Listed here is a brief chronological history of Chicago which includes many links to Deaths, Disturbances, Disasters and Disorders in Chicago: A Selective Bibliography of Materials in the Municipal Reference Collection of the Chicago Public Library, and A Millenium Bibliography—Chicago in 1900. To find more information about Chicago history for a homework assignment or your own research, either the Harold Washington Library Center downtown or your neighborhood library should be able to suggest books and other resources.The Chicago Historical Society is also a wonderful resource for Chicago history. 1673 Discovery  1696-1700 Mission of the Guardian Angel  1779 Jean Baptiste Point du Sable  1795 The Treaty of Greenville  1803-1812 The First Fort Dearborn  1818 Illinois Admitted to Statehood  1830 The Thompson Plat—First Plat of Chicago  1833 Incorporated as a Town—Origin Of Name  1833-1835 Limits of Town Extended  1837 Incorporated as a City  1840 Free Schools Established  1848 Illinois & Michigan Canal Completed  1848 Galena & Chicago Union Railroad  1848 First City Hall in State Street  1855 Street Level Change 1855 Police Department Created  1860 First National Political Convention—Abraham Lincoln Nominated  1861-65 The Civil War  1865 Chicago Union Stock Yard Completed  1867 The First Tunnel Under the Lake  1869 Chicago Water Tower  1869 First Traffic Tunnels Under the River  1871 The Great Fire  1872 Montgomery Ward—First Mail-Order House  1873 Chicago Public Library (CPL) Opened  1885 First Skyscraper  1886 The Haymarket Riot  1889 Jane Addams—Hull House  1893 World's Columbian Exposition  1900 Flow of Chicago River Reversed Includes brief history of the Sanitary District of Greater Chicago and the present Tunnel and Reservoir Project (TARP). 1900 Chicago in 1900: A Millenium Bibliography  1901 Chicago Freight Tunnels  1903 Iroquois Theater Fire  1907 First American Nobel Prize Winner in Science From University of Chicago  1908 Street Numbering Change  1909 Chicago Plan Published—First Comprehensive Outline Offered To An American City  1911 Dedication of Present City Hall  1915 Eastland Disaster  1927 Municipal Airport of Chicago (Midway) Opened  1928 Straightening of the Chicago River  1933-34 A Century of Progress  1942 December 2—First Controlled Atomic Reaction  1943 Chicago's First Subway Opened  1947 Chicago Transit Authority Created  1955 Mayor Richard J. Daley Elected  1956 Congress Expressway Opened—Renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway January 10, 1964  1958 Our Lady of the Angels School Fire  1959 International Trade Fair Celebrates Opening of St. Lawrence Seaway—Queen Elizabeth's Visit  1960 Northwest Expressway Completed—November 29, 1963 Renamed the John F. Kennedy Expressway  1962 Dan Ryan Expressway Opened  1964 Southwest Expressway Opened September 1, 1965—Renamed Adlai E. Stevenson Expressway  1966 Civic Center Dedicated—December 27, 1976 Renamed the Richard J. Daley Center  1967 January 16—The McCormick Place Fire  1967 August 15—Picasso Statue Unveiled In Civic Center Plaza  1972: Shakman Agreement is Signed  1973 Sears Tower Completed—World's Tallest Building Until 1996—Regains Tallest Title in 1997  1976 Mayor Richard J. Daley Dies at 74  1979 Jane Byrne is Elected Mayor  1979 State Street Mall Opens  1983 Harold Washington is Elected Mayor  1984 Rapid Transit Line is Extended to O'Hare  1985 State of Illinois Center Opens  1986 The Chicago Theater Reopens  1986 Lake Shore Drive S-Curve is Straightened Out 1989 Mayor Richard M. Daley is Elected Mayor  1996 State Street Revitalization  1996 Lake Shore Drive Moves West  1996 McCormick Place South  1997 Sears Tower Regains Tallest Title  1998 Asian Longhorned Beetle is Discovered in Chicago 2003 Meigs Field Closes 2004 Millennium Park Opens 2005 Chicago White Sox Sweep World Series Brief Histories African Americans and National Party Convention History: A Chronology Chicago Conventions: An Unconventional Chronology  Chicago at the Time: Political Conventions in 1860, 1864, and 1868 Chicago Bibliography Chicago Convention Bibliography Brief History of the Chicago Fire Department  Brief History of the Chicago Police Department  Chicago City Hall  Chicago Weather Records - Find the hottest and coldest days here!  Political Division of the City  Population of Chicago by Decades 1830-2000  Digital Collections Chicago's Front Door: The Lakefront from Pioneer Days to the Century of Progress Down the Drain: Historic Development of an Urban Infrastructure Remembering Harold: Photographs from the Harold Washington Archives and Collections Then and Now in Ravenswood and Lake View: Photographs from the Neighborhood History Research Collection at Sulzer Regional Library Windows on Our Past: The Chicago Public Library at 125 Highlights of Chicago Art Highlights of Chicago Public Art  Originally compiled by Joyce Malden and the staff of the Municipal Reference Library and printed in "Historical Information About Chicago" (Chicago, 1975). Updated and maintained by the staff of the Municipal Reference Collection, Chicago Public Library. Last Updated: 10/2005