200 Years of Illinois: Scott Field and the Balloon Man
On May 4, 1927, balloonist Hawthorne C. Gray, a captain in the Army Air Corps, reached new heights in human endeavor. Literally. Taking off from Scott Field near Belleville, Gray […]
Author: rkcunningham
Posts by rkcunningham
Backlist Bop: May Berenbaum on what’s the buzz
It’s spring, and the insects have returned in force. Though, unless you live in Antarctica, it’s doubtful you go a day without seeing an arthropod even in winter. These creatures […]
Saluting the opening of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
On May 1, 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago and soon took its place among the magnificent public entertainments of the modern age. The following is an excerpt from Chicago’s […]
200 Years of Illinois: The Artful Pose
Today marks the birthday of famed sculptor Lorado Taft, born in 1860 in Elmwood, Illinois. A graduate of the Illinois Industrial University—forerunner of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—Taft studied in […]
Contradictory environmental messages in the media commons
An excerpt from the new book The Media Commons: Globalization and Environmental Discourses, by Patrick D. Murphy. ….Integrated media systems promote the pursuit of wasteful cultural practices and ecologically unsustainable […]
Backstreet Bop: Rhythm of the rails
On this day in 1947, the City of New Orleans made its first run between the Chicago and the Crescent City on the Illinois Central line. The City traveled the early 921-mile […]
The AAUP’s best covers and jackets
Once again, the U. of Illinois Press is hosting the Association of American University Presses’s 2017 Book, Jacket, and Journal Show. Held in the UIP Grand Ballroom, the touring show stops every year […]
200 Years of Illinois: John B. Anderson Versus the World
On April 25, 1980, longtime Rockford congressman and powerful House leader John B. Anderson launched his independent campaign for the presidency. Today, April 26, marks the anniversary of his first full […]
200 Years of Illinois: Disaster in Naperville
One of the state’s lesser-known catastrophes, the Naperville Train Crash on April 25, 1946 marked a turning point in the town’s history. In those days half-rural, with some of its […]
Meet the UI Press: Fundraising tips
Enjoy another in our series of posts on how university presses and other small publishing concerns can enjoy greater financial security by creating new revenue streams. The introductory post is here. A second […]
Backlist Bop: The French Connection
Today marks the birthday of Daniel Chester French, in his day one of America’s most popular sculptors. The famed often seem to have known the famed, and French was no […]
200 Years of Illinois: Sorry, Charlie
On April 19, 1928, Illinois held its last public hanging as bootlegger Charlie Birger went up the rope in Benton on a spring morning. (We’ve published a book that tells his story.) […]