John Peter Altgeld Apartment Site - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
libbykc
N 41° 55.967 W 087° 38.488
16T E 446819 N 4642512
Memorial to John Peter Altgeld, former governor of Illinois and German immigrant, outside of an apartment building where he once lived.
Waymark Code: WM11P1N
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2019
Views: 1
Altgeld was born in the town of Selters in the German Westerwald, the first son of John P. and Mary Altgeld. His parents left Germany when he was three months old, bringing their infant son with them. (
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Memorial reads:
John Peter Altgeld
Lawyer, Governor of Illinois
1847-1902
As a lawyer, judge and governor of Illinois, John Peter Altgeld courageously advocated justice and fairness--even when it meant taking on unpopular causes.
The child of a German immigrant family, Altgeld moved to Chicago in 1875 and established a law practice. His career in public service began in 1886, when he was elected judge of the Superior Court of Cook County.
Elected governor in 1892, Altgeld confronted a wide range of controversial social issues. During his four years in office he actively supported prison reform, the abolition of child labor, the expansion of the state university and the appointment of women to positions of authority in state government.
Altgeld's fame rests largely on his decision in 1893 to pardon the three surviving defendants in the Haymarket trial of 1886 on the grounds that they had not received a fair trial.
Equally notable was his opposition to President Grover Cleveland's decision to send federal troops to Chicago to break the Pullman strike of 1894.
Although motivated by constitutional and humanitarian ideals, Altgeld's decisions caused a large segment of the public and press to regard him as a political renegade, thereby ending his political career. Returning to private life in 1897, he moved into this stone-fronted apartment building at 504 West Diversey Parkway and attempted to re-establish his legal career with his partner, Clarence Darrow.
It was not until a decade after his death in 1902 that Altgeld's principles and courage became more widely appreciated.