Encyclopedia of Chicago

Fabyan, George	b Mar. 15, 1867, Boston, MA; d May 17, 1936, Geneva, IL.	Dry-goods merchant; scientist; established Geneva's first research and development facility.
Fabyan, Nelle Wright	b Nov. 19, 1872, Marinette, WI; d July 22, 1939, Chicago.	Geneva estate later housed the Riverbank Laboratories.
Falk, Harry	active 1930s.	Businessman; involved with startup of Baxter International.
Falk, Ralph	b Aug. 6, 1884, Boise, ID; d Nov. 2, 1960, Chicago.	Surgeon; board chairman of Baxter Laboratories.
Farley, Chris	b Feb. 15, 1964, Madison, WI; d Dec. 18, 1997, Chicago.	Improv comedian; actor; performed with Second City and Saturday Night Live.
Farmer, James	b Jan. 12, 1920, Marshall, TX; d July 9, 1999, Fredericksburg, VA.	Civil rights leader; founded Congress of Racial Equality (1942); received Presidential Medal of Freedom (1998).
Farnam, Henry	b Nov. 9, 1803, Scipio, NY; d Oct. 4, 1883, New Haven, CT.	Railroad builder; philanthropist; built Chicago & Rock Island Railroad.
Farr, Newton C.	b Dec. 25, 1887, Chicago; d Nov. 8, 1967, Chicago.	Real-estate executive; pioneer in concept of urban renewal; oversaw Hyde Park urban renewal.
Farrell, James Thomas	b Feb. 27, 1904, Chicago; d Aug. 22, 1979, New York, NY.	Writer; novelist (Studs Lonigan).
Farwell, Charles Benjamin	b July 1, 1823, Painted Post, NY; d Sept. 23, 1903, Lake Forest, IL.	Early merchant; clerk of Cook County and Cook County Board of Supervisors; U.S. representative and senator.
Fassett, Samuel Montague	b 1825, Chicago; d Aug. 2, 1910, Washington, DC.	Cabinet card photographer (1855–1860).
Fauntz, Jane [Jane Fauntz Manske]	b Dec. 19, 1910, New Orleans, LA; d May 30, 1989.	Olympic swimmer; won 1928 Olympic bronze medal.
Fay, C. Norman	b Aug. 13, 1848, Burlington, VT; d Apr. 7, 1944, Cambridge, MA.	Utilities executive; author; classical music patron.
Feehan, Patrick Augustine	b Aug. 29, 1829, Killenaule, Ireland; d July 12, 1902, Chicago.	Roman Catholic archbishop of Chicago (1880–1902).
Feldman, Eugene Pieter	b Sept. 14, 1915, Sheboygan, WI; d Nov. 28, 1987, Montgomery, AL.	Museum administrator; helped establish DuSable Museum.
Felsenthal, Bernhard	b Jan. 2, 1822, Munchweiler, Bavaria; d Jan. 12, 1908, Chicago.	Jewish theologian; rabbi; writer; founded Zion congregation on Chicago's West Side.
Fenger, Christian	b Nov. 3, 1840, Copenhagen, Denmark; d Mar. 7, 1902, Chicago.	Surgeon; medical educator.
Ferber, Edna Jessica	b Aug. 15, 1885, Kalamazoo, MI; d Apr. 16, 1968, New York, NY.	Novelist; playwright; short story writer; Pulitzer Prize (1924) for So Big.
Fergus, Robert	b Aug. 14, 1815, Glasgow, Scotland; d June 23, 1897, Evanston, IL.	Early printer in Chicago; local historian; published Fergus Historical Series.
Ferguson, Benjamin Franklin	b 1837 or 1839, Columbus, PA; d Apr. 11, 1905, Chicago.	Early lumber dealer; endowed Ferguson Fund to construct statues and fountains in parks.
