold Washington Park. Most of the South and Southeast Sides of Chicago were developed and eventually annexed into the City of Chicago as a result of his foresight.
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Percy Lavon Julian was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine; and was an American pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work would lay the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills. He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild yam. His work helped reduce the cost of steroid intermediates to large multinational pharmaceutical companies. During his lifetime he received more than 130 chemical patents. Julian was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted from any field.
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Pete Muldoon was a Canadian ice hockey pioneer in the western United States, particularly known for bringing a Stanley Cup championship to Seattle. He is known best for reportedly putting a curse on the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as team owner Major Frederic McLaughlin, after Muldoon was fired at the end of the 1927 season; however, it has been alleged that a Toronto sportswriter had come up with the "curse" due to a bout of writer's block in 1943. Muldoon was the Blackhawk's first head coach.
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Rex Daniel Grossman III is a quarterback of the National Football League who formerly played for the Chicago Bears. He graduated from Bloomington High School South and attended the University of Florida on an athletic scholarship. Grossman led the Florida Gators to two championship games, and was the runner-up for the 2001 Heisman Trophy. Grossman began his professional career with the Bears as the twenty-second overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft, but spent most of his first three seasons sidelined with injuries. He completed his first full season in 2006, leading the Bears to a National Football Conference Championship, and helping the team score the second most points in the league.
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Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an Emmy and Peabody award winning American comedian, satirist, actor, and writer known for his portrayal of uninformed opinion leaders and deadpan comedic delivery. Colbert became interested in improvisational theater when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago. Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show before collaborating with Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris on the cult television series Strangers with Candy. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show, however, that first introduced him to a wide audience. In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host The Colbert Report. The Colbert Report is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows. The series has established itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006. His book, I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.
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Walter Jerry Payton was an American football player, who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football. Payton, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, once held the League’s record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, and many other categories. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. The NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen - but even greater as a human being. Payton began his football career in Mississippi, and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University . He started his professional career with the Bears in 1975, who selected him as the 1975 Draft’s fourth overall pick. Payton proceeded to win two NFL Player of the Year Awards, and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. After struggling with a rare liver disease for several months, Payton died in 1999 at the age of 45.
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Francis Michael "Whitey" Wistert was an American football and baseball player. He played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines. He was the first of the three Wistert brothers (Alvin, Albert (Al)) who were named All-American Tackles at Michigan and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967. He and his brothers are three of the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football program. During his time at Michigan, Wistert won three consecutive Big Ten football Championships, including back-to-back National Championships. He was also Big Ten conference MVP in baseball in college and later played for the Major League Baseball Cincinnati Reds.
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Joseph W. Tkach (pronounced "Ta-cotch") was the appointed successor of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Tkach became President and Pastor General of the church upon the death of Armstrong in 1986. Tkach spearheaded a major doctrinal transformation of the Worldwide Church of God, abandoning Armstrong's unconventional doctrines and bringing the church into accord with mainstream evangelical Christianity. His son, Joseph Tkach Jr., continued his work and in 1997 the Worldwide Church of God became a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. During Tkach's tenure, the changes that he implemented stirred much controversy and significant dissent among those who continued to follow Armstrong's theology. The dissenters labelled the changes as heresy and many left to form new church organizations. Within the mainstream Christian community, some have hailed Tkach's reforms, which brought a church from the fringe to orthodoxy, as unprecedented in the history of the Christian church.
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Edward Urner Goodman, more familiarly E. Urner Goodman, was an influential leader in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) movement for much of the twentieth century. Goodman was the national program director from 1931 until 1951, during the organization's formative years of significant growth when the Cub Scouting and Exploring programs were established. He developed the BSA's national training center in the early 1930s and was responsible for publication of the widely read Boy Scout Handbook and other Scouting books, writing the Leaders Handbook used by Scout leaders in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1950s, Goodman was Executive Director of Men's Work for the National Council of Churches in New York City and active in church work. Goodman is best remembered today for having created the Order of the Arrow (OA), a popular and highly successful program of the BSA that continues to honor Scouts for their cheerful service. Since its founding in 1915, the Order of the Arrow has grown to become a nationwide program having thousands of members, which recognizes those Scouts who best exemplify the virtues of cheerful service, camping, and leadership by membership in BSA's honor society. As of 2007, the Order of the Arrow has more than 183,000 members.
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Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches. She was lionized as a free-thinking "rebel woman" by admirers, and derided as an advocate of politically-motivated murder and violent revolution by her critics. Born in Kaunas, Lithuania to an Orthodox Jewish family, Goldman suffered from a violent relationship with her father. Although she attended schools in Königsberg, her father refused to allow her further education when the family moved to St. Petersburg. Still, she read voraciously and educated herself . She moved with her sister Helena to Rochester, New York at sixteen. Married briefly in 1887, she divorced her husband quickly thereafter and moved to New York City. Attracted to anarchism after the Haymarket Riot, Goldman was trained by Johann Most in public speaking. Alexander Berkman became her lifelong intimate friend. They planned to assassinate Henry Clay Frick, but Frick survived. Goldman herself was imprisoned several times in the years that followed. Goldman also published an anarchist journal called Mother Earth. In 1917 Goldman and Berkman were sentenced to jail for disrupting the draft. After their release from prison, they were deported to Russia. Goldman quickly voiced her opposed to the Soviet use of violence and the repression. In 1923 she wrote a book about her experiences, My Disillusionment in Russia. She wrote an autobiography called Living My Life, and participated in that nation's civil war. She died in Toronto on 14 May 1940. Goldman played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in the United States and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Although she distanced herself from first-wave feminism and its efforts toward women's suffrage, she developed new ways of incorporating gender politics into anarchism.
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Steve Dahl has been an American radio personality for over thirty years. Dahl is currently on the air at WJMK (104.3 Jack FM), in Chicago, Illinois. Before WJMK, Dahl was with Chicago stations WCKG, WDAI, WLUP, WMVP and WLS. He also currently writes for the Chicago Tribune in the At Play section as the resident "vice advisor". Additionally, Dahl is currently serving on the Board of Trustees at Columbia College Chicago. Dahl often tells bucolic stories about his life and family on the air. Dahl is also famous for his song parodies and his impressions. He is considered a pioneer in talk radio and has been influential for many other radio personalities. He gained a measure of national attention after the Disco Demolition Night promotion at Comiskey Park, and he is also famous for his longstanding former role as one half of the "Steve and Garry" team (with Garry Meier). In addition to his radio career, Dahl is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His band, Teenage Radiation, recorded and performed a number of song parodies (which he often played on his show throughout the 1980s) and more recently he has performed and recorded as Steve Dahl and the Dahlfins, releasing several albums. Dahl played a large role in the comeback of Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Dahl has also dabbled in acting, appearing in the 1984 cult classic, Grandview, U.S.A. with John and Joan Cusack. He also appeared in the 2004 film Outing Riley, and in the 2006 indie comedy I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With.
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Devin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play on all three teams of American football (offense, defense, special teams). Hester began his professional career with the Bears in 2006, and quickly made an impact as a kick returner. Dubbed the "Windy City Flyer" and "Anytime", Hester holds the league's all-time record for most kicks returned for a touchdown in a season.
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Jeffrey Scott Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician, poet, and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebs with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit. The Plebs changed their name to The Primitives in 1984, and subsequently to Uncle Tupelo. Uncle Tupelo garnered enough support to earn a record deal and to tour nationally. After releasing four albums, conflicts between Tweedy and Farrar caused the band to break up in 1994. In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, and Sky Blue Sky. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, has released a book of poems, and has released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has recently reflected more experimental themes in his music. Tweedy has been afflicted with migraine headaches since childhood. Treatment for the migraines led to a dependency on painkillers, for which he underwent successful rehab in 2004. Tweedy also has been open about the fact that he suffers from clinical depression and panic attacks.
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Michael Patrick Barrett is a catcher for the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball. He started his professional career with the Montreal Expos at the age of eighteen. Barrett spent three years playing in the Minor Leagues as a shortstop and catcher. He played with the Honolulu Sharks, West Palm Expos, and Delmarva Shorebirds, and was elected to two All-Star games. Barrett made his Major League debut in 1998 as a third baseman, but was shortly recalled to the Minor Leagues to play with the Harrisburg Senators for a season. Upon Barrett's return to the Major League in 1999, he ranked among the top offensive rookies in various statistical categories. Barrett failed to stay healthy during the 2003 season, which prompted the Expos to trade him to the Oakland Athletics, who in turn, traded him to the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure with the Cubs, Barrett won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005, and recorded near career-high statistics in 2004 season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres in June of 2007.
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John F. Stossel is a consumer reporter, author and co-anchor for the ABC News show 20/20. Stossel began his journalism career as a researcher for KGW-TV and later became a consumer reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City before joining ABC News as consumer editor and reporter on Good Morning America. Stossel went on to be an ABC News correspondent, joining the weekly news magazine program 20/20. In his decades as a reporter, Stossel has received numerous honors and awards. Stossel has also written two books entitled Give Me a Break and Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity. Stossel practices advocacy journalism where he often challenges "conventional wisdom". His reports, a blend of commentary and reporting, reflect a roughly libertarian political philosophy and his views on economics are largely supportive of the free market. This makes him a "contrarian" in American media; as such, he has a reputation for conflict with many groups, often politically liberal ones.
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David B. Falk is an American sports agent who primarily works with NBA players. He is best known for representing sports icon Michael Jordan for the entirety of Jordan's career. Besides Jordan, Falk has represented more than 90 other NBA players, and is generally considered to be the most influential player agent the NBA has seen. During the peak years of Falk's career in the 1990s, he was often considered the second-most powerful person in the NBA behind Commissioner David Stern, and in 2000 he had at least one client on all but two NBA teams. He was listed among the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports" for 12 straight years from 1990 to 2001 by The Sporting News, and was also named one of the Top 50 Marketers in the United States by Advertising Age in 1995. Falk is currently semi-retired, having left his position as Chairman of SFX Sports Group in 2001 to spend more time with his family. He represented only 7 players in 2007, a far cry from the prime of his sports agent career in the 1990s, when he represented as many as 40 players at a time.
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Kanye West /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/ is an American rap artist and hip hop producer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, and his third album Graduation in 2007. His first three albums have received numerous awards (including nine Grammys), critical acclaim, and commercial success. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear, which has appeared on the covers of his three albums as well as the singles cover for his songs "Stronger" and "Homecoming." West's parents divorced when he was three years old, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. He enrolled at Chicago State University but later dropped out to continue pursuing his music career. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for musical artists including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. West's style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. Some controversy has also surrounded West, such as an incident during a live telecast of a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, when he deviated from the script and told the audience, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
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Jesse Louis "Jesse Jr." Jackson Jr. is a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district, which includes the southeast suburbs of Chicago, part of the Chicago South Side and a small portion of the southeast side of Chicago (map). He has served the 2nd district since winning a special election on December 12, 1995, to fill the seat vacated by Mel Reynolds and is the Democratic son of activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson. His wife, Sandi Jackson, serves on the Chicago City Council. He serves as a national co-chairman of the Barack Obama Presidential campaign. He was educated at Le Mans Academy, St. Albans School, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Chicago Theological Seminary, and University of Illinois College of Law. Prior to elective politics Jackson was proactive in international civil rights activism. He participated in his father's presidential campaigns and then in the office of his National Rainbow Coalition. During his time in public office he has co-authored three books, two of them with his father.
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John Benjamin Murphy was an American physician and abdominal surgeon noted for advocating early surgical intervention in appendicitis appendectomy, and several eponyms: Murphy drip, Murphy’s button, Murphy’s punch, Murphy’s test, and Murphy-Lane bone skid. He is best remembered for the eponymous clinical sign that is used in evaluating patients with acute cholecystitis. His career spanned general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and cardiothoracic surgery, which helped him to gain international prominence in the surgical profession. Mayo Clinic co-founder, William James Mayo, described him as "the surgical genius of our generation". Over the course of his career he was renowned as a surgeon, a clinician, a teacher, an innovator, and an author. In addition to general surgical operations, such as appendectomy,cholecystostomy,bowel resection for intestinal obstruction, and mastectomy, he performed and described innovative procedures in neurosurgery, orthopedics, gynecology, urology, plastic surgery, thoracic surgery, and vascular surgery. He also ventured into techniques such as neurorrhaphy, arthroplasty, prostatectomy, nephrectomy, hysterectomy, bone grafting, and thoracoplasty.
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Theodore John Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, is an American mathematician and social critic who carried out a campaign of bombings and mail bombings, killing three people and wounding 23. Kaczynski was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was considered a genius at a young age. He attended Harvard University, and then the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics. He later became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, at age 25, but resigned two years later. In 1971, he then moved to a remote cabin in Lincoln, Montana. From 1978 to 1995, Kaczynski sent bombs to targets including universities and airlines. On April 24, 1995, Kaczynski sent a letter to The New York Times, promising "to desist from terrorism" if The New York Times or The Washington Post published his manifesto. In his Industrial Society and Its Future (also called the "Unabomber Manifesto"), he argued that his actions were an extreme but necessary tactic to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom necessitated by modern technologies requiring large-scale organization. The Unabomber was the target of one of the most expensive investigations in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) history. Before Kaczynski's identity was known, the FBI used the handle "UNABOM" ("UNiversity and Airline BOMber") to refer to his case, which resulted in the media calling him the Unabomber. Despite the FBI's efforts, he was not caught as a result of this investigation. Instead, his brother recognized the manifesto and turned him in. To avoid the death penalty, Kaczynski entered into a plea agreement, under which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
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Toni Reed Preckwinkle is an alderman in the Chicago City Council representing Chicago's 4th ward in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Preckwinkle first sought office in 1983, but was defeated twice before securing election in 1991 and subsequently being re-elected four times. In addition to her elected role on the city council, Preckwinkle serves as the Democratic Committeeman of the 4th Ward of the city on the Cook County Central Committee. As 4th ward alderman, she has neighborhood, municipal and regional functions, and has an additional role in the development of the prospective Olympic Village and Olympic Stadium, which is planned in and around her ward as part of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid. She is a critic of current Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and ally of United States Senator and 4th ward resident Barack Obama. She is an outspoken Chicago politician, whose actions and opinions are often noted in respected publications across the country such as the New York Times and Washington Post, and who has a reputation for being a progressive leader and for being publicly accountable. In her first four terms in office she emerged as the council's prominent defender of affordable housing. Among other issues she is known for her cost benefit analysis of the city's Olympic bid and for her sponsorship of living wage ordinances. She also has an interest in police brutality and excessive force.
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Robert Todd Pelinka, Jr. is an American lawyer, sports agent and former college basketball player from Lake Bluff, Illinois (suburban Chicago). As a sports agent he is best known as NBA MVP Kobe Bryant's agent and President and CEO of The Landmark Sports Agency, LLC. He is the agent for the seventh overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, Eric Gordon. He has also been the agent for NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, which has been controversial. He currently represents thirteen National Basketball Association (NBA) players, five of whom play for Los Angeles teams.
As a basketball player he is former high school All-American who was overlooked by many scouts and recruiters at the Division I-level entering his senior season, but his MVP performance in a four-game tournament where he made all 42 of his free throws and impressive senior season statistics propelled him to a highly recruited status. He eventually went to the University of Michigan where he has the distinction of having been a member of three NCAA Final Four entrants: the 1988–89 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Champion University of Michigan Wolverines as well as both the 1991–92 and the 1992–93 national championship runners up that were best remembered as the Fab Five teams. Pelinka holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and B.B.A. Business degree (BUS: BBA 1993) from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Pelinka was also named the 1993 NCAA Male Walter Byers Scholar Athlete of the Year.
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Walter William "Billy" Pierce is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team's star pitcher in the decade from 1952 to 1961, when they posted the third best record in baseball, and was named the American League's top pitcher in 1956 and 1957 after being runner-up in both 1953 and 1955. A seven-time All-Star, he led the American League (AL) in complete games three times despite his slight build, and in wins, earned run average (ERA) and strikeouts once each. He pitched four one-hitters and seven two-hitters in his career, and on June 27, 1958 came within one batter of becoming the first left-hander in 78 years to throw a perfect game. He was one of the principal figures in Chicago's fierce rivalry with the New York Yankees; particularly notable were his matchups with Whitey Ford, with the two left-handers opposing one another as starters 14 times from 1955 to 1960. After joining the San Francisco Giants in 1962, Pierce played a pivotal role in helping them win the NL pennant, going 12–0 in home games and getting a three-hit shutout and a save in a three-game playoff against the Los Angeles Dodgers to clinch the title. His 1,999 career strikeouts were the fifth most by a left-hander when he retired, and his AL total of 1,842 ranked ninth in league history. He also ranked tenth among left-handers in career wins (211), sixth in games started (432) and games pitched (585), eighth in shutouts (38) and ninth in innings pitched (3,306⅔). He holds the White Sox franchise record for career strikeouts (1,796), and his club marks of 186 wins, 2,931 innings and 390 starts are team records for a left-hander.
