Chicago, That Toddlin' Town Trivia Quiz

Answer: French

The first mention of Chicago was by the French explorer, Robert de LaSalle, in 1679, who called it "Checagou." This is supposedly derived from an Indian word meaning wild garlic or skunk cabbage. What is now Chicago was a low-lying swampy area. The French built a few trading posts in the area, but they were abandoned around the year 1720.

It would be over 50 years before the next attempt at settlement began.

Answer: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable

Very little is known about Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. It is known that he was black, and by the 1780s had established a farm and trading post at the mouth of the Chicago river. He lived here for about 20 years, and is given credit for being Chicago's first settler.

In 1800, he sold his property to a man named John Kinzie, and moved to St. Charles, Missouri, where he operated a ferry. Point du Sable died on August 28, 1818. He was honored on a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1987.

Answer: Indian massacre

On June 18, 1812 the United States declared war upon Great Britain. The commander of Fort Dearborn, Captain Nathan Heald, was ordered to evacuate the settlement and lead its people to Fort Wayne, in present day Indiana. Captain Heald negotiated a settlement with the local Indians, members of the Pottawatomie tribe, for safe passage out of the fort.

His band of 66 soldiers and 27 women and children had only traveled about half a mile before they were attacked and massacred by a war party of over 500 Pottawatomies, who killed all the children, and cut out and ate the heart of Heald's brother-in-law. Only 41 people survived, many of whom died from ill-treatment at the hands of the Pottawatomies before being ransomed. Fort Dearborn was rebuilt in 1818 following the end of the war.

Answer: No

It seems that the citizens of Chicago wanted to widen the access to the Chicago River from Lake Michigan, and pave their streets. Supposedly, the bank sent one of its employees to make the arduous 325 mile journey north to inspect the settlement. When he returned, he gave a negative report to the bank's directors. "Chicago," he said, "is too far from Shawneetown to ever amount to anything." Some citizens in modern day southern Illinois still believe he was right.

There is a lot of rivalry between Chicago and suburban Cook County (the county where Chicago is located), and "downstate" Illinois.

Answer: Pleasant climate

Not even the most ardent fan of Chicago would be likely to boast about its climate; summers are hot, and often oppressively humid, while winters are unbelievably cold, with temperatures and wind chills well below zero.

Chicago did benefit greatly from the building of canals; the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825, allowed farm goods from the Midwest to be shipped via the Great Lakes to to the East Coast. This was followed by the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848, which linked Chicago to the Mississippi River. Chicago became a hub for many early railroads, and the millions of cattle and hogs shipped there provided jobs for thousands of workers in the slaughter houses, stockyards, and meat-packing industry. By 1850, the population had grown to almost 30,000 people.

Answer: Fire

The Great Chicago Fire started on October 8, 1871, in a barn on DeKoven Street, just a little southwest of the downtown area. By 1871, Chicago had grown to a city of 300,000 - the fifth largest in the United States. The rapid population growth meant that many buildings were made of wood, and topped with tar-paper shingles, which burned readily. The fire spread so rapidly that there was little to do except allow it burn itself out, which it did two days later, after having destroyed the entire business district and leaving over 100,000 people homeless. Chicago started rebuilding within days.

No one knows how the fire started. The urban legend that a cow belonging to a Mrs. O'Leary kicked over a lantern in her barn has been thoroughly discredited. Whatever the cause, the fire did little to halt Chicago's meteoric growth. The city was quickly rebuilt, and by 1880 the population had grown to 503,184.

Answer: 26 million

Built primarily in Jackson Park along the shores of Lake Michigan, the Columbian Exposition boasted over 200 buildings, many covered with gleaming white stucco, which led to it being called "the White City." Most of the buildings were temporary in nature, but the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry are housed today in buildings built for the Exposition.

It seemed like everyone, from the "crowned heads of Europe," to the humblest working class wage-earner, wanted to see the fair. Over 26 million people came to see it - at a time when the entire population of the United States was only 63 million. October 9, 1893, the day designated as Chicago Day, 716,881 people showed up - a world's record for attendance at any event.

Much of the Exhibition was lighted by electricity, a novelty at the time. Many people also saw their first motion picture, and took a ride on the world's first Ferris Wheel. Among the products which made their debut at the fair were Juicy Fruit chewing gum, Quaker Oats, and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

Answer: SS Eastland

On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland and two other ships were tied up at the Clark Street Pier on the Chicago River, waiting to take employees of the Western Electric Company on a short cruise to Michigan City, Indiana, where the company was holding a picnic for them. As 2,572 passengers crowded onboard, the ship began to list to port, and at 7:28 AM it tipped over, coming to rest on its side in 20 feet of water. Many passengers, a lot of them Czech immigrants, were trapped inside and drowned, or were crushed by shifting furniture. Despite the best efforts of rescuers, 844 passengers (many of them children), and four crewmembers lost their lives; the Eastland Disaster was one of the worst tragedies in Chicago's history.

Ironically, the sinking of the Titanic a few years before may have caused the Eastland Disaster. In 1915, a new law inspired by the loss of the Titanic made it mandatory that passenger ships carry more lifeboats. Some believe that the additional lifeboats caused the Eastland to become top-heavy and unstable. Despite numerous probes and lawsuits, the crew and the ship's owners were found innocent of any wrongdoing in causing the accident.

Many of the bodies of the victims were taken to the 2nd Regiment Armory on West Washington Boulevard to await identification. This building later became the studio for "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Oprah's employees swore they often heard strange noises, music, laughter, and sobbing, as well as seeing a spectral figure known as "the Gray Lady." These paranormal events are believed to be linked to the Eastland Disaster.

Answer: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Five members of Moran's gang, plus two associates, Reinhardt H. Schwimmer and John May, were gathered in a garage at 2122 N Clark Street, perhaps to await the arrival of a shipment of bootleg whiskey, when a police car pulled up. Two men dressed in police uniforms and two other men got out and ordered the men in the garage to line up facing a wall.

They were then shot down by Thompson submachine guns. Witnesses saw the two policemen lead the other two men, their hands in the air, out of the garage and put them in the police car and drive away.

It was found that the police car was stolen, and the men dressed as police were likely members of the Capone gang. No one was ever convicted in killings; one victim, Frank Gusenberg, was still alive when the real police arrived, but he refused to name the killers. Ironically, the intended victim of the massacre, Bugs Moran, escaped death because he was late arriving, and saw the stolen police car pull up outside the garage.

He had no doubts about who had ordered the killings; he was quoted as saying, "Only Capone kills like that." The garage where the killings took place was torn down in 1967, and some of the bricks from the bullet-pocked wall were sold as grisly souvenirs.

Answer: 1990

Chicago was truly the "Second City" in terms of population, behind only New York City, from 1890 through 1980. The 1990 census showed that Chicago had fallen to third place, behind New York and Los Angeles. It's largest population was 3,620,962 in 1950. The 2010 census showed Chicago's population to be 2,695,598, a drop of over 200,000 from the year 2000.