June 27 Illinois History Minute

It’s June 27th, and on this day in 1844, Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was murdered by a mob, while being held in the jail in Carthage. Smith was held on charges he had ordered the destruction of the printing press of a newspaper critical of him in nearby Nauvoo. He and his brother Hyrum were killed when a crowd of 200 people stormed the jail. No one was ever convicted in the attack.

On this day in 1948, Chicago’s WMAQ Radio premiered “Destination Freedom”, a series about the lives of notable Black Americans. Episode One was about Crispus Attucks, regarded as the first man killed in the Boston Massacre.

I’m Jim Meadows. Illinois Public Media.