Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Dec. 19, 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: 64 degrees (1877)
- Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1983)
- Precipitation: 2.66 inches (1895)
- Snowfall: 8.3 inches (1973)
1926: The Chicago Bears played the Green Bay Packers for the first time at Soldier Field.
The game ended in a 3-3 tie.
1932: Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti was shot but survived. But — Chicago being Chicago — Nitti was arrested and his assailants were given a medal. Nitti later took his own life in North Riverside.
1975: Chicago native John Paul Stevens was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.
Stevens, a judge in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1970, “came as somewhat of a surprise as he is relatively unknown outside of Illinois legal circles,” Tribune reporter Glen Elsasser wrote after Stevens’ nomination to the bench was announced. Yet President Gerald Ford told reporters at the White House he believed Stevens “to be the best qualified to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.”
He served on the court for nearly 35 years — more than twice the average tenure for a justice, according to the AP. Stevens died in 2019.
Column: Will there be more birthdays for the Uptown Theatre? A new book looks at its history
1981: The J. Geils Band played the last concert at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago before it closed.
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