This Week in Illinois History Northern Public Radio

Brave. Courageous. Bold. All words used to describe legendary Western lawman Wyatt Earp. But novels, films and TV shows often overlook his reckless youth in Illinois, where he earned a reputation as a thief, swindler and pimp.

A popular Chicago Mayor and champion to the city's overlooked immigrant communities is struck down by an assassin’s bullet, a bullet that was meant for someone else.

Carl Sandburg, author, journalist, folk singer, and poet of the people, appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois.

No longer considered a planet, but always number nine in our hearts. This week in Illinois history, we celebrate the discovery of Pluto by Streator native Clyde Tombaugh.

Illinois was barely two months old when it experienced its first duel, an intoxicated altercation over a horse that destroyed the lives of two families.