Learn about 'One Dozen Top Dates and Stories of Chicago History' at Oct. 26 webinar
Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin will host "One Dozen Top Dates and Stories of Chicago History" Tuesday, Oct. 26.
Author and historian Ellen Shubart will talk about her book, "Chicago: An Illustrated Timeline," and describe a dozen of what she thinks are the most important dates in the city's history.
The program will take place virtually via Zoom at 7 p.m. To register, go to gailborden.info/register or call (847) 429-4597.
With more than 140 vignettes and multiple photos and maps, "Chicago: An Illustrated Timeline" follows Chicago's story from its trading post beginnings to its role as a possible American megacity, taking into account all of its ups and downs.
Using chronology as its structure, the timeline unveils events that are happily remembered, such as the two World's Fairs held in Chicago, or the Cubs' winning the World Series in both 1906 and 2016, as well as those not often spoken about, such as the 1919 Race Riots or the reason Chicago today is not part of Wisconsin.
Guided by historical figures from first permanent, non-Indigenous settler Jean Baptiste Point DuSable to Mayor Richard J. Daley and musician Muddy Waters, the book covers all aspects of Chicago life, including industrialization, transportation, land use, housing and sports.
It also tracks changing architectural styles, the growth of the diverse immigrant and Black communities that make up today's city, and the formation and results of Chicago-style politics.
A lifelong Chicagoan, Ellen Shubart spent more than two decades as a journalist, taught at the college level for a number of years, and ended her career as an advocate for sustainable city planning.
A historian by training, with a master's degrees in U.S. history and historic preservation, she has written another book for Reedy Press, "What's With Chicago?," and two for Arcadia Publishing - "Glencoe, Illinois" and "Taylor Street, Chicago's Little Italy."