May 27 Illinois History Minute

It’s May 27th, the day that Wild Bill Hickok was born on a farm near what is now Table Grove in LaSalle County in 1837. James Butler Hickok became famous for his life on the American frontier, as a soldier, scout and lawman. He was involved in several shootouts and was finally shot to death in Deadwood South Dakota in 1876 by a gambler who had lost to him at cards the day before.

The Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, opened on the Chicago lakefront on this day in 1933. The fair celebrated the wonders of modern technology, from the Sky Ride which carried visitors in rocket-shaped cars suspended from cables --- to the Homes of Tomorrow, with such modern features as air conditioning and automatic garage doors.