Today in Chicago History: 7 people who took cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules die within 24-hour period

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Sept. 29, 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: 99 degrees (1953)
Low temperature: 32 degrees (1984)
Precipitation: 1.39 inches (1921)
Snowfall: None

Chicago Cubs manager Charlie Grimm, left, mussed up the hair of relief pitcher Paul Erickson during a clubhouse celebration on Sept. 29, 1945, after Erickson held off a rally by the Pirates in Pittsburgh to help Chicago win the National League pennant. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

1945: The Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant. They lost the World Series to the Detroit Tigers.

The Chicago Sunday Tribune’s Sept. 30, 1945, edition shows the Chicago Cubs celebrating their pennant win. The Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 to advance to the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, who won the series. (Chicago Tribune archive)

1975: The Illinois Supreme Court voided a new death penalty law, saying the legislature lacked constitutional authority to create the three-judge sentencing panels.

Seven people died in 1982 from cyanide poisoning after ingesting tainted Tylenol, murders that were never solved. From clockwise top left are Adam Janus, Mary McFarland, Mary “Lynn” Reiner, Terri and Stanley Janus, Paula Prince and Mary Kellerman. (Family photos)

1982: Twelve-year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village died after taking an Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule. Seven people died as a result of poisoning from drug tampering in the Chicago area and panicked the nation. Widely regarded as an act of domestic terrorism — a term not in the country’s vernacular at the time — the murders led to tamper-evident packaging, copycat killings and myths about tainted Halloween candy.

The Tylenol murders: Timeline of key events before and after the 1982 poisonings

The Tylenol case is a decades-long story of heartbreak, anger and frustration. It’s a story without an ending, without closure for those involved.

Pregame fireworks before the Chicago Bears game against the Green Bay Packers at the newly renovated Soldier Field, on Sept. 29, 2003. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

2003: The Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears in the first game played inside the newly renovated Soldier Field. The project cost $611 million and took 20 months to complete.

2005: The Chicago White Sox clinched the American League Central division. And then on Oct. 26, 2005, the Sox won their first World Series since 1917.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: The White Sox’s wild ride into the team’s 125th season

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