Fermi, Enrico	b Sept. 29, 1901, Rome, Italy; d Nov. 28, 1954, Chicago.	Physicist; co-architect of the Manhattan Project at Univ. of Chicago; won Nobel Prize in Physics (1938).
Ferris, George Washington Gale	b Feb. 14, 1859, Galesburg, IL; d Nov. 22, 1896, Pittsburgh, PA.	Civil engineer; invented the Ferris Wheel for 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Ferris, William	b Feb. 26, 1937, Chicago; d May 16, 2000, Chicago.	Composer; conductor; founder and director of William Ferris Chorale.
Field, Eugene	b Sept. 2, 1850, St. Louis, MO; d Nov. 4, 1895, Chicago.	Journalist; poet; humorist; Chicago Daily News columnist.
Field, Marshall	b Aug. 18, 1834, Conway, MA; d Jan. 16, 1906, New York, NY.	Merchant; founded Marshall Field's department store.
Field, Marshall, III	b Sept. 28, 1893, Chicago; d Nov. 8, 1956, New York, NY.	Investor; newspaper publisher; philanthropist.
Fielden, Samuel	b Feb. 25, 1847, Todmorden, Lancashire, England; d Feb. 7, 1922, La Veta, CO.	Anarchist; convicted in Haymarket Square riot; pardoned by Governor John P. Altgeld.
Filkins, Joseph	b July 4, 1806, Berne, NY; d Nov. 12, 1857, Chicago.	Hardware dealers; Wheeling Township supervisor; operated stagecoach stop and hotel.
Finerty, John Frederick	b Sept. 10, 1846, Galway, Ireland; d June 10, 1908, Chicago.	Journalist; U.S. congressman (1883–1885); established the Irish newspaper Chicago Citizen (1882).
Finkelman, Max Y.	b Apr. 4, 1900; d Jan. 4, 1983, Chicago.	Diamond merchant; founded wholesale jewelry firm in Jeweler's Row.
Fischer, Adolph	b ca. 1857, Bremen, Germany; d Nov. 11, 1887, Chicago.	Anarchist; convicted in Haymarket Square riot; executed.
Fish, Elisha	b ca. 1785; d ca. 1852.	Arrived in Elmhurst in 1834.
Fishbein, Morris	b July 22, 1889, St. Louis, MO; d Sept. 27, 1976, Chicago.	Physician; writer; editor of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Fisher, Elijah John	b Aug. 2, 1858, LaGrange, GA; d July 31, 1915, Chicago.	Minister at Olivet Baptist Church (1902–1915).
Fitzpatrick, John	b Apr. 21, 1870, Athlone, Ireland; d Sept. 27, 1946, Chicago.	Labor leader; president of Chicago Federation of Labor; organized Stockyards Labor Council.
Florsheim, Harold Milton	b June 20, 1899, Chicago; d Jan. 30, 1987, Palm Springs, CA.	Shoe manufacturer; established Harham Farms in Mettawa in early 1930s.
Flower, Lucy Louisa Coues	b May 10, 1837, Boston, MA; d Apr. 27, 1921, CA.	Social reformer; president of Chicago Woman's Club (1890); worked to establish Cook County Juvenile Court.
Flower, Walter L.	active 1860s.	Created first landownership map of Cook County in 1861.
Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley	b Aug. 7, 1890, Concord, NH; d Sept. 5, 1964, Soviet Union.	Labor organizer; radical.
Foley, Edna L.	b Dec. 17, 1878, Hartford, CT; d Aug. 4, 1973, New York, NY.	Head of Chicago Visiting Nurse Association.
Foley, Thomas	b Mar. 6, 1822, Baltimore, MD; d Feb. 19, 1879, Chicago.	Roman Catholic coadjutor bishop and administrator of Chicago (1870–1879).
Forbes, John Murray	b Feb. 23, 1813, Bordeaux, France; d Oct. 12, 1898, Milton, MA.	Merchant; financier; railroad developer; organized Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
Ford, Orrin	b ca. 1802; d July 3, 1869.	Arrived in Rolling Meadows ca. 1836.
