Chicago

The name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the indigenous Miami–Illinois word šikaakwa, which referred to a wild relative of onion and garlic.

The first known permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who is commonly known as the 'Founder of Chicago'.

In 1900, the city completed a major engineering feat by reversing the flow of the Chicago River to prevent sewage contamination of Lake Michigan.

Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization, called the Society for Human Rights, formed in 1924.

Chicago's Western Avenue is the longest continuous urban street in the world.