Today in Chicago History: ‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski pleads guiltyon January 22, 2025 at 10:00 am

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1 year ago

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 22, 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: 59 degrees (1909)
Low temperature: Minus 17 degrees (1936)
Precipitation: 1.39 inches (1887)
Snowfall: 6.2 inches (2005)

1849: Illinois General Hospital of the Lakes — later known as Mercy Hospital — was established at Rush Street and the Chicago River, making it the first hospital in Chicago.

Flashback: Mercy Hospital’s major milestones

The building formerly housed Lake House, an opulent hotel.

1957: The nude bodies of sisters Barbara and Patricia Grimes were found along a rural road near Burr Ridge. The girls slipped away from their home in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood a month earlier to see an Elvis Presley movie at a nearby theater, but never returned.

The father of sisters Barbara and Patricia Grimes identified their bodies, which were discovered on Jan. 22, 1957 near Burr Ridge. The girls disappeared in Dec. 1956. (Chicago Tribune)

Investigators didn’t find enough evidence to explain their deaths. The official cause of death was exposure to winter cold, and despite an exhaustive investigation and widespread media attention, the case remains one of the Chicago area’s most notorious unsolved mysteries.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta, wave out the window of their new apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. in Chicago on Jan. 26, 1966. (Chicago Tribune historical archive)

Chicago Tribune Historic Print Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta (on his right) wave to a crowd after moving into an apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Avenue in 1966. Chicago Tribune file photo. . ..OUTSIDE TRIBUNE CO.- NO MAGS, NO SALES, NO INTERNET, NO TV.. — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta, wave out the window of their new apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. in Chicago on Jan. 26, 1966. (Chicago Tribune historical archive)

1966: It was revealed that Martin Luther King Jr. planned to live in a four-room, third-floor walk-up apartment on South Hamlin Avenue in North Lawndale. Rent was $90 per month (about $840 in today’s dollars). He moved in a few days later.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leads ‘the first significant freedom movement in the North’

Today the site is home to the Dr. King Legacy Apartments, which were constructed in 2011.

“Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty in January 1998 — almost 20 years to the day after the Unabomber’s first pipe bomb exploded — to three bombing murders and the maiming of two other people and agreed to a life sentence in prison without the possibility of release. He avoided the death penalty and a trial where he would have been portrayed as mentally ill. (Chicago Tribune)

"Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Jan. 1998 almost 20 years to the day after the Unabomber's first pipe bomb exploded to three bombing murders and the maiming of two other people and agreed to a life sentence in prison without the possibility of release. He avoided the death penalty and a trial where he would have been portrayed as mentally ill. (Chicago Tribune) — “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty in January 1998 — almost 20 years to the day after the Unabomber’s first pipe bomb exploded — to three bombing murders and the maiming of two other people and agreed to a life sentence in prison without the possibility of release. He avoided the death penalty and a trial where he would have been portrayed as mentally ill. (Chicago Tribune)

1998: “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty — almost 20 years after his first pipe bomb exploded — choosing to spend life in prison rather than be portrayed at trial as mentally ill.

5 things you might not know about Chicago native Ted Kaczynski — the ‘Unabomber’

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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 22, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” is flanked by federal agents as he is led to a car from the federal courthouse in Helena, Montana, on April 4, 1996. (John Youngbear/AP)

By Kori Rumore | krumore@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune

PUBLISHED: January 22, 2025 at 4:00 AM CST

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 22, 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: 59 degrees (1909)
Low temperature: Minus 17 degrees (1936)
Precipitation: 1.39 inches (1887)
Snowfall: 6.2 inches (2005)

1849: Illinois General Hospital of the Lakes — later known as Mercy Hospital — was established at Rush Street and the Chicago River, making it the first hospital in Chicago.

Flashback: Mercy Hospital’s major milestones

The building formerly housed Lake House, an opulent hotel.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leads ‘the first significant freedom movement in the North’

Today the site is home to the Dr. King Legacy Apartments, which were constructed in 2011.

1998: “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty — almost 20 years after his first pipe bomb exploded — choosing to spend life in prison rather than be portrayed at trial as mentally ill.

5 things you might not know about Chicago native Ted Kaczynski — the ‘Unabomber’

Want more vintage Chicago?

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com