Foresman, Hugh Austin	b July 8, 1867, Easton, PA; d Jan. 13, 1960, Winnetka, IL.	Publisher; chairman of Scott, Foresman & Co. textbook publishing company.
Forgan, James B.	b Apr. 11, 1852, St. Andrews, Scotland; d Oct. 28, 1924, Chicago.	Banker; president of First National Bank; helped form Federal Reserve.
Forrest, Leon Richard	b Jan. 8, 1937, Chicago; d Nov. 6, 1997, Chicago.	Writer; novelist; editor; chair of African American Studies at Northwestern Univ.
Forsyth(e), Jessie P.	b Feb. 12, 1859; d Apr. 1, 1909, Chicago.	Founded Jessie P. Forsythe rest home (renamed Chicago-Winfield Tuberculosis Sanatorium).
Fortmann, Danny	b Apr. 11, 1916, Pearl River, NY; d May 23, 1995, Los Angeles, CA.	Football player; guard for Chicago Bears (1936–1943); team physician for Los Angeles Rams.
Fosse, Bob (Robert Louis)	b June 23, 1927, Chicago; d Sept. 23, 1987, Washington, DC.	Choreographer; musical director; filmmaker.
Foster, Andrew “Rube”	b Sept. 17, 1879, Calvert, TX; d Dec. 9, 1930, Kankakee, IL.	Baseball pitcher; owned and managed Chicago American Giants; established Negro National League.
Foster, William D.	b 1884; d ca. 1962, Los Angeles, CA.	Early film producer; started Foster Photoplay Co.
Foster, William Z.	b Feb. 25, 1881, Taunton, MA; d Sept. 1, 1961, Moscow, Soviet Union.	Labor organizer; cofounder and secretary of Stockyards Labor Council; led 1919 steel strike; national chairman, Communist Party.
Fox, Carol	b June 15, 1926, Chicago; d July 21, 1981, Chicago.	Cofounded Lyric Opera; general manager for 26 years.
Fox, Nellie [Jacob Nelson Fox]	b Dec. 25, 1927, St. Thomas, PA; d Dec. 1, 1975, Baltimore, MD.	Baseball player for White Sox; Hall of Fame.
Fox, Philip	b Mar. 7, 1878, Manhattan, KS; d July 21, 1944, Boston, MA.	Astronomer; Univ. of Chicago and Northwestern Univ. faculty; first director of Adler Planetarium (1929–1937).
Franck, James	b Aug. 26, 1882, Hamburg, Germany; d May 21, 1964, Gottingen, Germany.	Physicist; Univ. of Chicago faculty; directed Manhattan Project; won 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Franklin, Lesser	b ca. 1852, Germany; d Apr. 19, 1910, Chicago.	Real-estate developer; founded Franklin Park and other suburbs.
Franks, Robert (Bobby) E.	b Sept. 19, 1909, Chicago; d May 21, 1924, Chicago.	Murder victim; murdered by Leopold and Loeb.
Frazier, Edward Franklin	b Sept. 24, 1894, Baltimore, MD; d May 17, 1962, Washington, DC.	Sociologist; wrote The Negro Family in Chicago (1932); and Black Bourgeoisie (1957).
Frederick, John T.	b Feb. 1, 1893, Corning, IA; d Jan. 1975.	Writer; editor; journalism professor at Northwestern Univ.; founded and edited the Midland.
Freeman, Allen B.	active 1830s.	Clergyman; sent to Chicago by American Baptist Home Mission Society in 1833.
Freeman, Lawrence “Bud”	b Apr. 13, 1906, Chicago; d Mar. 15, 1991, Chicago.	Jazz tenor saxophonist; played a mix of Dixieland jazz and swing that became known as Chicago jazz.
Freer, Lemuel Covell Paine	b Sept. 18, 1813, North East, NY; d Apr. 14, 1892, Chicago.	Attorney; abolitionist; Underground Railroad activist.
