Famous Visitors
With more than 27 million total visitors, the Fair drew in a lot of prominent people in American History. People traveled from all over to come to the Chicago World's Fair and celebrate the inventions and 400 years of progress in the 'New World.' Inventors, scientists, artists, philanthropists, and activists were all drawn to the fair, many new connections were made. Some visitors had their big break while others careers ended with the fair.
Presidents
Five U.S. Presidents made an appearance at the Fair:
- Rutherford B. Hayes
- Benjamin Harrison
- William McKinley
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Sitting President Grover Cleveland, Vice president Adlai Stevenson I, and many high-ranking government and military officials were present for the Fair's Opening Day.
Inventors
With all the inventions being showcased at the Fair, it was only natural for inventors and scientists such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Nikola Tesla to be present at the fair. Edison shared the first moving pictures with his Kinetoscope, Tesla lit the Fair with his Alternating Currents, and Bell shared the historic versions of his telephone and spoke with the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf and advocated for the deaf community.
Helen Keller
Hellen Keller and her teacher and mentor, Anne Sullivan, attended the fair with Alexander Graham Bell and Keller described her experience in her book, 'The Story of My Life.' Keller spent three weeks in Chicago and at the fair and presented with Bell to the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf and was able to meet with Frank Haven Hall at his Braille exhibit. Keller received special permission to be able to touch almost all of the exhibits so that she could have the full experience. She was able to touch and hold exhibit pieces that were locked away so that she could examine them and understand them in her own way.
The Great Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini and his brother Theodore were performers at the fair under the title, The Brother Houdini. Theodore acted as Harry's stage assistant and helped him lock himself in boxes to break out of. He was only about two years into his magic career at the time of the fair, but he was still able to get a spot as a performer and caught the eye of many visitors. After the fair, his show and career started to climb, and after he met his wife and long-term stage assistant, they began travelling around as 'The Houdini’s', and in 1899 his career took off and they would travel around the world escaping from harder and more dangerous places.