Illinois Bicentennial

State Farm was founded in 1922 by retired farmer George J. Mecherle as a mutual automobile insurance company owned by its policyholders in Bloomington, Illinois.

Sally Rand was a burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress, most noted for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance... notably during the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago.

The Chicago "L" is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. It began operation on June 6, 1892.

U-505 was built for Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II and was captured by the U.S. Navy on 4 June 1944.

Chess Records was an American record company, founded in 1950 in Chicago and specializing in blues and rhythm and blues.

DeWitt Clinton Cregier served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois for the Democratic Party from 1889 to 1891.

The East St. Louis riots of May and July 1917 were an outbreak of labor- and race-related violence that caused the death of at least 40 Black people and approximately $400,000 in property damage.

Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Photo: Shutterstock

On May 25, 1877, the legislature voted to establish the Illinois State Museum of Natural History in the west wing space intended for the state library.

On April 14, 1857, an argument between the elderly Roswell Goings and wife Melissa turned violent. Defending herself, Melissa picked up a piece of wood and struck two blows. Her husband sustained a skull fracture and died a few days later. Melissa Goings was nowhere to be found. What happened is still unclear. According to the court's bailiff, Robert Cassell, Lincoln took advantage of a private conference with his client to suggest that she flee. Confronted by the bailiff when Goings could not be found, Lincoln is reported to have said, "I did not run her off. She wanted to know where she could get a good drink of water, and I told her there was mighty good water in Tennessee."

The Morrow Plots is an experimental agricultural field at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Named for Professor George E. Morrow, it is the oldest such field in the United States and the second oldest in the world.

Chanute Field was established on May 22, 1917. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. The base was closed in 1993.

'Maybellene' was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, and inspired/adapted from the Western Swing fiddle tune "Ida Red", which was recorded in 1938 by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.

Potter Palmer was an American businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street in Chicago.