French, Daniel Chester	b Apr. 20, 1850, Exeter, NH; d Oct. 7, 1931, Stockbridge, MA.	Sculptor; designed statue The Republic for 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
French, William M. R.	b Oct. 1, 1843, Exeter, NH; d June 3, 1914, Chicago.	Civil engineer; landscape architect; director of the Art Institute of Chicago for 35 years.
Friberg, Conrad [Conrad O. Nelson]	b May 9, 1896, IL; d Sept. 2, 1989, Alameda County, CA.	Filmmaker; made documentary labor films in the 1930s.
Friedman, Esther	See Landers, Ann
Fritz, Art	b Oct. 18, 1898; d Mar. 16, 1967.	Founded Kiddieland in Melrose Park in 1929.
Fromm, Paul	b Sept. 28, 1906, Kitzingen, Germany; d July 4, 1987, Chicago.	Wine merchant; music philanthropist.
Frost, Albert Carl	b Mar. 20, 1865, Berend, Germany; d July 25, 1941, AK.	Banker; railroad official; founded Ravinia Music Festival (1904).
Frost, Charles Sumner	b May 31, 1956, Lewiston, ME; d Dec. 11, 1931, Lake Forest, IL.	Architect; erected railway stations; designed Navy Pier and Potter Palmer residence on Lake Shore Drive.
Fry, George Arthur	b Oct. 20, 1901, Swayzee, IN; d Sept. 29, 1973, Wilmette, IL.	Management consultant; founder and chairman of George A. Fry.
Frye, Theodore Roosevelt	b Sept. 10, 1899; d Aug. 26, 1963, Chicago.	Gospel pianist; composer; co-organized with Thomas A. Dorsey the first gospel choir in Chicago at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Fuller, Benjamin	b 1812, Broome County, NY; d 1868.	Platted the town of Fullersburg, which became part of Hinsdale.
Fuller, George A.	b Oct. 21, 1851, Templeton, Worcester, MA; d Dec. 14, 1900, Mamaroneck-on-Sound, NY.	Pioneer of modern steel skeleton building; president, George A. Fuller Co.
Fuller, Henry Blake	b Jan. 9, 1857, Chicago; d July 28, 1929, Chicago.	Novelist; newspaper editorial writer; wrote Cliff Dwellers (1893).
Fuller, Hoyt William	b 1923 or 1927, Atlanta, GA; d May 11, 1981, Fulton County, GA.	Writer; literary critic; managing editor of Negro Digest; founding member of Organization of Black American Culture.
Fuller, Margaret	b May 23, 1810, Cambridgeport, MA; d July 19, 1850, off Fire Island, NY.	Author; feminist; wrote Summer on the Lakes.
Fuller, Melville Weston	b Feb. 11, 1833, Augusta, ME; d July 4, 1910, Sorrento, ME.	Lawyer; state legislator (1863–1865); chief justice of U.S. Supreme Court (1888–1910); namesake of Fuller Park.
Fuller, R. Buckminster	b July 12, 1895, Milton, MA; d July 1, 1983, Los Angeles, CA.	Architect; designed geodesic dome; faculty member, Institute of Design.
Fuller, Samuel B.	b June 4, 1905, Ouachita, LA; d Oct. 24, 1988, Blue Island, IL.	Entrepreneur; founder and president of Fuller Products Co.
Fullerton, Hugh S.	b Sept. 10, 1873, Hillsboro, OH; d Dec. 27, 1945, Dunedin, FL.	Baseball journalist for several Chicago newspapers; broke “Black Sox” scandal of 1919.
Fulmer, Harriet	b ca. 1877, Fulmerville, PA; d Nov. 27, 1952, Chicago.	Nurse; leader in public health programs.
Fulton, John	b 1813, Belfast, Ireland; d Mar. 7, 1883, Bremen Township, IL.	Early landowner in Bremen Township.