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Chicago Police Commander Jon Graham Burge is a former Chicago Police Department detective and decorated United States Army soldier who has gained notoriety for allegedly torturing more than 200 criminal suspects between 1972 and 1991, in order to force confessions. He served tours in South Korea and in the Vietnam War after extensive training that began in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps and continued as an enlisted United States Army Reserve soldier where he was trained for and served in the military police. He then returned to the South Side of Chicago and began his career as a Police officer. Various allegations arose about the methodologies of Burge and those under his command. Eventually, the weight of hundreds of similar stories caused Illinois Governor George Ryan to declare a moratorium on death penalty executions in Illinois in 2000 and clear the state's death row in 2003. The most controversial arrests began in February 1982 at a time when a series of shootings of Chicago law enforcement officials caused a turbulent time in Police Area 2 whose detective squad Burge commanded. Some of the people who confessed to murder were later granted new trials, and a few were even acquitted or pardoned. Burge was acquitted of police brutality charges in 1989 after a first trial resulted in a hung jury. As a result of an internal Police Department review and hearing, Burge was suspended from the Chicago Police Department in 1991 and fired in 1993. Having never been convicted of a felony, Burge lives in Florida and continues to receive a police pension to which he is entitled. In 2002, a special prosecutor began investigating the accusations. The review, which cost $17 million, revealed improprieties that resulted in no action due to the statute of limitations. After Burge was fired, there was a groundswell of support to investigate his convictions. Several were reversed, remanded or overturned. Several of those sent to death row as a result of Burge's work, were granted reduced sentences of some form. In fact, all Illinois death row inmates were. Four of Burge's victims were pardoned by then-Governor George Ryan and subsequently filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Chicago, various police officers, Cook County and various State's Attorneys. The parties consented to have the four cases consolidated and a settlement of $19.8 million dollars was reached in December 2007 with the "city defendants". The cases against Cook County and the other current/former county prosecutors continue as of July 2008.
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Charles Robert "Charlie" Gardiner was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Gardiner moved with his family to Canada as a child. Playing all of his junior hockey in or around Winnipeg, Manitoba, Gardiner joined the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1927–28 season. He played seven seasons with Chicago, winning two Vezina Trophies, earning three berths to the First All-Star team, and a berth to the Second All-Start team. In 1934, Gardiner became the first and only NHL goaltender to captain his team to a Stanley Cup win. A few months after winning the Cup, Gardiner died from a brain hemorrhage brought on by a tonsillar infection, at the age of 29. He became posthumously a charter member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.
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William Alexander "Bill" Lange, also known as "Little Eva", was an American Major League Baseball center fielder, who played his entire seven year career for the Chicago Colts and Orphans from 1893 to 1899. During his time in the Majors, he once led the National League in stolen bases, and was among the seasonal leaders in several other offensive categories including home runs, and batting average. Lange was noted for having a combination of great speed and power, especially for his size. His 6-foot-1-inch (1.85 m), 190-pound (86 kg) frame was considered large for his era. He is best known for retiring from baseball during the prime of his career to get married, as his future father-in-law forbid his daughter to marry a baseball player. Despite the short-lived marriage, he refused all offers to return as a player. He became a successful businessman after his retirement from baseball. In addition to his success in real estate and insurance, he became a leading figure in Major League Baseball's efforts to generate interest in the game worldwide. He was enlisted by the leading baseball figures of the day to assist in establishing leagues in several European countries, that could eventually compete against American teams, while also scouting for undiscovered talent.
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Sidney Luckman, known as Sid Luckman, was an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1939 to 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears he led them to four NFL championships. Luckman was the first modern T-formation quarterbackts writer Ira Berkow later wrote that Luckman was "the first great T-formation quarterback". Following his retirement from playing, Luckman continued his association with football by tutoring college coaches, focusing on the passing aspect of the game. He was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965, and in 1988 he was declared a joint winner of the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award.
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Eugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), as well as candidate for President of the United States as a member of the Social Democratic Party in 1900, and later as a member of the Socialist Party of America in 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. Through his presidential candidacies as well as his work with labor movements, Debs would eventually become one of the best-known Socialists in the United States. In the early portions of his political career, Debs was a member of the Democratic Party of the United States. It was during this time that he was elected as a member of the Indiana General Assembly, which signaled the beginning of his career as a politician. After working with several smaller unions including the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, Debs was instrumental in the founding of the American Railway Union, the nation's first industrial union. As a member of the ARU, Debs was involved and later imprisoned for his part in the famed Pullman Strike, when workers struck the Pullman Palace Car Company over a pay cut. The effects of the strike resulted in President Grover Cleveland calling in members of the United States Army into Chicago, Illinois, which led to Debs' arrest. Debs' political views turned to Socialism after he read the works of Karl Marx. During the latter part of his life, Debs was imprisoned once more after being arrested and convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 during the First Red Scare for speaking against American involvement in World War I.
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Jimmy Chamberlin is an American drummer, songwriter and producer. He may be best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. After a drug-related incident with touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin in 1996, Chamberlin was fired from the band and joined The Last Hard Men, but rejoined the Pumpkins in late 1998. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan in the supergroup Zwan and also formed his own group, the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. In 2005 Chamberlin joined Corgan in reforming The Smashing Pumpkins. Chamberlin, who originally trained as a jazz drummer, cites jazz musicians Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, as well as rock drummers Keith Moon, Ian Paice and John Bonham as major influences on his technique. While he is known as "one of the most powerful drummers in rock," he primarily strives for emotionally communicative playing. In 2008, Gigwise named Chamberlin the #5 drummer of all time.
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Evan Frank Lysacek is an American figure skater. He is the 2007 & 2008 U.S. National Champion, 2008 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a two-time World bronze medalist (2005–2006). At the end of the 2007–2008 season, Lysacek was ranked 7th in the world. He was the United States Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Month for November 2006.
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Anthony Michael Parker is an American professional basketball player currently with the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Toronto Raptors. After graduating from Bradley University with a major in liberal arts, he entered the 1997 NBA draft and played briefly in the NBA before plying his trade in Europe. There, Parker spent five seasons with Israeli basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv and one season with Italian club Pallacanestro Virtus Roma. With Maccabi he won five national championships, five national cups, two EuroLeague titles, one SuproLeague title, and was voted two-time consecutive Euroleague Most Valuable Player (MVP). Since returning to the NBA as a free agent in 2006, Parker has established himself as Toronto's starting shooting guard, as well as one of the best three point shooters and perimeter defenders in the NBA. In his first season with the Raptors, Parker helped the team clinch their first ever division title, first NBA playoffs berth in five years, and best regular season record in franchise history.
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Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer, best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as one of the fathers of the tabletop role-playing game. In the 1960s, Gygax created an organization of wargaming clubs and founded the Gen Con gaming convention. In 1971, he helped develop the Chainmail miniatures wargame, which was based on medieval warfare. He co-founded the company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR, Inc.) with childhood friend Don Kaye in 1973. The following year, he created Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson, expanding on his work on Chainmail and including elements of the fantasy stories he loved as a child. He also founded the magazine The Dragon in the same year, to support the new game. In 1977, Gygax began work on a more comprehensive version of the game, called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Gygax designed numerous manuals for the game system, as well as several pre-packaged adventures called "modules" that gave a person running a D&D game (the "Dungeon Master") a rough script and ideas on how to run a particular gaming scenario. In 1983, he worked to license the D&D product line into the successful Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series. Gygax was married twice and had six children. In 2004, he suffered two strokes, narrowly avoided a subsequent heart attack, and was then diagnosed with an inoperable abdominal aortic aneurysm, from which he died in March 2008.
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Jerry M. Reinsdorf is a C.P.A., lawyer, and the majority owner of both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the head of the White Sox and Bulls for over 20 years. He made his initial fortune in real estate taking advantage of the Frank Lyon Co. v. United States decision in the United States Supreme Court which allowed economic owners of realty to sell property and lease it back while transferring the tax deduction for depreciation to the title owner. He has become a sports owner with a reputation for frugality. As the owner and Chairman of the Chicago Bulls since 1985, he has turned the franchise into a lucrative business that won six World Championships in the 1990s. He is controversial for his involvement (along with Jerry Krause) in breaking up the championship team by not hiring back key personnel such as Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan. He also moved the Bulls from Chicago Stadium to the United Center. As a baseball owner since 1981, he has brought success to the White Sox franchise. The franchise made the playoffs in 1983 for the first time since 1959 and won the World Series in 2005 for the first time since 1917. He moved the White Sox from Comiskey Park to New Comiskey Park and then renaming the new park U.S. Cellular Field. In both sporting endeavors, he has developed a reputation as an anti-labor union hardliner. Since the early 1990s, he has been considered one of the most, if not the most, influential baseball owners..
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Peter Charles Bernard Bynoe is a Chicago attorney and businessman, the only African-American equity partner in the Chicago office of DLA Piper. In 1989, he and his business partner Bertram Lee were the first African-Americans to buy any part of a National Basketball Association (NBA) team, when they purchased a 37.5% share of the Denver Nuggets basketball team, and he is among the most influential minority figures in sports law and management. Bynoe kept the Chicago White Sox from leaving Chicago by developing a New Comiskey Park (now known as U.S. Cellular Field). He has become a negotiator for professional sports teams' venues. In addition, he is involved in the development of the 2012 Summer Olympics and hopes to be involved in the 2016 Summer Olympics planning. Bynoe serves on several boards of directors
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Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American professional basketball National Basketball Association (NBA) player of the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed “Dennis the Menace” and “The Worm” and was known for his fierce defensive and rebounding ability. Playing small forward in his early years before becoming a power forward, Rodman earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice. He also led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA Championships). After aborting a suicide attempt in 1993, he reinvented himself as the prototypical "bad boy" and became notorious for numerous controversial antics. He dyed his hair in artificial colors, presented himself with many piercings and tattoos and regularly disrupted games by clashing with opposing players and officials. He famously wore a wedding dress to promote his autobiography and proclaimed his bisexuality and lived a flamboyant queer lifestyle. Rodman pursued a high-profile affair with singer Madonna and was briefly married to actress Carmen Electra. Apart from basketball, Rodman is a part-time professional wrestler. He was a member of the nWo and fought alongside Hulk Hogan at two Bash at the Beach events. He had his own TV show, The Rodman World Tour, and had lead roles in the action films Simon Sez and Double Team alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. The latter was critically panned, earning Rodman a triple Razzie Award. He appeared in several reality TV series and was the winner of the $222,000 main prize of the 2005 edition of Celebrity Mole.
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Edward Nagle "Ned" Williamson was an American Major League Baseball player for 13 seasons from 1878 until 1890. He played for three different teams: the Indianapolis Blues of the National League (NL) for one season, the Chicago White Stockings (NL) for 11 seasons, and the Chicago Pirates of the Players' League for one season. From 1883 and 1887, Williamson held the single season record for both doubles and home runs. Although his record for doubles was surpassed in 1887, he held the home run record until 1919, when it was topped by Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox. Statistically, he was one of the best fielders of his era. During the first eight years of his career, he led the league, at his position, in both fielding percentage and double plays five times, and assists six times. Later, when he moved to shortstop, he again led the league in both assists and double plays. His career was shortened by a knee injury that he suffered in Paris, France, during a world tour organized by Albert Spalding. After he left organized baseball, his health declined rapidly. He contracted tuberculosis, and ultimately died at the age of 36 of dropsy.
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Frederick Hugh Lehman was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He started his ice hockey career playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings and the Berlin Professionals. In 1911, Lehman joined the New Westminster Royals, playing for the Royals for three seasons, before joining the Vancouver Millionaires in 1914. Lehman played half of his 22-year professional career with Vancouver, winning his only Stanley Cup; he would be unsuccessful in seven other attempts. In 1926, he joined the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), playing a full season and splitting the second one as player and head coach. Although some ice hockey historians credit Jacques Plante for originating the practice, Lehman was the first goaltender to regularly pass the puck to his fellow forwards and defensemen; he even scored a goal by shooting the puck in the opponent's net while playing for the Professionals. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.
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Orval Leroy Grove was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted a win–loss record of 63–73, with 66 complete games, 11 shutouts, and a 3.78 earned run average (ERA). After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and minor leagues for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career year in 1943, finishing the season with career bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only All-Star appearance. Grove spent four more full seasons with the White Sox, and after pitching one game in 1949, was sent to the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League. After playing four seasons with them, he formally retired from professional baseball. After retirement, he worked with his uncle in a trucking business in Chicago while continuing to pitch at the semi-pro level. In 1992, Grove died at the age of 72.
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William Dickson Boyce, an American newspaper man, entrepreneur, magazine publisher, and explorer, was the founder of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the short-lived Lone Scouts of America (LSA). Born in Plum Township, Pennsylvania, he acquired a love for the outdoors early in his life. Boyce attended Wooster Academy in Ohio before moving to the Midwest and Canada. Boyce established several newspapers. With his first wife, Mary Jane Beacom, he moved to Chicago to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions. There he established the Mutual Newspaper Publishing Company and the weekly Saturday Blade, which catered to a rural audience and was distributed by thousands of newspaper boys. With his novel employment of newsboys to boost newspaper sales, Boyce's namesake publishing company maintained a circulation of 500,000 copies per week by 1894. Boyce strongly supported worker rights, as demonstrated by his businesses' support of labor unions and his maintenance of his newsboys' well-being. By the early years of the 20th century, Boyce had become a multi-millionaire and had taken a step back from his businesses to pursue his interests in civic affairs, devoting more time to traveling and participating in expeditions. Boyce led expeditions to South America, Europe, and North Africa, where he visited the newly discovered tomb of King Tutankhamun. Boyce learned about Scouting while passing through London. On his return to the United States, he formed the BSA. From its start, After clashing over the Scouting program with Chief Scout Executive James E. West, he split from the BSA and founded the LSA in January 1915, which catered to rural boys who had limited opportunities to form a troop or a patrol. In June 1924, a merger was completed between the BSA and the struggling LSA. Boyce received many awards and memorials for his efforts in the U.S. Scouting movement, including the Silver Buffalo Award.
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Sandra Cisneros is a Chicana writer best known for her acclaimed first novel The House on Mango Street (1984) and her subsequent short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991). Her work experiments with literary forms and investigates emerging subject positions, which Cisneros herself attributes to growing up in a context of cultural hybridity and economic inequality that endowed her with unique stories to tell. She is the recipient of numerous awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and is regarded as a key figure in Chicana literature. Cisneros's early life provided many experiences she would later draw on as a writer: she grew up as the only daughter in a family of six brothers, which often made her feel isolated, and the constant migration of her family between Mexico and the USA instilled in her the sense of "always straddling two countries ... but not belonging to either culture." Cisneros's work deals with the formation of Chicana identity, exploring the challenges of being caught between Mexican and Anglo-American cultures, facing the misogynist attitudes present in both these cultures, and experiencing poverty. For her insightful social critique and powerful prose style, Cisneros has achieved recognition far beyond Chicano and Latino communities, to the extent that The House on Mango Street has been translated worldwide and is taught in American classrooms as a coming-of-age novel. Cisneros has held a variety of professional positions, working as a teacher, a counselor, a college recruiter, a poet-in-the-schools, and an arts administrator, and has maintained a strong commitment to community and literary causes. In 1998 she established the Macondo Foundation, which provides socially conscious workshops for writers, and in 2000 she founded the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation, which awards talented writers connected to Texas.
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Sandra "Sandi" Jackson (née Stevens, formerly Sandra Lee Stevens), was elected to the Chicago City Council as an alderman of the 7th ward (map) in the 2007 municipal elections held on February 27, 2007. She succeeds Darcel A. Beavers who had been appointed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley after the 2006 November elections to succeed her father William Beavers, Jackson's rival, as alderman of the 7th Ward. She is the wife of U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and daughter-in-law of Jesse Jackson. Her candidacy for the city council of a major city was part of national news stories in The New York Times, and thoughts of her running for a position in the United States House of Representatives was noted in Time. Jackson has also been a long-time political consultant through her solely owned consulting firm J. Donatella & Associates.
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John P. Daley is the 11th Ward Democratic Committeeman in Chicago, Illinois, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners (11th District), and the Chair of the Cook County Board Audit and Finance Committee. He has previously served in both the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives, as well as being employed as a school teacher. He is the son of former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and brother of current Mayor Richard M. Daley, as well as William M. Daley. Unlike his brothers, he continues to live in the neighborhood the family was raised in. Daley is also an insurance broker who earns several hundred thousand dollars a year in this second job. In 2005, the City of Chicago endured a hired truck corruption scandal involving bribe money. The case involved a federal investigation and criminal charges to Daley associates.
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John Washington Rogers, Jr. (born March 31, 1958) is an investment manager who founded Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments, LLC), which is the United States' largest minority-run mutual fund firm, in 1983. He is chairman and CEO of the company. He served as the Board President of the Chicago Park District for six years in the 1990s. He was captain of the 1979–80 Ivy League co-champion Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. He has performed other service as board member to several prominent companies, as a leader of several organizations affiliated with his collegiate alma mater, and as a leader in youth education in his native Chicago. He has been honored with the Woodrow Wilson Award for the breadth and depth of his service to many organizations. He has been active in the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign and is a leader of the 2009 Inauguration committee. He has been a regular contributor to Forbes magazine for most of this decade.
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Arthur "Art" Schultz was an American Republican politician. He was a five-term mayor of Joliet, Illinois, which is the fourth-largest municipality in the state, behind Chicago, and is located 35 miles (56.3 km) to the northeast, Aurora and Rockford. He was last elected in April 2007. Prior to his first election, he served in the United States Navy and in the Joliet Police Department. His first attempt at public service was highly controversial because he finished as first runner-up in the Joliet City Council election of 1989. When a sitting councilwoman died a few months after the election, he was passed over several times for the nomination which customarily is given to the runner-up in the most recent election. He returned to elective politics to defeat the mayor who refused to nominate him in the subsequent election in 1991. In his time in office, the Joliet economy turned around from the economy of a stagnant prison town with declining population to a fast-growing entertainment and tourism economy. The city benefitted from the casino industry which provided unexpected revenue. Residential and commercial construction increased and the community has seen racing tracks, a baseball stadium and several civic works develop as a result of the booming economy. Schultz did not run for reelection in the 2011 mayoral election. He died of heart disease in November 2011.
