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Chicago History Minute

On August 29, 1886, a bolt of lightning struck the powder storage of the Laflin and Rand explosive manufacturers in Brighton Park, leaving a twenty-foot crater and damage for miles around.
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Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey

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Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey

The Father of Gospel Music

February 2006

Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey was the father of Gospel music and the long-time choir director of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago. After the church burned on January 6, 2006, the Chicago History Museum presented a portrait to replace the one that had been burned, based on a photo taken during a visit by the museum's president a few weeks earlier.


Portrait of Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey

Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey, portrait, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago


Presentation of Dorsey portrait

Presentation by CHM of portrait to Pilgrim Baptist, March 26, 2006