Banking. All banks require a valid Social Security number prior to opening any form of account, including checking, savings, certificates of deposit, credit cards, vehicle loans and mortgages. They use this for exclusive identification purposes, as no two people have the same number.
The first official Christmas tree in the city of Chicago was installed in 1913 in Grant Park and lit on Christmas Eve by then-mayor Carter Harrison. This first tree was a 35-foot (11 m) tall spruce tree.
Great Chicago Fire begins. On this day in 1871, flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine OâLeary, igniting a two-day blaze that kills between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million (in 1871 dollars; $3 billion in 2007 dollars) in damages.