| Louis Jolliet, a Canadian
explorer and the French-born Jesuit Jacques Marquette
were the first Europeans to discover the Chicago area
in 1673 1673 - First Europeans discover Chicago area
1781 - First permanent settlement by Jean Baptiste Point
du Sable 1832 - Chief Black Hawk defeated 1837 - Chicago
is incorporated as a city 1871 - The Great Fire 1885
- The first skyscraper 1893 - World Columbian Exposition
1909 - The Chicago plan 1943 - Chicago's first subway
opened 1973 - Sears Tower completed with the help of
local Indians.
The first permanent settlement was
founded in 1781 by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, an
African American from Santo Domingo. The location at
the mouth of the Chicago river was chosen for its strategic
value for a trading post as the river connected the
Lake with the Mississippi river. Later the area at the
mouth of the Chicago river was occupied by a military
base, Fort Dearborn. The Fort was regularly atacked
by Native Americans, until Chief Black Hawk was defeated
in 1832. One year later, Chicago was officially incorporated
as a town and four years later, when the population
reached 4170, as a city. Its name was derived from the
native indian's word describing the area.
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