Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 27, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
High temperature: 99 degrees (2024)
Low temperature: 47 degrees (1982)
Precipitation: 1.59 inches (1923)
Snowfall: Trace (1909)
1872: Aaron Montgomery Ward established the first major mail-order business on North Clark Street in Chicago.
Wards was the first, but ultimately not the biggest, mail-order business in Chicago. In 1887, Richard Warren Sears, who had sold watches in Minneapolis, moved to the city and with the help of Alvah Curtis Roebuck, a watchmaker, began a mail-order business selling watches.
1911: Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh threw the first no-hitter at Comiskey Park.
A large ball of flames at the Standard Oil Co. refinery near Berry Avenue and 129th Street in Whiting on Aug. 27, 1955. A hydroformer, a 26 stories-high tank used to covert low-octane gasoline to high-octane gasoline, exploded. (John Austad/Chicago Tribune)
1955: An explosion at the Standard Oil refinery in Whiting destroyed much of the plant and dozens of nearby homes. The explosion occurred as the largest “hydroformer” in the United States — a 26-story-high tank used to convert low-octane gasoline into high-octane gasoline, at what is now a BP refinery — was being put back into operation after it had been shut down for an examination.
Documentary maker, author will speak on 1955 Standard Oil explosion at Cal College event
At least two people were killed in the blast and the subsequent fires burned for eight days, fueled by the refinery’s giant oil reserves.
Alponse Cahue, of Mexico City, in Soldier Field on opening day of the Pan Am Games in Chicago, Sept. 2, 1959. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
1959: Opening ceremonies of the Pan-American Games — hosted for the first time in the United States — took place at Soldier Field. Chicago was a late replacement for Cleveland, which called off the party in 1957, for financial reasons. Because the 1959 Games were held in the North American summer for the first time (the previous two were in March), the U.S. sent an Olympic-caliber team. The U.S. won 19 of 20 golds in swimming and diving and 26 of 32 in track and field, with swimmer Chris Von Saltza taking five gold medals (three individual, two relays).
Lillian Hardin Armstrong plays at Civic Center Plaza in Chicago on Aug. 27, 1971. The former wife of the late Louis Armstrong collapsed while performing and later died at Wesley Memorial Hospital. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune)
1971: Lillian Hardin Armstrong, pianist and former wife of the late Louis Armstrong, collapsed and died while playing “St. Louis Blues” during a musical salute to her late husband in the Civic Center (now Daley) Plaza.
An accomplished pianist and songwriter in her own right, she taught her husband of seven years — trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong — how to read music. After separating from Louis in 1931, she led two all-women bands and wrote “Just For a Thrill,” which became a hit for Ray Charles.
Armstrong is interred at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island. A park in the Grand Boulevard area, just blocks from the home she formerly shared with her husband at 421 E. 44th St., is named in her honor.
Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and four others were killed Aug. 27, 1990, when the helicopter in which they were riding crashed into a ski hill near Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin. The helicopter was bound for Midway International Airport. (Chicago Tribune)
1990: Blues guitarist-singer Stevie Ray Vaughan and four others died when the helicopter they were riding in crashed into a ski hill in East Troy, Wisconsin, amid heavy fog.
His peers were stunned. Vaughan was described by blues legend Buddy Guy as, “The best I ever saw. He was one of the white cats who was keeping the blues alive.”
Vaughan — who recorded five gold and platinum albums — had played two concerts at Alpine Valley on a bill with Eric Clapton and Robert Cray before boarding the aircraft, which was bound for Chicago’s Midway International Airport. Three other helicopters, which carried Clapton and his entourage, made the trip to Midway safely.
Vaughan’s family and the helicopter owner/operator reached a settlement in 1995.
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