Edward Hines (1863-1931), the founder of Edward Hines Lumber Co., was born in Buffalo, NY, the only son of an Irish immigrant family of seven children. When he was two years old, his family moved to the Chicago area. From the age of 14 he worked in the lumber industry. In 1892, at the age […]
Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna (1858-1946) was born in a shack at Polk and Sholto Streets and left school at the age of 10 to sell newspapers. According to legend, Chicago Tribune publisher and 26th Mayor of Chicago, Joseph Medill (1823-1899), gave him his nickname because of his short stature. He later owned saloons and a […]
by Colleen Taylor Sen George Peter Alexander Healy (1813-1884) was one of the most prominent and sought-after portrait painters of his day, Healy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He lived in Chicago from 1855 through 1869 and again from 1892 until his death. Among his notable portraitures are “Webster’s Reply to Hayne,” done in 1851, […]
by Hank Morris James J. Egan (1839 or 1841-1914) was born in Cork, Ireland, Egan became one of Chicago’s leading architects in the years following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. His best known building is the Hotel St. Benedict Flats at 40-52 East Chicago Avenue and Wabash, a Chicago landmark that has been described […]
by Colleen Taylor Sen Martin Roche (1854-1927) was the last surviving founder of the architectural firm of Holabird and Roche, world famous as the originators of the skeleton skyscraper type of office building. Born in Ohio, he came to Chicago as a boy and as a young man entered the offices of the the […]
by Colleen Taylor Sen James Thomas Farrell (1904-1979) was considered by many as the greatest Irish American novelist, Farrell wrote more than 50 novels and short story collections. He grew up in a South Side Irish working class family and attended the University of Chicago for three years. His most famous work, the Studs Lonigan […]
by Hank Morris Leonard John O’Connor (1912-1991) will be remembered by many Chicagoans for his biting commentaries on Channel 5’s 10 p.m. local newscasts during the ‘60s and early ‘70s. He was later selected as the first newsman to do the morning local news cut-ins to NBC’s Today show. He began his career as a […]