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Tom Weisner is an American Democratic politician. He is the mayor of Aurora, Illinois, which is the second-largest municipality in the state, behind Chicago. He was reelected in the spring of 2009. Prior to his election he worked for over eighteen years in high-ranking positions in the city of Aurora and for five years as a volunteer in the Peace Corps. He has been involved in several interstate new stories. In 2007, he was embroiled in an interstate advertising controversy when the Governor of Kentucky used video footage of the local casino taken on a visit to Aurora for his re-election campaign, which included a platform against gambling. In 2008, his city-wide wifi installation initiative was halted due to change in business strategy by the installing company. His decision-making skills again made headlines outside of Illinois when a Planned Parenthood clinic's permits became an issue.
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Edward Nagle "Ned" Williamson was an American Major League Baseball player for 13 seasons from 1878 until 1890. He played for the Indianapolis Blues of the National League (NL) for one season, the Chicago White Stockings (NL) for 11 seasons, and the Chicago Pirates of the Players' League for one season. From 1883 and 1887, Williamson held the single season record for both doubles and home runs. Although his record for doubles was surpassed in 1887, he held the home run record until 1919, when it was topped by Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox. Statistically, he was one of the best fielders of his era. During the first eight years of his career, he led the league, at his position, in both fielding percentage and double plays five times, and assists six times. Later, when he moved to shortstop, he again led the league in both assists and double plays. His career was shortened by a knee injury that he suffered in Paris, France, during a world-tour organized by Albert Spalding. After he left organized baseball, his health declined rapidly. He contracted Tuberculosis, and ultimately died at the age of 36 of dropsy.
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Murray Albert "Bert" Olmstead is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL). Olmstead began his career with the Black Hawks in 1949. In December 1950, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens via Detroit. Olmstead had his best statistical years playing for Montreal, leading the league in assists in 1954–55 with 48, and setting a league record for assists with 56 the following season. Olmstead was claimed in an Intra-League Draft by Toronto Maple Leafs in 1958, and played there until his retirement in 1962. In the 1967–68 season, Olmstead served as coach of the expansion Oakland Seals. Olmstead played in the Stanley Cup Finals in 11 of his 14 seasons in the NHL, winning it five times. He won it four times with Montreal, in 1953, and from 1956 to 1958, and once with Toronto, in 1962, which was his last season. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.
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William Dudley Haywood, better known as Big Bill Haywood, was a prominent figure in the American labor movement. Haywood was a leader of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM), a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America. During the first two decades of the 20th century, he was involved in several important labor battles, including the Colorado Labor Wars, the Lawrence textile strike, and other textile strikes in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Haywood was an advocate of industrial unionism, a labor philosophy that favors organizing all workers in an industry under one union, regardless of the specific trade or skill level; this was in contrast to the craft unions that were prevalent at the time, such as the AFL. His belief that workers of all ethnicities should be united also clashed with many unions. His strong preference for direct action over political tactics alienated him from the Socialist Party, and contributed to his dismissal in 1912. Never one to shy from violent conflicts, Haywood was frequently the target of prosecutors. His trial for the murder of Frank Steunenberg in 1907 (of which he was acquitted) drew national attention; in 1918, he was one of 101 IWW members convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. While out of prison during an appeal of his conviction, Haywood fled to Russia, where he spent the remaining years of his life.
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David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. Born in New York, he moved and began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater and speech. After graduation, Schwimmer co-founded the Lookingglass Theatre Company. He then appeared in a number of television roles, including L.A. Law, The Wonder Years, NYPD Blue, and Monty in the early-1990s. Schwimmer later gained worldwide recognition for playing Ross Geller in the situation comedy Friends. He starred in his first feature film The Pallbearer (1996), which was followed by roles in Kissing a Fool (1998), Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Apt Pupil, and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). He was then cast in the miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) as Herbert Sobel. Following the series finale of Friends in 2004, Schwimmer landed the role of the titular character in the 2005 drama Duane Hopwood. Other film roles include the computer animated film Madagascar (2005), the dark comedy Big Nothing (2006), the thriller Nothing But the Truth (2008), and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). Schwimmer made his London stage debut in the leading role in Some Girl(s) in 2005, for which he received critical reviews. In 2006 he made his Broadway debut in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Schwimmer made his directorial debut with the 2008 comedy Run Fatboy Run.
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Rashid Johnson is an African American socio-political photographer who produces conceptual post-black art. The 2001 Freestyle show at the Studio Museum in Harlem that was curated by Thelma Golden and that launched his career continues to be talked about to this day. He has studied at Columbia College Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been exhibited around the world and he is held in collections of many of the world's leading art museums. In addition to photography, which is where Johnson began, he presents audio (mostly music), video and sculpture art. Johnson is known for both his unusual artistic productions and for his process. He is also known for combining various science with black history so that his materials, which are formally independent, are augmented by their relation to black history.
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Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American film, theatre and television actor, comedian, voice artist and television writer. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he also voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and Hans Moleman. Born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois and graduating from Northern Illinois University, Castellaneta joined Chicago's Second City in 1983, and performed with the troupe until 1987. He was cast in The Tracey Ullman Show, which debuted in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta to voice Homer. His voice for the character started out as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but later evolved into a more robust voice. The shorts would eventually be spun off into The Simpsons. Castellaneta has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his work on the show as well as an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation in 1993. Castellaneta has also had roles in several other television programs, including the live-action sitcom Sibs and the animated series Dynamo Duck, Darkwing Duck, Back to the Future: The Animated Series, Earthworm Jim, Aladdin and Hey Arnold!. Castellaneta has also released a comedy CD, I Am Not Homer, and wrote and stars in a one man play titled Where Did Vincent van Gogh?.
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Evan Turner is an American basketball player for The Ohio State University who was born in Chicago, Illinois. Turner plays the shooting guard and small forward positions. Turner attended St. Joseph High School in Westchester, where he overshadowed at first by teammate Demetri McCamey and then later by fellow Chicago area basketball star Derrick Rose. By his senior season, he was one of the top high school basketball players at his position in the nation. He was the Big Ten Conference scoring champion for the 2008–09 season and was a first-team 2009 All-Big Ten selection. He was also selected as a member of the 2009 All-Big Ten Conference Tournament team. After the 2008–09 season he officially decided to return for his junior season in 2009-10.
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Lucien Anthony "Lu" Gambino was an American football running back. He played college football for Indiana University, and after military service in the Second World War, the University of Maryland. While playing for Maryland, he set the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season scoring high for 1947 with 16 touchdowns and 96 points and was named the 1948 Gator Bowl most valuable player. Gambino played professional football for two years with the Baltimore Colts in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), an early competitor of the National Football League (NFL).
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Victor "Vic" Aldridge, nicknamed the "Hoosier Schoolmaster," was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, and was known to be an excellent curveball pitcher. Before his playing career he was a schoolmaster, hence his nickname. His most significant actions as a player was during the 1925 World Series, where Aldridge completed and won Games two and five, only to have the most disastrous first inning in the seventh game of the World Series ever. After his retirement from baseball, he served as a state senator in the Indiana General Assembly. Aldridge is a member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, inducted in 2007.
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Lynton Keith Caldwell was an American political scientist, and the Arthur F. Bentley Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Indiana University Bloomington, where he retired in 1984. Caldwell was the internationally acclaimed author or coauthor of fifteen books and more than 250 scholarly articles, which may be found in at least 19 different languages. He served on many boards and advisory committees, as a consultant on environmental policy issues worldwide, and received numerous honors and awards.
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Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, who gave her their AP Entertainer of the Year award. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1992, Fey moved to Chicago to take classes at the improvisational comedy group The Second City, where she became a featured player in 1994. Three years later, Fey became a writer for the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). She was promoted to the position of head writer in 1999. The following year, Fey was added to the cast of SNL. During her time there, she was co-anchor of the show's Weekend Update segment. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created her own television series called 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL. In the series, Fey portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series. In 2004, Fey made her film debut as writer and co-star of the teen comedy Mean Girls. In 2008, she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama, alongside Amy Poehler. In 2009, Fey won an Emmy Award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL.
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Alex Seropian is an American video game developer, one of the initial founders and later president of Bungie, the developer of the Marathon, Myth, and Halo video game series. Seropian became interested in computer programming in college and teamed up with fellow student Jason Jones to publish Jones' game Minotaur. The two became partners, and Bungie grew to become the best-known Apple Macintosh game developer before being bought by Microsoft in 2001. In 2002, Seropian left Bungie and created Wideload Games, with the goal of streamlining game development. Wideload's small core development team worked with outside contractors to produce Stubbs the Zombie and Hail to the Chimp. Wideload was acquired by Disney in 2009. As part of the deal Seropian became vice president of game development for Disney Interactive Studios.
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Michael John "Mike" Kafka is an American football quarterback who played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats. Kafka attended St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois where he played both football and baseball. Kafka lead St. Rita Cascia to three conference championships. He ended his high school football career with 1,816 total yards and 16 touchdowns. After his senior season, he moved onto Northwestern University where he redshirted in 2005. In his first collegiate appearance, Kafka threw a 19 yard touchdown pass against Miami. Against Bowling Green, Kafka suffered a hamstring injury which kept him out until the Ohio State game. In 2007, Kafka was the backup to C. J. Bachér and played in only two games. Despite being the backup quarterback again in 2008, Kafka threw for 330 yards and finished second on the team in rushing yards with 321. Following Bachér's graduation after the 2008 season, Kafka became the starter for 2009. Before the season he was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list. Against Syracuse he set the school record for most pass completions in a row with 16. In the same game, he became the first Big Ten Conference player to score a passing, receiving and rushing touchdown since Zack Mills from Penn State in 2004. He was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Kafka received second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2009. In the 2010 Outback Bowl against Auburn, Kafka set the all-time bowl record with 47 completions and 78 passing attempts. He set Northwestern and Outback Bowl records with 532 passing yards and an Outback Bowl record with five interceptions.
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David Molk (born December 15, 1988 in Lemont, Illinois) is an American football center who has completed his redshirt sophomore season for the 2009 Michigan Wolverines football team. He has been included on the 2009 preseason watchlists for the Lombardi Award and the Rimington Trophy. However, after helping the 2009 team get off to a 3–0 start he was injured and only saw action in one more game during the season. He had started all 12 games at center and played every snap at center during his first year as a starter for the 2008 team. Molk attended high school at Chicago Southland suburb Lemont Township High School. He was an All-State selection.
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Antonin Gregory Scalia (1936–2016) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, he came to be described as the intellectual anchor of the Court's conservative wing. Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey, was raised in New York City, attended Georgetown University as an undergraduate, and obtained his law degree from Harvard Law School. After spending six years in a Cleveland law firm, he became a law school professor. In the early 1970s, he served in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He spent most of the Carter years teaching at the University of Chicago, where he became one of the first faculty advisers of the fledgling Federalist Society. In 1982, he was appointed as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Reagan. In 1986, Judge Scalia was appointed by Reagan to the Supreme Court to fill the seat as associate justice vacated when Justice William Rehnquist was elevated to Chief Justice. Scalia was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and took the bench on September 26, 1986. In his nearly three decades on the Court, Justice Scalia staked-out a conservative ideology in his opinions, advocating textualism in statutory interpretation and originalism in constitutional interpretation. He was a strong defender of the powers of the Executive Branch, believing presidential power should be paramount in many areas. He opposed affirmative action and other policies that treat minorities as groups. He filed separate opinions in a large number of cases, and, in his minority opinions, often castigated the Court's majority in scathing language.
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Tai Streets is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was selected with the second pick of the sixth round of the 1999 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Detroit Lions in 2004. He was the leading receiver for the national champion 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team. Over the course of his career he was notable for fourth quarter performances in various bowl games and NFL playoff games. As a professional athlete, he was known for his modesty. As an amateur athlete, he was known as the best high school athlete in the city of Chicago. In high school, he was an All-American in football and as a senior led his team to a 9–0 regular season before losing in the playoffs. In basketball, he was an All-State selection by numerous publications and led his team past Kevin Garnett's high school team to reach the finals of the state championship playoff tournament. Despite losing in the finals, he was the highest votegetter on the All-tournament team. In track, he was a state long jump champion as a junior and runner-up as a senior when he also helped his school's 4 × 400 metres relay team finish third in the state. In 1995, he was widely regarded as the best high school athlete in the Chicago metropolitan area, winning athlete of the year awards from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Illinois High School Association. He is considered to be one of the greatest three-sport athletes in the history of Illinois. Streets led the Michigan Wolverines football team in receiving yards each season from 1996–1998. He had two touchdown receptions in the 1998 Rose Bowl, which clinched a share of the national championship. As a senior, he was voted football team MVP and All-Big Ten Conference second-team wide receiver. That season, he posted five 100-yard games and totaled over one thousand yards. He played in the Senior Bowl. He was injured right before the 1999 draft causing him to slip from a projected second-round selection to a sixth-round choice. Streets had modest success as a professional in five seasons with the 49ers. He began as a fourth wide receiver on a team with perennial Pro Bowl receivers Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens, but he eventually became a starter before moving on to play his final season with the Lions. His career was highlighted by playoff performances in which he caught at least four receptions for at least 50 yards in all three playoff games. He recorded two fourth quarter playoff touchdowns one of which was the game-winner in a 24-point comeback victory and the other of which was a game-tying touchdown in a losing effort.
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Sherron Collins is an American basketball player who most recently played for the University of Kansas in the Big 12 of the NCAA. As an All-American member of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team, he earned a national championship in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, three Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament championships, and four consecutive Big 12 Conference regular season championships. He was regarded as one of the leaders of the team and was its captain. Collins grew up in Chicago where he was a multisport standout athlete at Crane High School. He was regarded as the second best point guard in the nation by Scout.com and was considered one of the two best class of 2006 basketball prospects in the state of Illinois (along with Jon Scheyer). Collins was a well-decorated basketball player at Kansas. He was unanimously selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team for the 2006–07 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. After leading the 2008–09 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team to the Big 12 Conference regular season title, Collins was named to the 2009 first team All-Big 12 team. That season, he was named a consensus second team 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American. He was also a consensus first team 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American as a senior and earned the Most Outstanding Player award while leading his team to the 2010 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament championship. He was included on many of the watchlists for the most prestigious college basketball awards as both a junior and senior. Collins is the all-time winningest Jayhawk over a four-year span with 130 victories, and he holds the school record for most consecutive free throws. Collins is considered a second-round 2010 NBA Draft prospect.
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Demetri McCamey, Jr. is a member of the University of Illinois basketball team who is entering his senior season for the 2009–10 team. McCamey, whose nicknames are DMac and Meechi, plays the point guard position. He is an All-Big Ten performer. He is the 2009–10 Big Ten assists champion (7.06) and the 2009–10 NCAA runner-up. He played high school basketball with Big Ten Conference foe Evan Turner on the St. Joseph High School (in Westchester) basketball team. He was a first-team All-state selections according to numerous publications. As a true sophomore, he led the 2008–09 team in scoring average, and he was chosen as a third team 2008–09 All-Big Ten Conference player by both the coaches and the media. During his junior season, he led the big ten in assists per game. He holds the Illinois single-season assist/game (7.06) and single-game assists (16) records. Following the 2009–10 All-Big Ten Conference regular season, he was named a first-team All-conference selection by both the coaches and the media. He became the first Fighting Illini to average over seven assists per game over the course of a season during the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
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E'Twaun Donte Moore is an American collegiate basketball player at Purdue University. He has completed his junior season for the 2009–10 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team. He formerly played for Central High School in East Chicago, Indiana, whom he led to the state championship. He has led the Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team in scoring in each of his first three seasons. He has been a second team All-Big Ten selection as both a freshman and a sophomore and a first-team selection as a junior. He was a two-time Academic All-Conference selection who was also a second-team Academic All-American selection at the conclusion of the 2009–10 Big Ten Conference regular season as a junior. As a junior, he was recognized as a third-team 2010 All-American selection by Yahoo! Sports and an honorable mention selection by the Associated Press.
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Jason Jones is a game developer and programmer who co-founded video game studio Bungie with Alex Seropian in 1991. Jones began programming on Apple computers in high school, assembling a multiplayer game called Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete. While attending the University of Chicago Jones met Seropian and the two formed a partnership to publish Minotaur. Following the modest success of Minotaur, Jones programmed Bungie's next game, Pathways Into Darkness, and worked on code, level design and story development for Bungie's Marathon and Myth series. For Bungie's next projects, Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, Jones took on a more managerial role as project lead. He is currently working on an unannounced video game series.
