As published in the Chicago Daily News, sister publication of the Chicago Sun-Times:
Without the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the city might have taken years, even decades, to fund its first free public library. But thanks to an 8,000-book donation from the United Kingdom, Chicagoans rallied and on Jan. 1, 1873, the first Chicago Public Library location opened its doors. The previous year, Illinois had passed a law enabling cities to establish tax-supported libraries.
