Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Nov. 9, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 76 degrees (2020)
- Low temperature: 14 degrees (1991)
- Precipitation: 2.69 inches (1966)
- Snowfall: 1.3 inches (1926)
1893: The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, a 48-foot brick tower with a 10-sided cast-iron lantern, began operation at the mouth of the Chicago River. The lighthouse was moved east of Navy Pier in 1917 after the extension of the breakwater was completed. A fog-signal room and a boathouse were added on opposite sides.
The only lighthouse in the city, it still flashes a red beacon but became automated in 1979. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, then granted landmark status in 2003. It’s featured in a relief sculpture titled The Spirit of the Waters near the LaSalle Street entrance to City Hall.
Ownership was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the city for free in 2009, as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
1913: The “White Hurricane” — one of the strongest and deadliest storms to ever hit the Great Lakes — battered the Great Lakes with hurricane-force winds, towering waves and blizzard conditions.
The storm sank at least a dozen ships, eight of them on Lake Huron, while damaging or grounding 40 others and claiming more than 250 lives, according to Tom Skilling, former WGN-TV chief meteorologist.
Snow wasn’t an issue in Chicago, but wind was. Lincoln Park officials estimated $200,000 in damage — “the cost to the big project of filling in new land east of the park,” the Tribune reported.
1968: A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck southern Illinois and was felt in more than 20 states. It’s the strongest on record in the state.
2015: Six stores sold medical marijuana legally in the state of Illinois for the first time.
Illinois residents purchased marijuana legally for recreational use starting Jan. 1, 2020.
Want more vintage Chicago?
Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.
Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com