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Jonathan James "Jon" Scheyer is an All-American 6' 5" guard, who led his high school team to an Illinois state basketball championship and the 2009–10 Duke Blue Devils to the 2010 NCAA Basketball Championship. He was a prolific high school scorer, and later an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) leader in numerous statistical categories, ranging from free throw percentage and three point shots/game to assists/turnover ratio. A high school All-American, he once scored 21 points in a game's final 75 seconds of play in an attempt to spark a comeback. The 4th-leading scorer in Illinois high school history, he led his team to a state championship in 2005 and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2006. He chose Duke, for whom he moved from shooting guard to point guard towards the end of the 2008–09 season, and was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2009 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. In his senior year in 2009–10 as Duke's captain, he led the team to ACC regular season and Tournament championships and to the NCAA National Championship. He led the championship team in points per game, assists, free throw percentage, and steals per game. Scheyer was a 2010 consensus All-American (Second Team), a unanimous 2009–10 All-ACC First Team selection, and was named to the 2010 ACC All-Tournament First Team. He played the most consecutive games in Duke history (144), shot the third-highest free throw percentage (.861), shot the third-most free throws (608), shot the fourth-most 3-pointers (297), and is ranked ninth in scoring (2,077 points). He holds the ACC single-season record for minutes (1,470 in 2009–10) and the Duke freshman free throw record (115), shares the Duke record for points off the bench in a game (27), and had the third-longest streak of consecutive free throws in Duke history (40). He was not drafted in the 2010 NBA draft.
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Irving Kane Pond was an American architect, college athlete, and author. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Pond attended the University of Michigan and received a degree in civil engineering in 1879. He was a member of the first University of Michigan football team and scored the first touchdown in the school's history in May 1879. After graduating from Michigan, Pond moved to Chicago where he worked as an architect from 1879 to 1939. He began his architectural career as a draftsman in the offices of William LeBaron Jenney and worked as the head draftsman in the office of Solon Spencer Beman during the construction of the planned Pullman community. In 1886, Pond formed the Chicago architectural firm Pond and Pond in partnership with his brother Allen Bartlitt Pond. The Pond brothers worked together for more than 40 years, and their buildings are considered to be among the best examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in Chicago. The Ponds gained acclaim as the architects of Jane Addams' Hull House, and three of their buildings have been declared National Historic Landmarks -- the Hull House dining hall, the Lorado Taft Midway Studios, and the Frank R. Lillie House. Pond became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1900 and served as president of the American Institute of Architects from 1910 to 1911. Pond was also a leader in the Chicago arts community in the late 19th and early 20th Century. He was one of the founders of the Eagle's Nest Art Colony and a member of the Chicago Literary Club from 1888 to 1939. Pond was also a published author of fiction, poetry, and essays on art and architecture. He was also a frequent contributor to architectural journals and wrote for The Dial and Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman. In 1918, he published the book The Meaning of Architecture summarizing his views on the role of architecture in the broader spectrum of the arts.
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O'Brien Schofield is an American football defensive tackle/defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. As a fifth-year redshirt senior for the 2009 Wisconsin Badgers he ranked second in the nation in tackles for a loss (TFLs) and second in the Big Ten Conference in quarterback sacks. For the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, he earned several second team and honorable mention All-American recognitions by various publications. He was a first-team 2009 All-Big Ten Conference selection. He earned the defensive MVP award at the 2010 East–West Shrine Game, but was injured during practice for the 2010 Senior Bowl the subsequent week.
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Brandon Ricardo Minor is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Michigan. At Michigan, he finished second on the team in rushing as a freshman and a sophomore and led the team in rushing as a junior and a senior. As a junior, he was an honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection by the coaches. He had previously been ranked as the number one high school football fullback in the nation, according to Rivals.com. He spent his first two years at Michigan serving as one of the primary backups to Mike Hart. In his third year, he emerged from a field of five runners who were vying to replace Hart, including two true freshmen, as the leading rusher and scorer. He has shared starting responsibilities in his junior and senior seasons. He entered his senior season on the watch lists for the Doak Walker Award and the Maxwell Award. ESPN.com ranked him as the 22nd best player and 3rd best running back in the Big Ten Conference before the season started.
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John Hummer is a venture capitalist and retired professional basketball player who was an original member of the Buffalo Braves after starring for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team. He also led his high school to the 1966 Virginia State 1A championship and helped Princeton earn a 1967-68 co-Ivy League Championship as well as a 1968-69 outright Ivy League Championship. Over the course of his basketball career, he was coached by for four National Basketball Hall of Fame members. In college, Hummer was a three time All-Ivy League selection (first-team: 1969 & 1970, second team: 1968). He played for two Ivy League champion teams and served as team captain as a senior. He was a part of the first of head coach Pete Carril's thirteen Ivy League champions (1968), eleven NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament teams (1969) and three undefeated conference champions (1969). Although Hummer set no statistical records, his name continues to be ranked high in the Princeton record book by many statistical measures. He played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Braves, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics. He was the 15th overall selection in the 1970 NBA Draft and the first draft choice in the history of the Braves franchise. As a Braves draft choice, he was a somewhat controversial pick in a draft year with two All-American local products available. During his NBA career, he played for Hall of Famers Dolph Schayes, Bill Russell and Jack Ramsay. After his professional basketball career ended, he went to Stanford University to get an MBA in 1980. In 1989, he and Ann Winblad founded Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focusing on software companies.
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Ernest William Groth was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians during the 1947 and 1948 seasons and the Chicago White Sox during the 1949 season. In four career games, Groth pitched 7⅓ innings and had a 4.91 earned run average (ERA). Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Groth began his professional career in the Wisconsin State League in 1942. After his rookie season, he spent the next three years serving in the military during World War II. After he returned, he spent more time in the minor leagues, then spent parts of the 1947 and 1948 seasons with the Cleveland Indians. After the end of the 1948 season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox, and played with them in 1949. He spent the next seven seasons pitching in the minor leagues, retiring at the end of the 1956 season. After his retirement, he ran Groth's Nursery and worked for Standard Steel, and died in 2004.
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William "Bill" Mosienko was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks. He is best noted for recording the fastest hat trick in NHL history. In a 1952 game against the New York Rangers, Mosienko scored three goals in 21 seconds. In the NHL, Mosienko won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1945 as the most gentlemanly player in the league, played in five All-Star Games and was twice named to the second All-Star Team. He left the league in 1955 to help bring professional hockey to his hometown of Winnipeg. He helped create the Winnipeg Warriors of the Western Hockey League and was a three-time All-Star in his four years of play in the league. He won the league championship in 1956. Mosienko was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965 and into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1980.
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Ninian Edwards was a founding political figure of the U.S. state of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818, as one of the first two United States Senators from Illinois from 1818 to 1824, and as the third Governor of Illinois from 1826 to 1830. In a time and place where personal coalitions were more influential than parties, Edwards led one of the two main factions in frontier Illinois politics. Born in Maryland, Edwards began his political career in Kentucky, where he served as a legislator and judge. He rose to the position of Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1808, at the time Kentucky's highest court. In 1809, U.S. President James Madison appointed him to govern the newly created Illinois Territory. He held that post for three terms, overseeing the territory's transition first to democratic "second grade" government, and then to statehood in 1818. On its second day in session, the Illinois General Assembly elected Edwards to the U.S. Senate, where conflict with political rivals damaged him politically. Edwards won an unlikely 1826 election to become Governor of Illinois. Conflict with the legislature over state bank regulations marked Edwards' administration, as did the pursuit of Indian removal. As governor or territorial governor he twice sent Illinois militia against Native Americans, in the Peoria and Winnebago Wars, and signed treaties for the cession of Native American land. Edwards returned to private life when his term ended in 1830 and died of cholera two years later.
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Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American writer and journalist. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement, influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway's fiction was successful because the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that reverberated with his audience. Many of his works are classics of American literature. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published after his death. Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving high school he worked for a few months as a reporter, before leaving for the Italian front to become an ambulance driver during World War I, which became the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms. He was seriously wounded and returned home within the year. In 1922 Hemingway married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives, and the couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent. During his time there he met and was influenced by modernist writers and artists of the 1920s expatriate community known as the "Lost Generation". His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was written in 1924. After divorcing Hadley Richardson in 1927 Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced following Hemingway's return from covering the Spanish Civil War, after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940, but he left her for Mary Welsh Hemingway after World War II, during which he was present at D-Day and the liberation of Paris. Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cuba during the 1930s and '40s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.
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David Alexander Johnston was an American volcanologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) who was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. One of the principal scientists on the monitoring team, Johnston died while manning an observation post about 6 miles (10 km) from the volcano on the morning of May 18, 1980. He was the first to report the eruption, transmitting the message "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" before being swept away by the lateral blast created by the collapse of the mountain's north flank. Though Johnston's remains have never been found, remnants of his USGS trailer were found by state highway workers in 1993. Johnston's comprehensive, although truncated, career took him across the United States, where he studied Augustine Volcano in Alaska, the San Juan volcanic field in Colorado, and long-extinct volcanoes in Michigan. Johnston was a meticulous and talented scientist who was known for his analyses of volcanic gases and their relationship to eruptions. This, along with his enthusiasm and positive attitude, made him liked and respected by many of his co-workers. After his death, other scientists lauded his character both verbally and in dedications and letters. Johnston felt that scientists must do what is necessary, including taking risks, to help protect the public from natural disasters. His work and that of his fellow USGS scientists convinced the authorities to close Mount St. Helens to the general public prior to the 1980 eruption, and to maintain the closure in spite of heavy pressure to re-open the area; their work saved thousands of lives. His story has become part of the popular image of volcanic eruptions and their threat to society, and also part of the history of volcanology. To date, Johnston is one of just two American volcanologists known to have been killed in volcanic eruptions. Following his death, Johnston was commemorated in several ways, including a memorial fund set up in his name at the University of Washington to fund graduate-level research. Two volcano observatories were established and named after him: one in Vancouver, Washington, and the other on the ridge where he died. Johnston's life and death have been featured in several documentaries, films, docudramas and books about the eruption. Along with other people killed by the volcano, Johnston's name is inscribed on memorials dedicated to their memory.
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Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Heat are his eighth different NBA team. He was drafted fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. A former All-Star and All-NBA power forward, he also starred as an All-American on the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team during the Fab Five years and, earlier, on the Chicago Vocational Career Academy team as a center. In addition to being an All-American in high school, he was an honors student. Howard was a member of the Fab Five (along with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson) that reached the finals of the 1992 and 1993 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division I Basketball Championship as freshmen and sophomores. He played six and a half seasons for the Bullets/Wizard franchise and has played three full seasons for the Houston Rockets. He has not played more than two seasons for any other teams. During his rookie year as a professional, he became the first player to graduate on time with his class after leaving college early to play in the NBA. After one season as an All-Rookie player and a second as an All-NBA performer, he became the first NBA player to sign a $100 million contract. In 2010, he entered his 17th NBA season. The 2005–06 NBA season was the most recent in which he was a starter in more than half of the games in which he played and averaged more than 30 minutes per game. Howard has developed a reputation as a humanitarian for his civic commitment.
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Clark Daniel Shaughnessy was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation", although that system had previously been used as early as the 1880s. Shaughnessy did, however, modernize the obsolescent T formation to make it once again relevant in the sport. He employed his innovations most famously on offense, but on the defensive side of the ball as well, and he earned a reputation as a ceaseless experimenter. Shaughnessy held head coaching positions at Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, the University of Chicago, Stanford University, the University of Maryland, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Hawaii, and in the National Football League with the Los Angeles Rams. Shaughnessy also served in advisory capacities with the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. He reached the height of his success in 1940, in his first season at Stanford, where he led the Indians to an undefeated season that culminated with a Rose Bowl victory. That year, he also helped prepare the Chicago Bears for the 1940 NFL Championship Game, in which they routed Washington, 73–0. Shaughnessy's successes showcased the effectiveness of the T formation and encouraged its widespread adoption. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Shaughnessy also coached college basketball at Tulane University. He played college football at the University of Minnesota.
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Stephen Tyrone Colbert (born on May 13, 1964) is an American political satirist, writer, comedian and television host. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits. Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in improvisational theatre when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically acclaimed sketch comedy series Exit 57. Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series Strangers with Candy. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter as closeted gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show, however, that first introduced him to a wide audience. In 2005, he left The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to host a spin-off series, The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as The O'Reilly Factor. Since its debut, the series has established itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006. His book I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (or Point de Sable, Point au Sable, Point Sable) is widely regarded as the first permanent resident of Chicago, Illinois. Little is known of his life prior to the 1770s. In 1779, he was living on the site of present-day Michigan City, Indiana when he was arrested by the British military on suspicion of being an American sympathizer. In the early 1780s he worked for the British lieutenant-governor of Michilimackinac on an estate at what is now the city of St. Clair, Michigan before moving to settle at the mouth of the Chicago River. He is first recorded living in Chicago in early 1790, having apparently become established sometime earlier. He sold his property in Chicago in 1800 and moved to St. Charles, Missouri, where he died on August 28, 1818. He has become known as the "Founder of Chicago" and the place where he settled at the mouth of the Chicago River in the 1780s is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, now located in Pioneer Court.
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René Gary Wayne Bourque (born December 10, 1981) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who currently plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, Bourque was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent in 2004 and made his NHL debut in 2005–06. He spent three years in Chicago before a 2008 trade sent him to Calgary where he has established himself as a key offensive player for the Flames. Bourque is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where he played four seasons of hockey and served as a co-captain in his senior year. He turned professional in 2004 when he joined the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). He won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the league's rookie of the year in 2004–05 before beginning his NHL career. Bourque has played for the Canadian national team at the 2010 IIHF World Championship. Of Métis heritage, Bourque has initiated several charitable causes dedicated to encouraging aboriginal children and helping youth from rural Northern Alberta afford the cost of playing hockey.
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Rogers Hornsby, Sr., was an American Major League Baseball infielder, manager, and coach. Nicknamed "The Rajah", he played 23 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933), New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). Hornsby accumulated 2,930 hits, 301 home runs, and a .358 batting average during his career, was named the National League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) two times, and was a member of one World Series championship team. Hornsby's major league career started when the St. Louis Cardinals signed him in 1915. He remained with the Cardinals until 1926, and he won a World Series with the team that year. After the season, he was traded to the New York Giants. He spent one season with them before getting traded to the Boston Braves, and he spent one season with the Braves before getting traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played with the Cubs until they released him in 1932. He then re-signed with the Cardinals in 1933, but he was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Browns during the season. He remained with the Browns until his final season in 1937. Hornsby managed each of these teams all or part of the time that he played for them, and he also managed the Browns and the Cincinnati Reds in the 1950s after his career had ended. Hornsby was one of the best batters ever to play major league baseball. His career batting average of .358 is second only to Ty Cobb in major league history. He also won two Triple Crowns, and he batted .400 or more three times during his career. He is the only player to hit 40 home runs and bat .400 in the same year (1922). His batting average for the 1924 season was .424, a mark that no player since has matched. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942.
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Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam, arrived at Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later. Till was returned to Chicago and his mother, who had raised him mostly by herself, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. Tens of thousands attended his funeral or viewed his casket and images of his mutilated body were published in black magazines and newspapers, rallying popular black support and white sympathy across the U.S. The trial attracted a vast amount of press attention. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till's kidnapping and murder, but a year later, protected by double jeopardy, they admitted to killing him in a magazine interview. Till's murder is noted as one of the leading events that motivated the Civil Rights Movement. Problems identifying Till affected the trial, partially leading to Bryant's and Milam's acquittals, and the case was officially reopened by the United States Department of Justice in 2004. As part of the investigation, the body was exhumed and autopsied resulting in a positive identification.
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Matt Striebel is a lacrosse midfielder who currently plays professional field lacrosse for the Chicago Machine of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). He has also played professional box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1998 through 2001 and the Princeton Tigers men's soccer team from 1997 through 2000.During his time at Princeton, the team qualified for the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship all four years, reached the championship game three times, won the championship game twice and won four Ivy League championships. He was a two-time honorable mention United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American and three-time All-Ivy League selection (once first team, twice second team). He was also an All-Ivy league performer in soccer and earned Princeton co-athlete of the year honors as a senior. As a professional, he has earned three MLL championships, MLL All-Star recognition and an MLL championship game MVP award. He is also a three-time Team USA representative and two-time World Lacrosse Championship gold medalist.
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Maurice Gerrard "Mo" Douglass (born February 12, 1964 in Muncie, Indiana) is a high school football head coach (known as Coach Doug) and former American football safety who played eleven seasons in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants. Douglass played college football at the University of Kentucky after transferring from Coffeyville Community College. Douglass played nine seasons with the Bears on special teams and as a nickel back. He then played two seasons with the Giants. In his early years, he was a witness in a federal trial involving illegal activities by a pair of sports agents. In high school, he had played for Trotwood-Madison High School and graduated in 1982. He returned to coach the team in 2001. In 2007, he led the team to the playoffs for the first time in 25 years. That year, he was accused of luring players from other teams and found guilty the following year, which was met with a brief suspension.
