Elijah Muhammad rose from poverty to become the charismatic leader of the black nationalist group Nation of Islam, and mentor of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan.

African-American chemist Percy Julian was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs such as cortisone, steroids and birth control pills.

Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s.

In 1966, Richard Speck committed one of the most horrifying mass murders in American history when he brutalized and killed eight student nurses living on Chicago's South Side.

Tokyo Rose, whose real name was Iva Toguri, was an American-born Japanese woman who hosted a Japanese propaganda radio program aimed at U.S. troops during World War II.

Bernie Mac was a standup comedian and actor on film and television known for his "Bernie Mac Show" and appearance in the "Ocean's 11" films.

Chris Farley was an American comedian and actor known for his roles on Saturday Night Live and in films like Tommy Boy and Beverly Hills Ninja.

Mary Todd Lincoln was the wife of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.

John Deere was an American inventor and manufacturer of agricultural equipment. In 1837, Deere started an eponymous company that went on to become an international powerhouse.

Four decades after vicious serial killer John Wayne Gacy killed at least 33 boys and young men in the Chicago area, authorities have ID’d one his unidentified victims — “Victim No. 24” — as 16-year-old James "Jimmie" Byron Haakenson.

Physicist Enrico Fermi built the prototype of a nuclear reactor and worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bomb.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a leading figure in Modernist architecture.

Richard Loeb is best known for teaming with Nathan Leopold to murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924, with a resulting trial that spared them both the death penalty.

One of the greatest players in NFL history, Walter Payton earned nine Pro Bowl selections and set several rushing records during his 13 years with the Chicago Bears.

20th century recording artist Mahalia Jackson, known as the Queen of Gospel, is revered as one of the greatest musical figures in U.S. history.

Cyclist and world record holder "Major" Taylor was just the second black world champion in any sport.

Charles Henry Turner, a zoologist and scholar, was the first person to discover that insects can hear and alter behavior based on previous experience.

Tony Spilotro is best known as a ruthless Chicago mob representative in Las Vegas from the 1970s to the '80s. He was brutally beaten and murdered by other mobsters in 1986.

John Dillinger was an infamous gangster and bank robber during the Great Depression. He was known as "Jackrabbit" and "Public Enemy No. 1."

Baby Face Nelson was a bank robber and killer in the 1920s and '30s, and a criminal associate of John Dillinger.

Organized crime boss, Sam Giancana climbed to the top of Chicago's underworld and became a player on the national stage through shadowy ties to the Kennedys.

American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters may have been born in Mississippi, but he defined Chicago blues with songs like "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man."

Maria Tallchief was a revolutionary American ballerina who broke barriers for Native American women.

Claude McKay was a Jamaican poet best known for his novels and poems, including "If We Must Die," which contributed to the Harlem Renaissance.