Photograph: Beautiful Dirigible in Grant Park prior to its death trip.
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Two passengers, a mechanic and 10 employees of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank died when the dirigible Winged Foot Express burned and fell through the skylight of the bank on July 21, 1919. The craft had been conveying passengers between Grant Park and the White City Amusement Park on the South Side, when it caught fire at an altitude of 1,200 feet.
The pilot and chief mechanic parachuted to safety. Another passenger parachuted, broke both legs and died later. The other occupants of the balloon descended with the craft to their deaths. The City Council immediately proposed regulations banning the flying of flammable gas balloons over the populated parts of the city.
Photo Credit: Illinois Trust and Savings Bank. The Columns [special memorial issue July 1919 Dirigible crash]
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| Prior to 1850 |
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| 1850 to 1899 |
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| 1900 to 1949 |
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| 1950 to 2000 |
1950, May 25: Green Hornet Accident, Streetcar Collision with Gasoline Tanker
1955: Heat Wave
1958: Our Lady of Angels School Fire
1961, 1967: Tornados
1966-1977: Riots
1966: Homicide Epidemic Onset
1967, January 16: McCormick Place Fire
1967: Major Snow Storm
1968: Disturbances at the Democratic National Convention
1972, October 30: Illinois Central Gulf Commuter Train Crash
1972, December 8: Crash of United Flight 553 at Midway
1976, January 30: Wincrest Nursing Home Fire
1976: Death of Mayor Richard J. Daley
1977, February 4: El Crash
1979: Major Snowstorm
1979, May 25: American Airlines Flight 191
1981: AIDS Epidemic Onset
1987, November 25: Death Of Mayor Harold Washington
1992, April 13: Freight Tunnel Flood
1995: Heat Wave
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