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Louis Joseph "Lou" Sebille was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and later the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He rose to the rank of Major and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 5, 1950 in South Korea during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. Born in Michigan, Sebille worked as an MC in Chicago, Illinois before joining the US Army Air Corps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Sebille flew B-26 Marauder bombers over Europe from 1943 to 1945 and was highly decorated for his 68 combat missions. Sebille eventually accrued more than 3,000 hours of flying time. He briefly became an airline pilot before returning to the Air Force before the start of the Korean War. Sebille commanded the 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at the outbreak of the Korean War, flying F-51 Mustangs in close air support and air strike missions. During one such mission, Sebille attacked a North Korean armored column advancing on United Nations units. Though his aircraft was heavily damaged and he was wounded during the first pass on the column, he turned his plane around and attacked again, deliberately crashing into the convoy at the cost of his life. After his death, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
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William Allen "Bill" Stein is a retired professional baseball player and manager. His playing career spanned 17 seasons, 14 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–73), the Chicago White Sox (1974–76), the Seattle Mariners (1977–1980), and the Texas Rangers (1981–85). Over his career in the majors Stein batted .267 with 122 doubles, 18 triples, 44 home runs, and 311 runs batted in (RBIs) in 959 games played. Stein played numerous fielding positions over his major league career, including third base, second base, first base, left field, right field, and shortstop. He also spent significant time as a pinch hitter. Stein was drafted out of Southern Illinois University during the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his professional debut that season in their minor league organization. On September 6, 1972, Stein made his MLB debut with the Cardinals. During the 1973 season, St. Louis traded him to the California Angels, who just a few months later, traded him to the Chicago White Sox. Stein was selected by the Seattle Mariners from the White Sox in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft. He came to his final team, the Texas Rangers, by way of free agency. After his playing career, Stein managed in the New York Mets minor league organization for four seasons (1988–1991). He managed the non-affiliated Bend Bucks in 1991, and joined the Clinton Giants in 1992, who were minor league affiliates of the San Francisco Giants at the time. He also managed the independent league Tyler WildCatters in 1994.
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Samuel "Sam" Babson Fuld is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. Despite being diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 10, Fuld began his baseball career by twice batting .600 in high school, during which time Baseball America ranked him 19th in the country. He played college baseball at Stanford. There, he was a two-time All American, set the school record for career runs scored, and established the College World Series record for career hits. Fuld was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2004. He was an All Star two years later in the Florida State League. A year after that, he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Arizona Fall League. In the minors, as a result of his fearless defense, he was referred to as "a crash test dummy with a death wish", a "human wrecking ball act," a "wall magnet," and a "manager's dream and a trainer's worst nightmare." Fuld made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2007. He became a fan favorite for his acrobatic defense, and his tendency to run into outfield walls while making sparkling catches. Despite his batting .299 in his longest stint with the Cubs, the team never gave him a consistent chance, and limited his play to only late-season call-ups over three years. After the 2010 season, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Fuld made the Rays' 2011 opening day roster, and won the jobs of starting left fielder and lead-off hitter by mid-April. Due to early-season heroics, including a "Superman-esque" catch, he was dubbed "Superman", "Super Sam", and "The Legendary Sam Fuld". He became an internet legend as his catch was put to Superman-theme music in a YouTube video, and Twitter tweets about him went viral. In late April, he led the American League in both batting average and steals.
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Emilie Autumn Liddell, better known by her stage name Emilie Autumn, is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and violinist. Autumn draws influence for her music—the style of which she has alternatively labeled as "Victoriandustrial" and glam rock—from plays, novels, and history, particularly the Victorian era. Performing with her all-female backing band The Bloody Crumpets, Autumn incorporates elements of classical music, cabaret, electronica, and glam rock with theatrics, burlesque, and "flamboyant" outfits. Outspoken about bipolar disorder and her experience in a modern-day psychiatric ward, she has written an autobiographical novel, 2010's The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. Growing up in Malibu, California, she began learning the violin at the age of four and left regular school five years later with the goal of becoming a world-class violinist; she practiced eight or nine hours a day and read a wide range of literature. Progressing to writing her own music and poetry, she studied under various teachers and went to Indiana University, which she left over issues regarding the relationship between classical music and the appearance of the performer. Through her own independent label Traitor Records, Autumn debuted with her classical album On a Day: Music for Violin & Continuo, followed by the release in 2002 of her supernaturally themed album Enchant. She appeared in singer Courtney Love's backing band on her 2004 America's Sweetheart tour and returned to the United States. She released the 2006 album Opheliac with the German label Trisol Music Group. In 2007, she released Laced/Unlaced; the re-release of On a Day... appeared as Laced with songs on the electric violin as Unlaced. She later left Trisol to join New York-based The End Records in 2009 and release Opheliac in the United States, where previously it had only been available as an import. Currently she is working on an album entitled Fight Like A Girl.
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Walter Edward "Jiggs" Parrott was a professional baseball player whose career spanned eight seasons, four of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Chicago Colts (1892–95). Parrott, an infielder, compiled a career batting average of .235 with 174 runs scored, 309 hits, 35 doubles, 23 triples, six home runs and 152 runs batted in (RBIs) in 317 games played. Although the majority of his career was spent in the major leagues, Parrott also played in minor league baseball. He got his start playing amateur baseball with the East Portland Willamettes. His professional baseball debut came in 1890 as a member of the Portland Webfeet. Parrott was the first MLB player from Oregon. He stood at 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg). His brother, Tom Parrott, was also an MLB player and a teammate of his on the Chicago Colts.
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Gery Chico is a Chicago lawyer, public official, and former candidate for Mayor of Chicago. On June 7, 2011, Chico was named Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. Chico served as the Chief of Staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley from 1992 to 1995, and board president of the Chicago Public Schools from 1995 to 2001. He was named Outstanding School Board President by the Illinois State Board of Education in 1997. From 2007 to 2010, he was board president of the Chicago Park District, and in 2010 he was board president of the City Colleges of Chicago. With a Mexican-American father and a Greek-Lithuanian mother, he grew up in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood. He majored in political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago while volunteering in his political ward at the same time. He later worked for the Chicago City Council Finance Committee and received a law degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Chico ran a failed campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Illinois in 2004.
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Wadsworth Aekins Jarrell is an African-American painter, sculptor and printmaker. Born in Albany, Georgia, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduation, he became heavily involved in the local art scene and through his early work he explored the working life of blacks in Chicago and found influence in the sights and sounds of jazz music. In the late 1960s he opened WJ Studio and Gallery, where, along with his wife, Jae, he hosted regional artists and musicians. Mid-1960s Chicago saw a rise in racial violence leading to the examination of race relations and black empowerment by local artists. Jarrell became involved in the Organization of Black American Culture, a group that would serve as a launching pad for the era's black art movement. In 1967, OBAC artists created the Wall of Respect, a mural in Chicago that depicted African American heroes and is credited with triggering the political mural movement in Chicago and beyond. In 1969, Jarrell co-founded AFRI-COBRA: African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists. AFRI-COBRA would become internationally acclaimed for their politically themed art and use of "coolaid colors" in their paintings. Jarrell's career took him to Africa in 1977, where he found inspiration in the Senufo people of Nigeria. Upon return to the United States he moved to Georgia and taught at the University of Georgia. In Georgia, he began to use a bricklayer's trowel on his canvases, creating a textured appearance within his already visually active paintings. The figures often seen in his paintings are abstract and inspired by the masks and sculptures of Nigeria. These Nigerian arts have also inspired Jarrell's totem sculptures. Living and working in Cleveland, Jarrell continues to explore the contemporary African American experience through his paintings, sculptures, and prints. His work is found in the collections of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, High Museum of Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem and the University of Delaware.
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Douglas Wagner Bentley was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers as part of a senior and professional career that spanned nearly three decades. He was named to four NHL All-Star Teams in his career and was the scoring leader in points and goals in 1942–43 and again in goals in 1943–44. Bentley was one of six hockey playing brothers and at one point played with four of his brothers with the Drumheller Miners of the Alberta Senior Hockey League. He made NHL history when he played on the league's first all-brother line with Max and Reg in 1943. Injuries forced him out of the NHL in 1951, but he returned in 1953–54 to play one last season for the Rangers with Max. He spent several seasons as a player-coach for the Saskatoon Quakers, leading the team to the Pacific Coast Hockey League championship in 1952. Bentley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.
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Maxwell Herbert Lloyd Bentley was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) as part of a professional and senior career that spanned 20 years. He was a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL's leading scorer, and in 1946 won the Hart Trophy as most valuable player. He played in four All-Star Games and was twice named to a post-season All-Star team. Bentley was one of six hockey-playing brothers, and at one point played with four of his brothers with the Drumheller Miners of the Alberta Senior Hockey League. In 1942–43, he made NHL history when he played on the league's first all-brother line with Doug and Reg. He played five seasons in Chicago with Doug before a 1947 trade sent him to the Maple Leafs in one of the most significant transactions in NHL history to that point. Bentley won three Stanley Cup championships with the Maple Leafs before spending a final NHL season with the Rangers in 1953–54. He then returned to his home in Saskatoon to finish his playing career. Considered one of the best players of his era, Bentley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
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Thurman Lowell Tucker was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for nine seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. In 701 career games, Tucker recorded a batting average of .255, had 24 triples, 9 home runs, and 179 runs batted in (RBI). He was nicknamed "Joe E." Tucker because of his resemblance to comedian Joe E. Brown. Born and raised in Texas, Tucker first played professionally with the Siloam Springs Travelers. He gradually progressed through minor league baseball until he was signed by the Chicago White Sox before the 1941 season. He made his major league debut for the team a year later and spent two seasons as their starting center fielder before enlisting in the armed forces for World War II. Upon his return, Tucker played two more seasons for the White Sox. Subsequently, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians, for whom he played four seasons, and continued to play minor league baseball throughout the 1950s. After retirement, he became a major league scout and insurance agent. He died in 1993.
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Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. Raised in Chicago, Fiasco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In 2006, Fiasco released his debut album Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. He released his second album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. He released Lasers on March 8, 2011 after a two-year delay. The album's lead single "The Show Goes On" peaked at number 9 on the chart, thus becoming his most successful single since "Superstar". In addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok. He has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music.
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Jabari Ali Parker (born March 15, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, after one season of playing for Duke University. He played four seasons for the Bucks. Then, he played with 5 different teams over the course of 4 more NBA seasons. Parker was a standout high school athlete, helping his team win four straight Illinois state championships for Simeon Career Academy, and was named the National High School Player of the Year by Gatorade and McDonald's. In his freshman year for the 2013–14 Duke Blue Devils, he was named a consensus first-team All-American, the USBWA National Freshman of the Year, and the runner-up for the John R. Wooden Award (College Player of the Year).
Among the most accomplished high school basketball players in American history, Parker has been often referred to as a tragic tale due to his numerous injuries and lack of success in the NBA. In the summer of 2023 and following a year away from professional basketball, he signed for FC Barcelona and quickly became an important part of their rotation and championship aspirations. His successful transition from the NBA marked a rebirth in his career. (Full article...)
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Curtis Granderson is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the New York Yankees. Before joining the Yankees in 2010, he played for the Detroit Tigers (2004–2009). Granderson is a left-handed batter who throws right-handed. A center fielder, Granderson is known for being a five-tool player. He is a two-time MLB All-Star (2009 and 2011) and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2011. Off the field, Granderson is recognized for his commitment to the community through outreach and charity work. Many of his charitable endeavors support inner city children. He has also served as an ambassador for MLB abroad. Granderson won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in 2009 for his on-field performance and contributions in the community.
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William Samuel Sadler was an American psychiatrist and author who played a key role in the creation of the The Urantia Book and the spiritual and philosophical movement it spawned. A native of Indiana, he moved to Michigan to work at the Battle Creek Sanitarium as a teenager and became acquainted with John Harvey Kellogg. Sadler was influenced by some of Kellogg's views, and married his niece, Lena Celestia Kellogg. As a young man, Sadler worked for several Christian missionary and charitable organizations and attended American Medical Missionary College. He graduated in 1906 and studied psychiatry in Europe under Sigmund Freud in 1910. After finishing his education, Sadler practiced medicine in Chicago as a surgeon and psychiatrist. He joined several medical associations, and taught at the McCormick Theological Seminary and the Post-Graduate Medical School of Chicago. In 1907, along with his wife, Sadler became a speaker on the Chautauqua adult-education circuit. He eventually became a highly-paid, popular speaker. He wrote many books on a variety of medical and spiritual topics, advocating a holistic approach to health. Although he was a committed member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for almost twenty years, he left the church after the excommunication of John Harvey Kellogg in 1907. Nevertheless, Sadler extolled the value of prayer and religion, but embraced scientific consensus and was skeptical of mediums. He worked with Howard Thurston in his efforts to debunk psychics. Around 1911, Sadler attempted to treat a patient with an unusual sleep condition. While sleeping, the man spoke to Sadler and claimed to be an extraterrestrial. After unsuccessful attempts to explain the phenomena, Sadler decided that the man's statements were accurate. For many years, Salder and a small number of assistants visited the man while he was sleeping to converse about spirituality, history, and cosmology. A larger number of interested people met as a group at Sadler's home to discuss the man's responses and to suggested additional questions. The man's words were eventually compiled in The Urantia Book, and the Urantia Foundation was created to spread its message. Although it never became the basis of an organized religion, the book attracted committed followers who devoted themselves to its study. Sadler had close ties to the Urantia Foundation until his death in 1969.
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Christopher J. "Kit" Mueller is a retired American basketball player. He played high school basketball in the Chicago metropolitan area for Downers Grove South High School. Subsequently, he starred for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team, where he was a two-time Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year (1990 and 1991) and three-time first team All-Ivy League player (1989, 1990 and 1991) as a center. He was also a two-time Academic All-America selection. As an All-Ivy League performer, he led his team to three consecutive Ivy League Championships and NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments. He matriculated to Princeton University, after an injury late in his senior year caused other Division I schools to withdraw their offers. As of 2011[update], he continues to rank second in school history in career assists (381) and points (1546). He led the team in rebounds all four seasons and in points, assists and blocked shots three times each. He led the Ivy League in field goal percentage three times and ranks third all-time in Princeton history in that statistic for his career. The team earned three consecutive Ivy League championships during his career, including an undefeated conference record during his senior season. Despite the team's success and his individual accolades, his Princeton tenure was punctuated by three NCAA Tournament first round losses by a total of seven points, most notably the March 17, 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament first round 50–49 loss to the number-one seeded Georgetown Hoyas team featuring Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo as well as 1989 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Charles Smith. After his collegiate career ended, Mueller played professional basketball in Switzerland. Then he returned to Chicago, where he became a hedge fund trader. In Chicago, he has played amateur 3-on-3 basketball with other Ivy League athletes at national competitions.
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Donald John "Don" Kindt, Sr. was an American defensive back and halfback who played nine seasons from 1947 to 1955 for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League. Kindt played college football for the University of Wisconsin Badgers primarily as an halfback from 1943–1946, missing the 1944 and half of the 1945 season because of World War II. He was the starting halfback for the Badgers for most of his college career. Kindt decided to forgo his senior season at Wisconsin in order to be eligible for the 1947 NFL Draft. He was selected with the last pick of the first round (eleventh overall) by the Bears despite having an history with injuries, and recovering from an off-season knee surgery he suffered while playing a basketball game at Wisconsin. After playing dual positions in his first few seasons with the Bears, Kindt was used primarily on defense for his last six seasons in the league. Considered to be a defensive standout during his playing career, Kindt was selected to participate in one Pro Bowl, and led the team in interceptions several times. His son Don Kindt, Jr. also played in the National Football League, as a tight end for the Bears during the 1987 season.
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Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive stature, he was one of the most accomplished power hitters in the game during the late 1920s and early 1930s. His 1930 season with the Cubs is widely considered one of the most memorable individual single-season hitting performances in baseball history. Highlights included 56 home runs (the National League record for 68 years) and 191 runs batted in, a mark yet to be surpassed. As one sportswriter of the day remarked, "For a brief span of a few years, this hammered down little strongman actually rivaled the mighty [Babe] Ruth."[1] While Wilson's combativeness and excessive alcohol consumption made him one of the most colorful sports personalities of his era, his drinking and fighting undoubtedly contributed to a premature end to his athletic career and, ultimately, his premature demise. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
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Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was an orchestral and operatic conductor, best known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Born in Hungary, he studied in Budapest with Béla Bartók, Leo Weiner and Ernő Dohnányi. In the 1930s, he was a répétiteur at the Hungarian State Opera and worked at the Salzburg Festival for Arturo Toscanini. His career was interrupted by the rise of the Nazis, and because he was a Jew he fled the increasingly restrictive anti-semitic laws in 1938. After conducting a season of Russian ballet in London at the Royal Opera House he found refuge in Switzerland, where he remained during the Second World War. Not permitted to conduct there, he earned a living as a pianist. After the war Solti was appointed musical director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich from 1946. In 1952 he moved to the Frankfurt Opera, where he remained in charge for nine years. He took German citizenship in 1953. In 1961 he became musical director of the Covent Garden Opera Company in London. During his ten-year tenure, he introduced changes that saw standards raised to the highest international levels. Under his musical directorship the status of the company was recognised with the grant of the title "the Royal Opera". He became a British subject in 1972. In 1969 Solti was appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for 22 years. He restored the orchestra's reputation after it had been in decline for most of the previous decade. He became the orchestra's music director laureate on his retirement in 1991. During his time with the Chicago orchestra, he also had shorter spells in charge of the Orchestre de Paris and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a prolific recording artist, making more than 250 recordings, including 45 complete opera sets. The most famous of his recordings is probably Decca's complete set of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, made between 1958 and 1965. It has twice been voted the greatest recording ever made, in polls for Gramophone magazine in 1999 and the BBC's Music Magazine in 2012.
