Katherine Dunham, born on June 22, 1909, was best known for her soft, poetic dancing skills. She was raised in Joliet and unlike many other dancers, didn’t start dancing until her late teens.

Her first leading role was in Ruth Page’s ballet “La Guiablesse” in 1933. She did the role while attending the University of Chicago where she was studying social anthropology. She was inspired by two of her professors who stressed the importance of the survival and understanding of African-American culture. While attending classes, Dunham taught dance classes for children and gave recitals in a Chicago storefront. She called her student company “Ballet Negre.”

After graduation, Dunham focused on the dances of Haitian people. In 1945, she opened the Dunham School of Dance and Theater in Manhattan.  She also became more politically engaged by fighting segregation in hotels, restaurants and theatres. In 1962, she opened a Broadway production titled “Bambouche,” which featured 14 dancers, singers and musicians of the Royal Troupe of Morocco.

In 1967, she opened a cultural program and school for children and youth in East St. Louis called the Performing Arts Training Center. Ten years later, the Katherine Dunham Museum would open. Dunham received many awards throughout her lifetime and will always be known as an influential pioneer of black dance.

Learn more:
Katherine Dunham – Biography
Katherine Dunham – A Life in Profile
Katherine Dunham Museum

The dishwasher was invented in Shelbyville.

Ever wonder who came up with the idea for the dish washing machine? The answer is Josephine Cochrane, a resident of Shelbyville who received a patent on December 28, 1886.

After becoming frustrated with how long it took to wash dishes by hand, Cochrane decided to build her own machine. She showed her dishwasher at the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair and founded a company to manufacture her dishwashers, which eventually became KitchenAid.

During the 1950s, dishwashers became a standard household kitchen appliance, and it’s hard to imagine them not existing today. Next time you load up the dishwasher, remember to thank Josephine Cochrane.

Learn more:

Forgotten Newsmakers Story on Josephine Cochrane

On October 11, 2007, the Illinois Senate passed a resolution declaring April 1 of each year “Cheap Trick Day” to celebrate the accomplishments of this great Illinois band.

Illinois has given the world its fair share of prominent musical acts, and one of the biggest bands from Illinois is Rockford’s Cheap Trick. The band released its self-titled debut in 1977, and over the years has sold more than 20 million records. With hit songs such as “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender,” “The Flame” and “Dream Police,” Cheap Trick saw massive success in the United States and abroad in the 1970s and 80s.

The band tours regularly, spreading their distinctive blend of pop, hard rock and punk to a new generation of music lovers. Cheap Trick’s guitar player, Rick Neilsen still resides in Rockford. Along with his musical accomplishments, Nielsen is also a successful restaurateur. He is an investor in the Stockholm Inn in Rockford and a co-owner of Piece Pizza in Chicago.

Learn more:
Want to find out where Cheap Trick is playing next? Here is the band’s website

Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright spent a large part of his adult life in Illinois, leaving behind many architectural achievements. 

Wright was born in Wisconsin in 1867, moving to Chicago when he was 20 to work for architect Joseph Silsbee. Over the next 40 years, Wright designed a multitude of Chicago-area buildings, most notably his Oak Park home. He also designed the renowned Winslow House in River Forest, the Robie House in Chicago and the Unity Temple in Oak Park.

His style of design was known as the “Prairie School” of architecture, characterized by a reliance on the use of horizontal lines and overhanging eaves.

Wright’s work also includes the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, the Bradley House in Kankakee and a host of homes and other buildings in Oak Park.

Learn more:

Frank Lloyd Wright (Artsy.net)
Frank Lloyd Wright (Biography.com)
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Modern Home Designs by Frank Lloyd Wright

Located in the heart of the Midwest and enjoying rich fertile soil, Illinois offers the ideal landscape for farming. That’s why when you travel throughout Illinois you’ll certainly see an abundance of corn fields. In fact, Illinois is listed as the second-highest corn producing state in the nation. Data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) found that in 2013, Illinois harvested more than 11 million acres of corn, yielding 2.1 billion bushels of corn. That’s about 15 percent of the 13.9 billion bushels of corn that were grown in the United States in 2013.

Only Iowa produced more corn than Illinois did in 2013, and NASS data forecasts that Illinois will produce about 100 million more bushels in 2014 than it did in 2013.

Learn more:
NASS 2013 Crop Production Report