Peoria is a city and the administrative center of Peoria County
in the US state of Illinois. The US The Census Bureau recorded a
population of 113,150 as of the 2020 census.
It is the
seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, established in
1875. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception
was completed in 1889.
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River. The city is located at 40° 43' 15" north latitude and 89° 36' 34" west longitude and has an area of 120.8 km².
Peoria has become known as the model city for the American Midwest
because its population roughly matches the average population of those
states. So many new products are first tested in Peoria. In this
context, the city's name coined a well-known American idiom: "Will it
play in Peoria?" of the Midwest (and thus the taste of the American
majority) may refer to a product, but e.g. B. also to a cultural
phenomenon or a political candidate.
Hassloch is of similar
importance as a test market for Germany.
Peoria is home to Bradley University, Opera Illinois and Notre Dame High School. The headquarters of Caterpillar, the largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world, is located in Peoria. There was also the Peoria Rivermen ice hockey team, a farm team of the St. Louis Blues.
Peoria is the seat of a district court. The murder trial of serial killer Richard Speck in the spring of 1967 drew worldwide attention to Peoria.
Peoria is twinned with Benxi in China, Clonmel in Ireland and Friedrichshafen in Germany.
Peoria is located at coordinates 40°45′8″N 89°37′2″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, Peoria has a total area of 130.09 km², of which 124.34 km² is land and (4.42%) 5.75 km² is water.
According to the 2010 census, there were 115,007 people residing in Peoria. The population density was 884.08 inhabitants/km². Of the 115,007 inhabitants, Peoria was made up of 62.38% white, 26.95% were African American, 0.31% were American Indian, 4.56% were Asian, 0.03% were Pacific Islander, 2.2% were other races, and 3.58 % belonged to two or more races. Of the total population, 4.89% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Peoria was the earliest European settlement in Illinois, when
explorers traveled up the Illinois River from the Mississippi River.
1680, French explorers René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and
Henri de Tonti established the Crevecoeur The fort was built and the
land that would later become Peoria was settled by Europeans. This fort
was later burned down and Fort Clark, Illinois was built in 1813; when
Peoria County was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named
Peoria.
Peoria was named after the Peoria Tribe, which was a
member of the Illinois Confederacy. The original meaning of the word is
unknown; 21st century suggestions suggest a derivation from
Proto-Algonian, meaning "to dream with the help of Manitou."
Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835; it had a village
mayor, Rudolphus Rouse, from 1835 to 1836, but no mayor; the first
police chief, John B. Rischuk, was appointed in 1837; the first mayor,
John B. Rischuk, was appointed in 1838. The city was incorporated on
April 21, 1845. The first mayor was William Hale.
Peoria, a
suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, was named after Peoria, Illinois, because
Joseph B. Greenhut and Delos S. Brown, who founded Peoria in 1890,
wanted to name it after their hometown.
In the late 19th century,
Peoria occupied an important place in the world of bicycle racing. The
National Bicycle Races of America, held at Lake View Park, featured
famous riders such as future world champion Marshall "Major" Taylor.
Taylor described Peoria as the "Mecca" of the sport.
For most of
the 20th century, Peoria was part of a red-light district lined with
brothels and bars known as merry-go-rounds.
Richard Pryor got his
start as a performer on North Washington Street in the early 1960s.
In 2021, Rita Ali became Peoria's first female and African American
mayor.
September 19-October 21, 1813 - Peoria War
1844 - Abraham Lincoln
visits Peoria to be involved in the Aquila Wren divorce case and files
suit in the Illinois Supreme Court.
April 15, 1926 - Contract Air
Mail Route #2, the first airmail route by Charles Lindbergh, began
service Chicago - Peoria - Springfield - St. Louis and back. While there
is nothing to prove the local legend that Lindbergh offered Peoria the
chance to sponsor a transatlantic flight and named his plane the "Spirit
of Peoria," he states that he first considered the trip after taking off
from the Peoria air mail field.
1942 - Penicillium chrysogenum, now
used in the industrial production of penicillin, was first isolated from
a moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria grocery store.
According to local
legend, when Theodore Roosevelt visited the Illinois River in 1910, he
called Grandview Drive, a bluff street overlooking the Illinois River,
"the most beautiful drive in the world." However, no contemporaneous
accounts of this story appeared in local newspapers or even in history
for more than 20 years after it is said to have occurred. In a related
legend, Peoria radio station and CBS television affiliate WMBD is said
to have chosen its call sign based on this story. In reality, the
letters WMBD were randomly assigned, and their meanings were invented
later in 1927.
Martin Abegg (* 1950), Protestant theologian and Qumran researcher
Marion Ballantyne White, (1871-1958), mathematician and professor at
Carleton College
Howard Brown (1924–1975), medical doctor, public
health official, university lecturer and author
James B. Busey IV
(born 1932), admiral and politician
Mariclare Costello (born 1936),
actress
Dan Fogelberg (1951–2007), singer and composer
Betty
Friedan (1921–2006), feminist and publicist
Jack Fritscher (born
1939), author
Lee Garmes (1898–1978), cinematographer, film producer
and director
Wentworth Goss (1903 or 1904–1971), US Air Force officer
Dale W. Hardin (1922–2014), lawyer and government official
Barry
Hughart (1934–2019), fantasy author
Ernst Ising (1900–1998), German
physicist, from 1948 professor at Bradley University
Joseph F
Keithley (1915–1999), entrepreneur
Ray LaHood (born 1945), politician
John Little (born 1984), basketball player
Shaun Livingston (born
1985), basketball player
Mauch twins (1921–2006–07), child actors
Robert H. Michel (1923–2017), politician
Richard Pryor (1940–2005),
actor
Matthew Savoie (born 1980), figure skater
John M.
Shalikashvili (1936–2011), US general immigrated in 1952
Fulton J.
Sheen (1895-1979), cath. archbishop
Jen Shyu (born 1978),
experimental musician
Dan Simmons (born 1948), writer
Lindsay
Stalzer (born 1984), volleyball player
David Ogden Stiers
(1942–2018), actor and musician
Paul Francis Tanner (1905–1994),
Bishop of Saint Augustine
Jim Thome (born 1970), baseball player
Marshall Thompson (1925–1992), actor
Orin Upshaw (1874–1937), rope
puller
Steve Vinovich (born 1945), actor
Raymond Albert Wheeler
(1885–1974), US Army Lieutenant General
John Wimber (1934–1997),
musician, pastor, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and founder
of the Vineyard Church movement
Patrick Winston (1943–2019), computer
scientist, director of the Al-Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Allan Bernard Wolter (1913–2006), religious and
philosopher
Chloethiel Woodard Smith (1910–1992), architect and urban
planner