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Avery Brundage was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), serving from 1952 to 1972. The only American to attain that position, Brundage is remembered as a zealous advocate of amateurism, and for his involvement with the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics, both held in Germany. Raised mostly by relatives, he attended the University of Illinois to study engineering and became a track star. In 1912, he competed in the Summer Olympics, contesting the pentathlon and decathlon, but did not medal; both events were won by Jim Thorpe. He won national championships in track three times between 1914 and 1918, and founded his own construction business—although he earned no money through sports, his company made him rich. Following his retirement from athletics, Brundage became a sports administrator, rising rapidly through the ranks in United States sports groups. As leader of America's Olympic organizations, he fought zealously against a boycott of the 1936 Summer Olympics, which had been awarded to Germany before the rise of its Nazi government and its subsequent, escalating mistreatment of Jews. Although Brundage was successful in getting a team to the Games in Berlin, its participation was controversial, and has remained so. Brundage was elected to the IOC that year, and quickly became a major figure in the Olympic movement. He was elected IOC president in 1952. As president, Brundage fought strongly for amateurism and against commercialization of the Olympic Games, even as these stands came to be seen as incongruous with the realities of modern sports. His final Olympics as president, at Munich in 1972, was marked by controversy: at the memorial service following the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by terrorists, Brundage decried the politicization of sports, and refusing to cancel the remainder of the Olympics, declared "the Games must go on". Although Brundage's statement was applauded, his decision to continue the Games has since been harshly criticized. In retirement, Brundage married a German princess; he died in 1975.
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John William Shurna is a Lithuanian-American college basketball player for the Northwestern Wildcats basketball team who has completed his senior season for the 2011–12 team. He is the 2012 Big Ten scoring champion. He has been a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection (2010-2nd team; 2011-3rd team coaches/honorable mention media; 2012-1st team) and the Northwestern statistical leader in several categories. He was the 2010 Sporting News Most Improved Player. He holds several Northwestern all-time records, including single-season and career scoring. He was selected as an honorable mention Associated Press 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American. He won the State Farm College 3-Point Championship three-point shooting contest at the 2012 Final Four. In high school, he was the 2008 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 4A Slam Dunk Champion. He was a member of the gold-medal-winning USA Basketball team at the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.
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Quincy Cortez Miller is an American college basketball player for the Baylor University Bears men's basketball team. He has completed his true freshman season as a forward for the 2011–12 team. He was born and raised in the Chicago metropolitan area until the age of 13, at which point, he moved to live with an uncle in North Carolina so that he could live a better life. He attended four different high schools, but eventually became one of the top ten high school basketball prospects in the class of 2011. He played for USA Basketball in the 2010 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. Early in his senior year, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rendering him incapable of playing the remainder of the season. In his freshman season at Baylor University, the team set school records for its best start (17–0), longest winning streak (17) and highest ranking (3/3). Following the 2011–12 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season, he was named the Big 12 co-Freshman of the Year and was recognized as an honorable mention All-Big 12 and a Big 12 All-Rookie Team selection by the Big 12 coaches. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year by Sporting News.
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Philip Gregory Humber is a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. He has pitched for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, and White Sox. Although he debuted in the major leagues in 2006 and worked mostly as a starter in the minor leagues, he did not become a regular Major League starter until 2011. He bats and throws right-handed. Humber earned three Texas Little League state championships. He subsequently played for the high school baseball team at Carthage High School in Carthage, Texas. Humber led his high school baseball team to the state championship game in his senior season as state Player of the Year. He then attended Rice University, where he played college baseball for the Rice Owls baseball team. Humber was the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the 2003 College World Series. He has also represented the United States at the World University Baseball Championship. The Mets selected Humber with the third overall selection in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft out of Rice. He underwent Tommy John surgery while pitching in minor league baseball, before making his MLB debut with the Mets. It took him several years to regain his velocity after the surgery. After being traded to the Twins for Johan Santana, Humber struggled to establish himself. He spent a year with the Royals organization and was briefly a member of the Oakland Athletics organization, before being claimed on waivers by the White Sox in 2011, getting an opportunity to pitch in the White Sox' starting rotation. On April 21, 2012, Humber pitched the 21st perfect game in MLB history, defeating the Seattle Mariners.
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Anthony Davis, Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American college basketball player at the University of Kentucky. He has completed his freshman season for the 2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats and declared for the 2012 NBA Draft. He plays power forward and center. He was a 2012 NCAA Consensus First team All-American (unanimous) and was the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season blocks leader. He established Southeastern Conference single-season blocked shots and NCAA Division I freshman blocked shots records. He has also earned the national Freshman, Defensive Player and Big Man awards. In addition, he has been named the 2012 National Player of the Year by various organizations, earning the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Adolph Rupp Trophy, the Associated Press Player of the Year, Naismith Award, Sporting News Player of the Year and John R. Wooden Award. He was the Southeastern Conference's player, freshman and defensive player of the year. He helped lead Kentucky to an undefeated 2011–12 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season and was the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player when Kentucky won the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. As a high school basketball player for Chicago's Perspectives Charter School, he was unknown nationally and locally after three seasons of play in the lightly regarded Blue Division of the Chicago Public High School League. A "late bloomer", he emerged into prominence in April 2010 (the spring of his junior year) after a growth spurt and exposure on an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) traveling team made him a blue chip prospect. Within months, he was the top-rated player in the national class of 2011 by Scout.com and ESPN.com and the number two player by Rivals.com. He was a high school All-American by every major selector (ESPN, Jordan, McDonald's, Parade, USA Today) and earned Co-MVP honors at the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic.
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Roger Philip Bresnahan (1879 –1944), nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee", was an American player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Bresnahan competed in MLB for the Washington Senators (1897), Chicago Orphans (1900), Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902), New York Giants (1902–1908), St. Louis Cardinals (1909–1912) and Chicago Cubs (1913–1915). Bresnahan also managed the Cardinals (1909–1912) and Cubs (1915). He was a member of the 1905 World Series champions. Bresnahan opened his MLB career as a pitcher. He also served as an outfielder, before becoming a regular catcher. For his MLB career, Bresnahan had a .279 batting average in 4,480 at bats and a 328–432 managerial win–loss record. Bresnahan popularized the use of protective equipment in baseball. He introduced shin guards to be worn by a catcher in 1907. He also developed the first batting helmet. After retiring as a player, Bresnahan remained active in professional baseball. He owned the minor league Toledo Mud Hens and coached for the Giants and Detroit Tigers. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 by the Veterans Committee.
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Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett (1900 – 1972) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played almost his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1922 to 1940. He spent the final season of his career as a player-coach for the New York Giants in 1941. After his playing career, he continued his involvement in baseball as a coach and as a minor league manager. Hartnett was an all-around player, performing well both offensively and defensively. Known for his strong and accurate throwing arm, he routinely led the National League's catchers in caught stealing percentage and was the first major league catcher to hit more than 20 home runs in a season. During the course of his career, he took part of some of the most memorable events in Major League Baseball history including; Babe Ruth's Called Shot during the 1932 World Series, Carl Hubbell's strike out performance in the 1934 All-Star Game and Dizzy Dean's career-altering injury during the 1937 All-Star Game. But the greatest moment of Hartnett's career came with one week left in the 1938 season, when he hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to put the Cubs into first place. The event, which occurred as darkness descended onto Wrigley Field, became immortalized as the Homer in the Gloamin'. Until the career of Johnny Bench, Hartnett was considered the greatest catcher in the history of the National League. A six-time All-Star, he appeared in four World Series during his playing career. At the time of his retirement, Hartnett held the career records for catchers in home runs, runs batted in, hits, doubles and in most games played as a catcher. Hartnett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
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Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby (1923 – 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Camden, South Carolina and three-sport all-state athlete while in high school in Paterson, New Jersey, Doby accepted a basketball scholarship from Long Island University. At 17 he became the Newark Eagles' second basemen. Doby joined the United States Navy during World War II. His military service complete, Doby returned to baseball in 1946, and along with teammate Monte Irvin, helped the Eagles win the Negro League World Series. In 1947 at the age of 23, Doby joined Jackie Robinson in breaking the MLB color barrier as he became the first black player to integrate the American League (AL) when he signed a contract to play with Bill Veeck's Cleveland Indians. Doby was the first player to go directly to the majors from the Negro leagues. A seven–time consecutive All–Star center fielder, Doby and teammate Satchel Paige were the first African-American players to win a World Series Championship when the Indians won in 1948. He was also the first black player to hit a home run in the World Series and All-Star Game. He helped the Indians win a franchise-record 111 wins and AL pennant in 1954 and finished second in the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award voting as he was the season's RBI leader and home run champion for the second time in three seasons. In 1978 he became the second African-American manager in the majors when he joined the Chicago White Sox. Doby later served as a director with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in 1995 was appointed to a position in the AL's executive office. He was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Hall's Veterans Committee and died in 2003 at the age of 79.
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William Morgan DeBeck (1890 – 1942), better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip Barney Google (later retitled Barney Google and Snuffy Smith). The strip was especially popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and featured a number of well-known characters, including the title character, Bunky, Snuffy Smith and Spark Plug the race horse. Spark Plug was a merchandising phenomenon, and has been called the Snoopy of the 1920s. DeBeck drew with a scratchy line, and his characters had giant feet and bulbous noses—what is traditionally called a "big-foot" style. His strips often reflected his love of sports. The first awards of the National Cartoonists Society, beginning in 1946, were the Billy DeBeck Memorial Awards (or the Barney Awards).
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Otto Everett Graham, Jr. (1921–2003) was an American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League. Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 114 wins, 20 losses and four ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the playoffs. While most of Graham's statistical records have been surpassed in the modern era, he still holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt, with nine. Long-time New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a friend of Graham's, once called him "as great of a quarterback as there ever was." Graham grew up in Waukegan, Illinois, the son of music teachers. He entered Northwestern University in 1940 on a basketball scholarship, but football soon became his main sport. After a brief stint in the military at the end of World War II, Graham played during the 1946 season for the National Basketball League's Rochester Royals, who won the league championship that year. Paul Brown, Cleveland's coach, signed Graham to play for the Browns, where he thrived. After he left football in 1955, Graham coached college teams in the College All-Star Game and became head football coach at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. After seven years at the academy, he spent three unsuccessful seasons as head coach of the Washington Redskins. Following his resignation, he returned to the Coast Guard Academy, where he served as athletic director until his retirement in 1984. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
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James Howard "Jim" Thome (born 1970) is an American professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who is currently a free agent in Major League Baseball (MLB). A five-time MLB All-Star, he has played for the Cleveland Indians (1991–2002, 2011), Philadelphia Phillies (2003–2005, 2012), Chicago White Sox (2006–2009), Los Angeles Dodgers (2009), Minnesota Twins (2010–2011) and Baltimore Orioles (2012). In 1996 he won the Silver Slugger Award and in 2006 the Comeback Player of the Year Award. His additional accolades include the Roberto Clemente Award (2002), Babe Ruth Home Run Award (2003), and Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (2004). In 2011, he became the eighth MLB player to hit 600 home runs. He is currently seventh all-time for most career home runs (612) and 24th all-time for runs batted in (RBIs) with 1,699. Thome was part of a Cleveland Indians core which led the franchise to two World Series appearances in three years during the mid-1990s. The group went to two World Series, but lost both. In 1995, they lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games while in 1997 they lost to the young Florida Marlins franchise in seven games. His trademarks include his high socks, which he helped make popular again in the mid-'90s, a time when players wore their pant cuffs down around their ankles; his batting stance, during which he holds the bat out with his right hand and points it at right field before the pitcher comes set; and his consistent positive attitude.
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Rahm Israel Emanuel (/ˈrɑːm/; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician who has served as the 55th Mayor of Chicago since 2011. He is Chicago's first Jewish mayor. Emanuel previously served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010, a Member of the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 5th congressional district from 2003 to 2009, and as senior advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, Emanuel also served as the Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2005 to 2007 and as the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus from 2007 to 2009.
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Joseph Johnny Lillard Jr. (1905 – 1978) was an American football, baseball, and basketball player. From 1932 to 1933, he was a running back for the National Football League's (NFL) Chicago Cardinals. Lillard was the last African-American, along with Ray Kemp, to play in the NFL until 1946, when Kenny Washington and Woody Strode joined the Los Angeles Rams. Lillard received the nickname "The Midnight Express" by the media. In 1933, he was responsible for almost half of the Cardinals' points. An orphan from an early age, Lillard attended Mason City High School before moving to the University of Oregon. He played twice for the university's football team in 1931 before he was ruled ineligible by the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) for playing semi-professional baseball. The following year, he signed with the Cardinals, but played less frequently toward the end of the season. Lillard was a leading contributor for the Cardinals in 1933, receiving praise from the Chicago Defender. His performances during the season included a game against the Chicago Bears that featured a punt return for a touchdown. However, he was ejected from two games that season for fighting, into which he was often baited by white opponents. With the advent of an unofficial color line that excluded black players, Lillard did not play in the NFL after 1933. He remained active in football, playing for minor league and semi-professional teams, including the New York Brown Bombers, with whom he spent three seasons. Lillard was also a pitcher in Negro league baseball for five seasons from 1932 to 1944, and a guard in basketball for the future Harlem Globetrotters. After his athletic career, he became an appliance store employee and died in 1978.
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Robert Lincoln "Bobby" Lowe (1865 – 1951), nicknamed "Link", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach and scout. He played for the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901), Chicago Cubs (1902–1903), Pittsburgh Pirates (1904), and Detroit Tigers (1904–1907). Lowe was the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, a feat which he accomplished in May 1894. He also tied or set Major League records with 17 total bases in a single game and six hits in a single game. Lowe was a versatile player who played at every position but was principally known as a second baseman. When he retired in 1907, his career fielding average of .953 at second base was the highest in Major League history. Lowe also worked as a baseball manager, coach and scout. He was the player-manager of the Detroit Tigers during the last half of the 1904 season. He was also a player-manager for the Grand Rapids Wolverines in 1908, and coached college baseball in 1907 for the University of Michigan and from 1909 to 1910 for Washington & Jefferson College. Lowe was a scout for the Detroit Tigers in 1911 and 1912.
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Robert Granville "Bob" Lemon (1920 – 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a player in 1976. Lemon was raised in California where he played high school baseball and was the state player of the year in 1938. At the age of 17, Lemon began his professional baseball career in the Cleveland Indians organization, with whom he played for his entire professional career. Lemon was called up to Cleveland's major league team as a utility player in 1941. He then joined the United States Navy during World War II and returned to the Indians in 1946. That season was the first Lemon would play at the pitcher position. The Indians played in the 1948 World Series and were helped by Lemon's two pitching wins as they won the club's first championship since 1920. In the early 1950s, Cleveland had a starting pitching rotation which included Lemon, Bob Feller, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn. During the 1954 season, Lemon had a career-best 23–7 win–loss record and the Indians set a 154-game season AL-record win mark when they won 111 games before they won the American League (AL) pennant. He was an All-Star for seven consecutive seasons and recorded seven seasons of 20 or more pitching wins in a nine-year period from 1948–1956. Lemon was a manager with the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. He was named Manager of the Year with the White Sox and Yankees. In 1978, he was fired as manager of the White Sox. He was named Yankees manager one month later and he led the team to a 1978 World Series title. Lemon became the first AL manager to win a World Series after assuming the managerial role in the middle of a season.
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Michael Lee Capel (born 1961) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1988), Milwaukee Brewers (1990), and Houston Astros (1991). In 49 career games, Capel pitched 62.1 innings, had a career win–loss record of 3–4, struck out 43 batters, and recorded a 4.62 earned run average (ERA). During his career, he stood at 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). The Philadelphia Phillies chose Capel in the 24th round of the 1980 MLB Draft, but instead of signing a professional contract, he opted to attend the University of Texas. Capel played on the 1982 USA College All-Star Team, which competed in the Amateur World Series in Seoul; the next year, Capel won the College World Series with the Texas Longhorns. Drafted by the Cubs, he spent six seasons playing minor league baseball before he made his MLB debut in 1988. After Capel spent 1989 in the minors, he signed with the Brewers, but was granted free agency at the end of the season. He spent the final part of his career in the Astros farm system, and played his last season in 1993. As of 2012, he works as the general manager of a car dealership in Houston, Texas.
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Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Heat are Howard's eighth NBA team. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career as the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. Before he was drafted, he starred as an All-American on the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. At Michigan he was part of the Fab Five recruiting class of 1991 that reached the finals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1992 and 1993. Howard won his first NBA championship with Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals. Howard was an All-American center and an honors student at Chicago Vocational Career Academy. Michigan was able to sign him early over numerous competing offers and then convince others in his recruiting class to join him. The Fab Five, which included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, served as regular starters during their freshman and sophomore years for the 1991–92 and 1992–93 Wolverines. Howard is the last member of the Fab Five who remains active as a professional basketball player. Although many of the Wolverines' accomplishments from 1992 to 1998 were forfeited due to the University of Michigan basketball scandal, which involved booster payments to players to launder money from illegal gambling, Howard's 1993–94 All-American season continues to be recognized. Howard has played six-and-a-half seasons (1994–2001) for the Bullets franchise (renamed the Wizards in 1997), three full seasons (2004–2007) for the Houston Rockets, two plus seasons for the Heat and shorter stints for several other teams. During his rookie year with the Bullets, he became the first player to graduate on time with his class after leaving college early to play in the NBA. After one season as an All-Rookie player and a second as an All-Star and an All-NBA performer, he became the first NBA player to sign a $100 million contract. While he continued to be a productive starter, he was never again selected to play in an All-Star Game. Towards the end of his contract, he was traded at the NBA trade deadline twice to make salary cap room. He was most recently a regular starter during the 2005–06 NBA season. In 2010, he signed with the Heat and entered his 17th NBA season, during which he reached the playoffs for the sixth time and made his first career NBA Finals appearance. He remained with the Heat the following season and won his first NBA championship during the 2012 NBA Finals. He returned to the Heat for part of the following season. Howard has developed a reputation as a humanitarian for his civic commitment.
