Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade grew up in Illinois. Before winning two National Basketball Association Championships, Wade played basketball at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago.

Wade played for the University of Marquette for two seasons before being drafted fifth by the Miami Heat in the 2003 NBA Draft. In 2006, he was named NBA Finals MVP after securing his first NBA Championship. Six years later, Wade obtained his second NBA Championship after teaming up with Lebron James and Chris Bosh in 2010.

Although Wade is prominently known for his success on the court, he has also become involved in the community through the Wade’s World Foundation which he established in 2004. Through his foundation, Wade helps out a number of communities throughout the country.

Learn more:
The official Dwyane Wade website

The idea of creating a formal national Thanksgiving Day holiday originated with Illinois born President Abraham Lincoln?
 
In an 1863 proclamation – amid the still-raging Civil War – Lincoln designated Thanksgiving to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
 
"He was always looking for ways to unify the nation in a terrible time of war," said Lincoln biographer Ronald C. White Jr.

Learn more:
Official Thanksgiving Holiday - USA Today
Thanksgiving in the United States

Born in Belleville in 1967, while in high school, Mr. Tweedy formed a close bond with classmate Jay Farrar. The two eventually formed a band called The Primatives. That band would go on to become Uncle Tupelo and according to music critics almost single-handedly created the “alt-country” genre, which combines the plaintive sounds of early country music with the raucous electric guitar and drum sounds of punk. Mr. Tweedy briefly attended Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville before dropping out to focus on music full-time.

After Uncle Tupelo’s acrimonious disbanding, Mr. Tweedy founded Wilco and in the process, moved back to Illinois from St. Louis. Settling in Chicago, Wilco became one of the torchbearers for alternative rock music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Dropped from their label Reprise for delivering what the label deemed to be “uncommercial” music, the band bought the master tapes and was signed by another label releasing 2001’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” to massive critical and commercial success. 2005’s follow-up “A Ghost is Born” earned the band two Grammy awards.

Most recently, Mr. Tweedy has begun playing shows with his son Spencer under the band name Tweedy.

Learn more:
Jeff Tweedy biography
Wilco homepage
Tweedy - NPR Tiny Desk Concert

Born in Highland Park, Illinois, Edward Weston is celebrated as one of the most groundbreaking and influential American photographers, having photographed a vast array of subjects, from landscape to narrative, and everything in between.  

Weston’s passion for photography bloomed at an early age after receiving a Kodak Bullseye camera for his 16th birthday.  He spent his time photographing Chicago parks and soon purchased a used 5x7 camera, as he began to develop his own film and prints. From this humble start flowered a 40 year career in the arts.  

In 1906, Weston moved to Tropico, California to pursue a career in photography.  Weston remained in California for the remainder of his life, photographing in and around Big Sur. In 1937, Weston became the first photographer ever to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Edward Weston passed away at his home on Wildcat Hill in 1958. His sons scattered his ashes at Point Lobos, later named Weston Beach.

Learn more:
The Edward Weston / Cole Westong family website
Edward Weston at Encyclopædia Britannica
Edward Weston biography at Encyclopedia.com

James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, historic scout, lawman, soldier and gunfighter was born in Troy Grove, Illinois (formerly known as Homer, Ill.) to William and Polly Hickok. He was recognized as an outstanding shot with a pistol from a very young age. By the age of 18, following a gunfight, he joined a vigilante group known as the “Jayhawkers”, where he met then 12-year-old army scout William Cody, popularly known as “Buffalo Bill.”

In the following years, Hickok served as an army scout for the Union Army, as well as a wagon master and police detective. One account even points to his service as a Union spy in Confederate territory between the years of 1862 and 1863. Hickok was mustered out of service in 1865, and spent much of his time near Springfield, Missouri gambling. It was during this time that one of Hickok’s most famous shootings took place.

In the town square of Springfield, Missouri, Hickok met Davis Tutt in what would be forever fictionalized as a high noon, quick draw standoff.  In reality, it was more akin to a classic duel, the two men facing each other from a distance, turning to the side to present a smaller target. The two men drew their weapons and took aim. Both men fired. Tutts shot missed, but Bills .36 caliber ball, fired from his Colt 1851 Navy revolver, found its mark, striking Tutt between the fifth and seventh rib on his left side. The incident was sparked over the loss of Bills prized pocket watch during a card game.

Wild Bill’s last days would be spent in Deadwood, in the Dakota Territories. While playing cards at Nuttel & Mann’s Saloon, he was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall.  The cards he held would later be known as a “dead man’s hand,” or aces and eights.

Learn more:
Wild Bill Hickok & The Deadman's Hand
Wild Bill Hickok at HISTORYnet.com
Birthplace of Wild Bill Hickok