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Luis W. Alvarez was an American experimental physicist and inventor, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968. The American Journal of Physics commented, "Luis Alvarez (1911–1988) was one of the most brilliant and productive experimental physicists of the twentieth century." After receiving his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1936, Alvarez went to work for Ernest Lawrence at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Alvarez devised a set of experiments to observe K-electron capture in radioactive nuclei, predicted by the beta decay theory but never observed. He produced 3
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using the cyclotron and measured its lifetime. In collaboration with Felix Bloch, he measured the magnetic moment of the neutron. In 1940 Alvarez joined the MIT Radiation Laboratory, where he contributed to a number of World War II radar projects, from early improvements to Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) radar beacons, now called transponders, to a system known as VIXEN for preventing enemy submarines from realizing that they had been found by the new airborne microwave radars. The radar system for which Alvarez is best known and which has played a major role in aviation, most particularly in the post war Berlin airlift, was Ground Controlled Approach (GCA). Alvarez spent a few months at the University of Chicago working on nuclear reactors for Enrico Fermi before coming to Los Alamos to work for J. Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan project. Alvarez worked on the design of explosive lenses, and the development of exploding-bridgewire detonators. As a member of Project Alberta, he observed the Trinity nuclear test from a B-29 Superfortress, and later the bombing of Hiroshima from the B-29 The Great Artiste. After the war Alvarez was involved in the design of a liquid hydrogen bubble chamber that allowed his team to take millions of photographs of particle interactions, develop complex computer systems to measure and analyze these interactions, and discover entire families of new particles and resonance states. This work resulted in his being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1968. He was involved in a project to X-Ray the Egyptian pyramids to search for unknown chambers. He analyzed film footage of the Kennedy assassination, and, with his son geologist Walter Alvarez, proposed the Alvarez hypothesis, namely that the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs was the result of an asteroid impact.
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Timothy G. Breslin was a professional ice hockey left wing. Breslin played eight seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Phoenix Roadrunners and Chicago Wolves and part of a season in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays. He also played major league roller hockey in Roller Hockey International (RHI) with the Chicago Cheetahs. Breslin attended Lake Superior State University. While a freshman he helped the Lakers win the school's first national championship in 1988. He served as an alternate captain in his senior season while also tying two school records, points in a game (7) and points in a series (10). Undrafted out of college, he signed with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent. He spent four years in their minor league system playing for Phoenix and South Carolina. After a brief stint in the RHI, he joined the Wolves as a free agent. As a member of the Wolves, Breslin was highly involved in charitable activities which led to him winning IHL Man of the Year honors in the 1996–97 season. He was a member of Chicago's Turner Cup champion team the following year. Late in 2004 Breslin was diagnosed with cancer and died 11 weeks later on February 9, 2005 due to complications from appendiceal cancer. To honor him the Wolves created the Tim Breslin Unsung Hero Award and the Tim Breslin Memorial Scholarship. As a way of helping his family financially, they hosted an exhibition game dubbed the Breslin Cup.
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Timothy G. Breslin was a professional ice hockey left wing. Breslin played eight seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Phoenix Roadrunners and Chicago Wolves and part of a season in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays. He also played major league roller hockey in Roller Hockey International (RHI) with the Chicago Cheetahs. Breslin attended Lake Superior State University. While a freshman he helped the Lakers win the school's first national championship in 1988. He served as an alternate captain in his senior season while also tying two school records, points in a game (7) and points in a series (10). Undrafted out of college, he signed with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent. He spent four years in their minor league system playing for Phoenix and South Carolina. After a brief stint in the RHI, he joined the Wolves as a free agent. As a member of the Wolves, Breslin was highly involved in charitable activities which led to him winning IHL Man of the Year honors in the 1996–97 season. He was a member of Chicago's Turner Cup champion team the following year. Late in 2004 Breslin was diagnosed with cancer and died 11 weeks later on February 9, 2005 due to complications from appendiceal cancer. To honor him the Wolves created the Tim Breslin Unsung Hero Award and the Tim Breslin Memorial Scholarship. As a way of helping his family financially, they hosted an exhibition game dubbed the Breslin Cup.
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Enrico Fermi was an Italian theoretical and experimental physicist, best known for his work on the development of Chicago Pile-1, the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. Along with J. Robert Oppenheimer, he is referred to as "the father of the atomic bomb". He held several patents related to the use of nuclear power, and was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity and the discovery of transuranic elements. Throughout his life Fermi was widely regarded as one of the very few physicists who excelled both theoretically and experimentally. Fermi's first major contribution was to statistical mechanics. After Wolfgang Pauli announced his exclusion principle in 1925, Fermi followed with a paper in which he applied the principle to an ideal gas, employing a statistical formulation now known as Fermi–Dirac statistics. Today, particles that obey the exclusion principle are called "Fermions". Later Pauli postulated the existence of an invisible particle with no charge that was emitted at the same time an electron was emitted during beta decay in order to satisfy the law of conservation of energy. Fermi took up this idea, developing a model that incorporated the postulated particle, which Fermi named the "neutrino". His theory, later referred to as Fermi's interaction and still later as the theory of the weak interaction, described one of the four forces of nature. Through experiments inducing radioactivity with recently discovered neutrons, Fermi discovered that slow neutrons were more easily captured than fast ones, and developed a diffusion equation to describe this, which became known as the Fermi age equation. He bombarded thorium and uranium with slow neutrons, and concluded that he had created new elements, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, but the new elements were subsequently revealed to be fission products. Fermi left Italy in 1938 to escape racial laws that affected his Jewish wife Laura, and emigrated to the United States, where he worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. Fermi led the team that designed and built the Chicago Pile-1, and initiated the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction when it went critical on 2 December 1942. He was on hand when the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, went critical in 1943, and the B Reactor at the Hanford Site went critical in 1944. At Los Alamos he headed F Division, where he worked on the thermonuclear "Super". He was present at the Trinity test on 16 July 1945, where he used one of his Fermi method experiments to estimate the bomb's yield. After the war, Fermi served on the influential General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, a scientific committee chaired by Robert Oppenheimer which advised the commission on nuclear matters and policy. Following the detonation of RDS-1 in August 1949, the first Soviet fission bomb, he wrote a strongly worded report for the committee, opposing the development of a hydrogen bomb on both moral and technical grounds. He was among the scientists who testified on Oppenheimer's behalf at the Oppenheimer security hearing in 1954 that resulted in denial of Oppenheimer's security clearance. Fermi did important work in particle physics, especially related to pions and muons, and he speculated that cosmic rays arose through material being accelerated by magnetic fields in interstellar space. Many awards, concepts, and institutions are named after Fermi, including the Enrico Fermi Award, the Enrico Fermi Institute, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, and the synthetic element fermium.
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Leona Woods, later called Leona Woods Marshall and Leona Woods Marshall Libby, was an American physicist who helped build the first nuclear reactor and the first atomic bomb. At age 23, she was the youngest and only female member of the team which built and experimented with the world's first nuclear reactor (then called a pile ), Chicago Pile-1, in a project led by her mentor Enrico Fermi. In particular, Woods was instrumental in the construction and then utilization of geiger counters for analysis during experimentation. She was the only woman present when the reactor went critical. She worked with Fermi on the Manhattan Project, and, together with her first husband John Marshall, she subsequently helped solve the problem of xenon poisoning at the Hanford plutonium production site, and supervised the construction and operation of Hanford's plutonium production reactors. After the war, she became a fellow at Fermi's Institute for Nuclear Studies. She later worked at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey, the Brookhaven National Laboratory, and New York University, where she became a professor in 1962. Her research involved high-energy physics, astrophysics and cosmology. In 1966 she divorced Marshall and married Nobel laureate Willard Libby. She became a professor at the University of Colorado, and a staff member at RAND Corporation. In later life she became interested in ecological and environmental issues, and she devised a method of using the isotope ratios in tree rings to study climate change. She was a strong advocate of food irradiation as a means of killing harmful bacteria.
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Richard Michael Daley is a former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was re-elected five times until declining to run for a seventh term. At 22 years, he was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his father, Richard J. Daley. Mayor Daley took over the Chicago Public Schools, developed tourism, oversaw the construction of Millennium Park, increased environmental efforts and the rapid development of the city's central business district downtown and adjacent near North, near South and near West sides. Daley expanded employee benefits to same-sex partners of City workers, and advocated for gun control. Daley was a national leader in privatization and the lease and sale of public assets to private corporations. Daley was criticized when family, personal friends, and political allies seemed to disproportionately benefit from city contracting. Mayor Daley took office in a City with regular annual budget surpluses and left the City with massive structural deficits. His budgets ran up the largest deficits in Chicago history. Prior to serving as mayor, Daley served in the Illinois Senate and then as the Cook County State's Attorney. Police use of force was an issue in Daley's tenures as State's Attorney and Mayor.
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John Joseph Evers was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. He also appeared in one game apiece for the Chicago White Sox and Braves while coaching them in 1922 and 1929, respectively. Evers was born in Troy, New York. After playing for the local minor league baseball team for one season, Frank Selee, manager of the Cubs, purchased Evers's contract and soon made him his starting second baseman. Evers helped lead the Cubs to four National League pennants, including two World Series championships. The Cubs traded Evers to the Braves in 1914; that season, Evers led the Braves to victory in the World Series, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Evers continued to play for the Braves and Phillies through 1917. He then became a coach, scout, manager, and general manager in his later career. Known as one of the smartest ballplayers in MLB, Evers also had a surly temper that he took out on umpires. Evers was a part of a great double-play combination with Joe Tinker and Frank Chance, which was immortalized as "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon". Evers was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946.
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George Edward Nicol was an American baseball pitcher and outfielder who played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago Colts, Pittsburgh Pirates and Louisville Colonels from 1890 to 1894. Possessing the rare combination of batting right-handed and throwing left-handed, he served primarily as a right fielder when he did not pitch. Signed by the Browns without having previously played any minor league baseball, Nicol made his debut on September 23, 1890, and pitched—what was then considered to be—a no-hitter. In the following season, he joined the Chicago Colts in July after starting in the minor leagues. After a two-year sojourn away from the major leagues, he signed for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1894. In August of the same season, he was traded to the Louisville Colonels, with whom he played his final game on September 29, 1894.
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Joseph Bert Tinker was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of the Federal League. Born in Muscotah, Kansas, Tinker began playing semi-professional baseball in Kansas in the late 19th century. He began his professional career in 1900 in minor league baseball and made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 1902. Tinker was a member of the Chicago Cubs dynasty that won four pennants and two World Series championships between 1906 and 1910. After playing one season with Cincinnati in 1913, he became one of the first stars to jump to the upstart Federal League in 1914. After leading the Whales to the pennant in 1915, he returned to the Cubs as their player-manager in 1916, his final season in MLB. Tinker returned to minor league baseball as a part-owner and manager for the Columbus Senators before moving to Orlando, Florida, to manage the Orlando Tigers. While in Orlando, Tinker developed a real estate firm, which thrived during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. However, the 1926 Miami hurricane and Great Depression cost Tinker most of his fortune, and he returned to professional baseball in the late 1930s. With the Cubs, Tinker was a part of a great double-play combination with teammates Johnny Evers and Frank Chance that was immortalized as "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon". However, Evers and Tinker feuded off the field. Tinker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, the same year as Evers and Chance.
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Frank Leroy Chance was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (initially named the "Orphans") and New York Yankees from 1898 through 1914. He also served as manager of the Cubs, Yankees, and Boston Red Sox. Discovered by the Cubs as he played semi-professional baseball while attending college, Chance debuted with the Cubs in 1898, serving as a part-time player. In 1903, Chance became the Cubs' regular first baseman, and in 1905, he succeeded Frank Selee as the team's manager. Chance led the Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years (1906–1910) and won the World Series championships in 1907 and 1908. With Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers, Chance formed a strong double play combination, which was immortalized as "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" in "Baseball's Sad Lexicon". Let go by the Cubs after the 1912 season, Chance signed with the Yankees, serving as a player–manager for two seasons. He joined the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League as a player–manager, returning to MLB in 1923 as manager of the Red Sox. Chance was named the manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1924, but never took control of the team as he became ill. He died later that year. Noted for his leadership abilities, Chance earned the nickname "Peerless Leader". He is the all-time leader in managerial winning percentage in Cubs history. Chance was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 1946 balloting by the Veterans Committee, along with Tinker and Evers.
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Helen Shiller is a former Alderman of the 46th ward in Chicago, Illinois. She served in the Chicago City Council for six four-year terms, from 1987 to 2011. Shiller was elected to the City Council on her third attempt, as Harold Washington, Chicago's first black Mayor, was re-elected to his second term, and her election as alderman helped close the Council Wars era in Chicago government. Shiller has been described as "committed to liberal causes" appropriate for the lakefront district she represents. Among her most significant impacts on Chicago were her advocacy for diverse, inclusive, affordable housing and helping craft Chicago's response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Her commitment to fostering community development without displacement often brought Shiller into contention with some constituencies, real estate developers, and editorial boards. Shiller's oral history was collected by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Uptown resident, the late Studs Terkel, in his 2003 book, Hope Dies Last.
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Jonathan Ray Lieber is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He stands 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighs 240 pounds (110 kg). He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994–1998), Chicago Cubs (1999–2002 and 2008), New York Yankees (2004), and Philadelphia Phillies (2005–2007). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and utilized a fastball, a slider, and a changeup for his pitches. In a 14-season career, Lieber compiled a 131–124 record with 1,553 strikeouts and a 4.27 ERA in 2,198 innings pitched. Lieber attended the University of South Alabama, helping them win the Sun Belt Conference Championship. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, but he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates the following season before even throwing a pitch in the major leagues. He made his debut in 1994 and was named the Pirates' Opening Day starter in 1995, but it was not until 1997 that he became a full-time major league starter. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs following the 1998 season. In 2000, he led the National League (NL) with 251 innings pitched. He had his best season in 2001, winning 20 games while losing just six. Lieber underwent Tommy John surgery in 2002 and missed the entire 2003 season. In 2004, he pitched for the New York Yankees, reaching the playoffs for the only time in his career. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005 and tied for fifth in the NL with 17 wins. Injuries cut into his playing time over the next three years; he finished his career as a reliever with the Cubs in 2008.
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Juan Cespedes Uribe Tena is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. He stands 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighs 235 pounds (107 kg). Previously, he has played for the Colorado Rockies, the Chicago White Sox, and the San Francisco Giants. He bats and throws right-handed. Uribe began his career in 1997 when he was signed by the Colorado Rockies. After advancing through the minors, he debuted with the Rockies in 2001. He became their shortstop in 2001 and spent all of 2002 in that capacity. He missed part of 2003 with an injury and was traded to the Chicago White Sox following the season. After one season as a utility player, Uribe became the starting shortstop for the White Sox in 2005; he held that position for the next three years. While Uribe was with the White Sox, the team won the 2005 World Series against the Houston Astros. Uribe hit 21 home runs in 2006 but had a low on-base percentage. He hit 20 home runs in 2007 but had a low batting average with runners in scoring position (RISP). In 2008, Uribe lost his shortstop role to Orlando Cabrera and returned to a utility role. In 2009, Uribe signed with the Giants and was again used as utility player. He spent most of 2010 as the Giants' shortstop, hit a career-high 24 home runs, and had several key hits in the playoffs as the Giants won the 2010 World Series. Following that season, he signed a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He missed a lot of time with injuries in 2011, and in 2012 he lost his starting role.
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Judith Fingeret Krug was an American librarian, supporter of freedom of speech, and prominent critic against censorship. Krug became Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in 1967. In 1969, she joined the Freedom to Read Foundation as its Executive Director. Krug co-founded Banned Books Week in 1982. She coordinated the effort against the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which was the first trial by the United States Congress at a form of censorship of speech on the Internet. Krug strongly opposed the notion that libraries ought to censor the material that they provide to patrons. She supported laws and policies protecting the confidentiality of library use records. When the United States Department of Justice used the authority of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 to conduct searches of what once were confidential library databases, Krug raised public outcry against this activity by the government. In 2003, she was the leader of the initiative to challenge the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act. Her efforts led to a partial victory; the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the law was constitutional, however computers at the library could have filtering software turned off if requested to do so by an adult guardian. Krug warned that the same filters used to censor Internet pornography from children were not perfect and risked blocking educational information about social matters, sexuality, and healthcare.
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George Stanley McGovern was an American historian, author, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election. McGovern grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota, where he was a renowned debater. He volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Forces upon the country's entry into World War II and as a B-24 Liberator pilot flew 35 missions over German-occupied Europe. Among the medals bestowed upon him was a Distinguished Flying Cross for making a hazardous emergency landing of his damaged plane and saving his crew. After the war he gained degrees from Dakota Wesleyan University and Northwestern University, culminating in a PhD, and was a history professor. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1956 and 1958. After a failed bid for the U.S. Senate in 1960, he was a successful candidate in 1962. As a senator, McGovern was an exemplar of modern American liberalism. He became most known for his outspoken opposition to the growing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He staged a brief nomination run in the 1968 presidential election as a stand-in for the assassinated Robert F. Kennedy. The subsequent McGovern–Fraser Commission fundamentally altered the presidential nominating process, by greatly increasing the number of caucuses and primaries and reducing the influence of party insiders. The McGovern–Hatfield Amendment sought to end the Vietnam War by legislative means but was defeated in 1970 and 1971. McGovern's long-shot, grassroots-based 1972 presidential campaign found triumph in gaining the Democratic nomination but left the party badly split ideologically, and the failed vice-presidential pick of Thomas Eagleton undermined McGovern's credibility. In the general election McGovern lost to incumbent Richard Nixon in one of the biggest landslides in American electoral history. Re-elected Senator in 1968 and 1974, McGovern was defeated in a bid for a fourth term in 1980. Throughout his career, McGovern was involved in issues related to agriculture, food, nutrition, and hunger.
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Enrico Fermi (1901 – 1954) was an Italian physicist, known for his work on Chicago Pile-1 (the first nuclear reactor) and his contributions to quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. He is one of the men referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb". Fermi was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity by neutron bombardment and the discovery of transuranic elements. He was widely regarded as one of the very few physicists to excel both theoretically and experimentally. After Wolfgang Pauli announced his exclusion principle in 1925, Fermi applied the principle to an ideal gas, employing Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermi developed a model that incorporated Pauli's postulated invisible beta decay particle, named the "neutrino". Fermi's interaction theory described one of the four fundamental forces of nature. Inducing radioactivity with neutrons, developed the Fermi age equation. After bombarding thorium and uranium with slow neutrons, he concluded that he had created new elements; although he was awarded the Nobel Prize for this discovery, the new elements were subsequently revealed to be fission products. In 1938, he escaped new Italian Racial Laws against his Jewish wife. In the United States, he worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. Fermi's team designed and built Chicago Pile-1, that went critical on 2 December 1942, demonstrating the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. At Los Alamos he headed F Division, part of which worked on Edward Teller's thermonuclear "Super" bomb. At the July 1945 Trinity test, his Fermi method estimated the bomb's yield. After the war, Fermi served under Oppenheimer on the influential General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission. Following the first Soviet fission bomb detonation in August 1949, he opposed the hydrogen bomb. Fermi did particle physics work related to pions and muons, and he speculated that cosmic rays arose through material being accelerated by magnetic fields in interstellar space.
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Harold Clayton Urey (1893 – 1981) was an American physical chemist whose isotope work earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1934 for the discovery of deuterium. He played a significant role in the atom bomb and made contributions to the development of organic life from non-living matter. Born in Walkerton, Indiana, Urey studied thermodynamics under Gilbert N. Lewis at the University of California. After he received his PhD in 1923, he studied at the Niels Bohr Institute. He was a research associate at Johns Hopkins University before becoming an associate professor of Chemistry at Columbia University. In 1931, work separating isotopes led to the discovery of deuterium. During World War II, focused on uranium enrichment. He headed the Columbia University group that developed isotope separation using gaseous diffusion, the sole method used in the early post-war period. After the war, Urey became professor of chemistry at the Institute for Nuclear Studies, and later Ryerson professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago. Urey speculated that the early terrestrial atmosphere was probably composed of ammonia, methane, and hydrogen. Graduate student Stanley L. Miller showed in the Miller-Urey experiment that, if such a mixture be exposed to electric sparks and water, it can interact to produce amino acids. Work with isotopes of oxygen led to the new field of paleoclimatic research. In 1958, he accepted a post at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), becoming a founding member of UCSD's school of chemistry in 1960.
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Ara Raoul Parseghian (born 1923) is a former American football player and coach of Armenian and French descent who guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is widely regarded alongside Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and Lou Holtz as one of the best coaches in Notre Dame history. Parseghian grew up in Akron, Ohio and played football starting in his junior year of high school. He enrolled at the University of Akron but joined the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he finished his college career at Miami University, and played for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference in 1948 and 1949. Cleveland won the league championship both of those years. His playing career cut short by a hip injury, Parseghian became an assistant coach at Miami. When head coach Woody Hayes left in 1951 to coach at Ohio State University, Parseghian replaced him until 1956, when he was hired by Northwestern University. After eight seasons there, he attracted the interest of the University of Notre Dame, which had posted five straight non-winning seasons. He joined as coach in 1964 and came close to capturing a national championship in his first year. He proceeded to win two national titles in 11 seasons as coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He posted an overall record of 95–17–4, giving him the third-most wins in school history. Parseghian quit coaching in 1974 and began a broadcasting career calling college football games for ABC and CBS. He also dedicated himself to medical causes later in life. Parseghian was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1980.
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Paul Vaughn Butterfield (1942 – 1987) was an American blues singer and harmonica player. After early training as a classical flautist, Butterfield developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his native Chicago, where he was able to meet Muddy Waters and other blues greats who provided encouragement and a chance to join in the jam sessions. Soon, Butterfield began performing with fellow blues enthusiasts Nick Gravenites and Elvin Bishop. In 1963, he formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, who recorded several successful albums and were a popular fixture on the late-1960s concert and festival circuit, with performances at the Fillmores, Monterey Pop Festival, and Woodstock. They became known for combining electric Chicago blues with a rock urgency as well as their pioneering jazz fusion performances and recordings. After the breakup of the group in 1971, Butterfield continued to tour and record in a variety of settings, including with Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Waters, and members of the Band. While still recording and performing, but in poor health, Butterfield died in 1987 at age 44. Music critics have acknowledged his development of an original approach that places him among the best-known blues harp players. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, both who noted his harmonica skills as well as his introducing blues-style music to a broader audience.
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Joseph "Joe" Berrios (born 1952) is a Democratic politician who is the Assessor of Cook County, Illinois and an Illinois state government lobbyist. One of seven children of Puerto Rican native parents, and raised in the Cabrini-Green public housing project, he became the first Hispanic American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly and the first and only Hispanic American to chair the Cook County Democratic Party. He was a Commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, a property tax assessment appeal panel. Throughout his career, Berrios combined government sector jobs, elected office, unpaid political party leadership positions, and private sector proprietorships in lobbying, consulting and insurance sales. His political campaign strategies included ballot access challenges to potential opponents. He has been the focus of investigations into allegations of ethics violations and political corruption with respect to campaign fund-raising and nepotism. In the press and in the courts, Berrios has repeatedly defended his right as an elected official to hire relatives and to accept campaign contributions from those with business before his office.
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Arnold Ephraim Ross (1906 – 2002) was a mathematician and educator who founded the Ross Mathematics Program, a number theory summer program located at the Ohio State University for gifted high school students. He was born in Chicago, but spent his youth in Odessa, Ukraine, where he studied with Samuil Shatunovsky. Ross returned to Chicago and enrolled in University of Chicago graduate coursework under E. H. Moore, despite his lack of formal academic training. He received his Ph.D. and married his wife, Bee, in 1931. Ross taught at several institutions including St. Louis University before becoming chair of University of Notre Dame's mathematics department in 1946. He started a teacher training program in mathematics that evolved into the Ross Mathematics Program in 1957 with the addition of high school students. The program moved with him to Ohio State University when he became their department chair in 1963. Though forced to retire in 1976, Ross ran the summer program until 2000. He had worked with over 2,000 students during more than forty summers. The program is known as Ross's most significant work. Its attendees have since continued on to prominent research positions across the sciences. His program inspired several offshoots and was recognized by mathematicians as highly influential. Ross has received an honorary doctorate and several professional association awards for his instruction and service.
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James Sanford "Jimmy" Lavender (1884 – 1960) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1912 to 1917. He played a total of five seasons with the Chicago Cubs of the National League from 1912 to 1916; after being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, he played an additional season in 1917. During his playing days, his height was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), his weight as 165 pounds (75 kg), and he batted and threw right-handed. Born in Barnesville, Georgia, he began his professional baseball career in minor league baseball in 1906 at the age 22. He worked his way through the system over the next few seasons, culminating with a three-season stint with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League from 1909 to 1911. Lavender primarily threw the spitball, and used it to win 16 games as a 28-year-old rookie in 1912. In July 1912, he defeated Rube Marquard, ending Marquard's consecutive win streak at 19 games, which at the time tied the record for the longest win streak for a pitcher in MLB history. Lavender's early success as a rookie soon turned to mediocrity as his career progressed, winning no more than 11 games in any season afterward. On August 31, 1915, he threw a no-hitter against the New York Giants. He was traded to the Phillies before the 1917 season, and he played one season for the team, winning six games before retiring from major league baseball. Lavender returned to Georgia, worked on his farm in Montezuma, Georgia, and played professional baseball in an independent league. He died in Cartersville, Georgia at the age of 75.
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Edward M. "Ed" Burke (born 1943) is alderman of the 14th Ward of the City of Chicago. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the Chicago City Council in 1969, and represents part of the city's Southwest Side. Chair of Council's Committee on Finance, Burke has been called Chicago's "most powerful alderman" by the Chicago Sun-Times. Burke was named one of the "100 Most Powerful Chicagoans" by Chicago Magazine, describing him as "[o]ne of the last of the old-school Chicago Machine pols". Burke is the longest serving alderman in Chicago history. He was a leader of the "Vrdolyak 29" during the first term of Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor, the "Council Wars" era. Burke and his staff were the subjects of federal and local investigations, and members of his staff were the targets of indictments and convictions involving payroll and contracting irregularities. Burke is the lead partner in a law firm that specializes in property tax appeals and which includes clients who do business with the city. Burke's wife is Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke. He and his wife were foster parents and were party to a protracted, highly publicized, racially charged child custody dispute.
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Roy Gordon Conacher was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He was the NHL's leading goal-scorer in 1938–39, his first season in the league. Conacher was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Bruins and scored the championship winning goal in 1939. He won the Art Ross Trophy in 1948–49 season as the NHL's leading point scorer and was named a first team All-Star. Conacher was a member of the Memorial Cup winning West Toronto Nationals in 1935 as Canadian junior champions and was a member of the Ontario Hockey Association senior champion Toronto Dominions in 1937. Playing in the shadow of his more famous brothers Charlie and Lionel, Roy was known as the "forgotten Conacher". He was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, following his brothers to become the only trio of siblings so enshrined.
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Cliff Alexander is an American basketball player who has completed his senior season for Curie High School during the 2013–14 season. He is ranked among the top 5 in the national class of 2014 by Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN. He has given a verbal commitment to the University of Kansas and plans to play for the Jayhawks during their 2014–15 season. He did not play organized basketball until eighth grade, but by late in his freshman season he became a notable contributor to his high school's varsity team. He was ranked among the top 20 prospects in the national class of 2014 prior to his sophomore season. As a junior, he moved into the top 10 of the national class and was recognized as an All-American. By the beginning of his senior season, he was considered to be a top 5 player by most talent evaluators and his stock was still on the rise. Following a Martin Luther King Jr. Day performance during his senior year against the number one team in the country, many experts consider him to be the best player in the national class of 2014. In 2013, he represented USA Basketball in international play. Several talent scouts praise his powerful game. As a high schooler, Alexander felt he was most often compared to Amar'e Stoudemire. Alexander was heavily recruited by many top Division I basetball programs and his recruitment was widely-followed. He earned the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award. He has been selected to play in the 2014 McDonald's All-American Boys Game, 2014 Jordan Brand Classic and for the 10-man Team USA at the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit. Alexander led Curie to the 2014 Chicago Public High School League city championship in a quadruple overtime game against Jahlil Okafor that was the lead story on SportsCenter. The championship was later forfeited.
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Russell Jay "Rusty" Kuntz is a retired American Major League Baseball (MLB) designated hitter and outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers between 1979 and 1985. He never appeared in more than 84 games in any season during his playing career. In the final game of the 1984 World Series, Kuntz hit a pop fly to the second baseman that became the deciding run batted in (RBI). Kuntz grew up in Kansas and California, playing three sports in high school and community college. He went to the Division III World Series twice with California State University, Stanislaus before being selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 MLB Draft. After the 1984 season, Kuntz was unable to return to form the next year. He was demoted to the minor leagues early in the 1985 season and was out of professional baseball as a player shortly thereafter. Since his playing career ended, Kuntz has worked with several MLB organizations, including the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. He has worked as an assistant to the general manager, minor league coach, roving instructor and major league base coach. Since 2012, he has served as the first base coach of the Kansas City Royals. Rusty's name has attracted the attention of sportswriters because of its similarity to a vulgar phrase.
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Megan Anna Rapinoe is an American professional soccer midfielder and Olympic gold medalist who plays for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League. She is also a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence, and magicJack in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) as well as Olympique Lyonnais in France's Division 1 Féminine. Rapinoe is internationally known for her crafty style of play and her precise cross to Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinals against Brazil, which resulted in an equalizer goal and eventual win for the Americans after a penalty kick shootout. During the 2012 London Olympics, she scored three goals and tallied a team-high four assists to lead the United States to a gold medal. She is the first player, male or female, to score a Goal Olimpico at the Olympic Games. Rapinoe is an advocate for numerous LGBT organizations including the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and Athlete Ally. In 2013, she was awarded the Board of Directors Award by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. She is sponsored by Nike, Samsung and DJO Global and has appeared in multiple promotional pieces for clothing company, Wildfang, as well as Nike.
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Carli Anne Lloyd is an American professional soccer midfielder who currently plays for Western New York Flash in the National Women's Soccer League and the United States women's national soccer team. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and scored the gold medal-winning goals in the finals of both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. She has represented the United States at two FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: first at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in which she helped the U.S. win bronze and at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in which the U.S. won silver. She has played in over 160 matches for the U.S. national team and scored over 45 goals. Llloyd played professionally for the Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue FC, and Atlanta Beat in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). She was allocated to the Western New York Flash for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League in 2013 helping the team win the regular season championship.
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Ernest "Ernie" Banks, nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", is a retired American professional baseball player. He was a Chicago Cubs shortstop and first baseman for 19 seasons, 1953 through 1971. He was a National League All-Star for 11 seasons, playing in 14 All-Star games. Banks was born in Dallas. He entered Negro league baseball in 1950 and played for the Kansas City Monarchs. During his tenure in Kansas City, he also served in the military. He began his major league career in 1953, signing with the Cubs. Banks made his first All-Star Game appearance in 1955. He had his best seasons in 1958 and 1959, when he received back-to-back National League Most Valuable Player awards. He led the major league in home runs (HR) in 1958 and 1960, and in runs batted in (RBI), in 1958 and 1959. In 1961, after an old knee injury flared up, he finished the season playing at first base. Cubs manager Leo Durocher became frustrated with Banks in the mid-1960s, saying that the slugger's performance was faltering, but he felt that he was unable to remove Banks from the lineup due to the star's popularity among Cubs fans. Banks was a player-coach from 1967 through 1971. In 1972, he joined the Cubs coaching staff after his retirement as a player. Banks was active in the Chicago community during and after his tenure with the Cubs. He founded a charitable organization, became the first black Ford Motor Company dealer in the United States, and made an unsuccessful bid for a local political office. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1999, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2013, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to sports. Banks lives in the Los Angeles area.
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Robert Frederick Christy was a Canadian-American theoretical physicist and later astrophysicist who was one of the last surviving people to have worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He was also briefly president of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). A graduate of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the 1930s where he studied physics, he followed George Volkoff, who was a year ahead of him, to the University of California, Berkeley, where he was accepted as a graduate student by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leading theoretical physicist in the United States at that time. Christy received his doctorate in 1941 and joined the physics department of Illinois Institute of Technology. In 1942 he joined the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago, where he was recruited by Enrico Fermi to join the effort to build the first nuclear reactor, having been recommended as a theory resource by Oppenheimer. When Oppenheimer formed the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory in 1943, Christy was one of the early recruits to join the Theory Group. Christy is generally credited with the insight that a solid sub-critical mass of plutonium could be explosively compressed into supercriticality, a great simplification of earlier concepts of implosion requiring hollow shells. For this insight the solid-core plutonium model is often referred to as the "Christy pit". After the war, Christy briefly joined the University of Chicago Physics department before being recruited to join the Caltech faculty in 1946 when Oppenheimer decided it was not practical for him to resume his academic activities. He stayed at Caltech for his academic career, serving as Department Chair, Provost and Acting President. In 1960 Christy turned his attention to astrophysics, creating some of the first practical computation models of stellar operation. For this work Christy was awarded the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1967. In the 1980s and 1990s Christy participated in the National Research Council's Committee on Dosimetry, an extended effort to better understand the actual radiation exposure due to the Japanese bombs, and on the basis of that learning, better understand the medical risks of radiation exposure.
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Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British–American film director, screenwriter and producer. Nolan created several of the most successful films of the early 21st century, and his eight pictures have grossed more than $3.5 billion worldwide. He is known for bridging the gap between art house and blockbuster films by presenting audiences with intelligent, challenging narratives. Having made his directorial debut with Following (1998), Nolan gained considerable attention for his second feature, Memento (2000). The acclaim of these independent films afforded Nolan the opportunity to make the big-budget thriller Insomnia (2002), and the more offbeat production The Prestige (2006); both were well-received critically and commercially. He found further popular and critical success with the big-screen epics The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012) and Inception (2010). He is currently working on the science-fiction film Interstellar, which is set to be released in November 2014. Nolan runs the London-based production company Syncopy Inc. with his wife Emma Thomas. Internationally renowned as an auteur, Nolan's films are rooted in philosophical, sociological and ethical concepts and ideas, exploring human morality, the construction of time, and the malleable nature of memory and personal identity. Experimentation with metafictive elements, temporal shifts, solipsistic perspectives, nonlinear storytelling and the analogous relationship between the visual language and narrative elements, permeate his entire body of work. Described as "one of the most innovative storytellers and image makers at work in movies today", Nolan is an Honorary Fellow of University College London, a three-time Academy Award nominee, and a recipient of numerous career achievement awards, including the BAFTA Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing.
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- ^ Parker 2000, p. 195.