After 1886: appointed Patrolman at Harrison Street Station, later Desk Sergeant at Stanton Avenue/22nd Street Station
19 June 1891: appointed Lieutenant, Harrison Street Station
5 October 1891: appointed Captain
1892: transferred to Woodlawn Station
1893: resigned from Chicago Police, later returned, serving at Stock Yards Station
1898: transferred to South Chicago Station
1904: promoted to Police Inspector, Desplaines Street Station
15 April 1907: appointed Superintendent by Mayor
Fred A. Busse
3 August 1909: steps down as Superintendent
The death of Lazarus Averbuch, also known as the Averbuch incident, occurred on
March 2,
1908, at the home of the
Chicago Police Department's Superintendent, George M. Shippy, in the
Lincoln Park neighborhood of
Chicago,
Illinois. Averbuch called on the Superintendent at 9 AM; Shippy claimed that Averbuch was an anarchist who attempted to stab and shoot him, leading to Shippy and his driver, James Foley, shooting Averbuch to death. Shippy, his son Harry, and Foley were wounded in the melee.
Anarchy in Chicago
The
Great Chicago Fire of
October 8,
1871 devastated Chicago, destroying the central business district (today's
Loop). A construction boom followed as the city rebuilt; new arrivals flooded in via the network of railroads that converged on Chicago. The city expanded, and new factories and facilities opened. The new wealth in Chicago was not evenly distributed, and angry workers demanded better working conditions. On
May 3,
1886, Chicago Police killed several workers protesting for an eight-hour workday. The next day,
May 4, at a protest at the city's Haymarket (located at
Randolph and DesPlaines),
a bomb was thrown at the speaker's wagon---the ensuing explosion killed 7 police officers and 4 workers. A crackdown on unions by Chicago Police followed. After an investigation, 8 men were arrested, tried and convicted for the bombing. 4 were hanged, one committed suicide, and three were pardoned by Illinois
GovernorJohn Peter Altgeld. The Haymarket incident is what attracted
Emma Goldman to anarchism.
Lazarus Averbuch (
Russian: Лазарь Авербух, also referred to as Jeremiah or Harry), a recent arrival in the United States, lived on the city's
Near West Side, sharing an apartment at 218 West Washburne Avenue (renumbered 1440 in 1909, now demolished) in the Jewish ghetto near
Maxwell Street, with his sister Olga. The Averbuchs were natives of
Kishinev,
Russian Empire (now Chișinău,
Moldova).
Two pogroms in the early 20th Century forced their family to leave: in April
1903, the murder of a Christian child was spun into a
blood libel against the Jewish community in Kishinev; the ensuing
pogrom killed approximately 120 Jews; in October
1905, a protest against the
Tsar turned into a second pogrom against the Jews, 20 dying in this one. After this second pogrom, the Averbuchs fled Kishinev for
Chernovitsy, in
Austria-Hungary (now part of
Ukraine). Olga emigrated to Chicago while Averbuch worked as a bookkeeper in Austria. He joined Olga in Chicago in 1907. Unable to get work as a bookkeeper or clerk, he took a job packing eggs for W. H. Eichengreen at the South Water Street Market (now part of
Illinois Center).
Emma Goldman, anarchist who was previously scheduled to speak in Chicago after Averbuch's death, avoided arrest but had difficulty finding a venue that would let her speak
Jane Addams, founder of
Hull House and prominent social activist. She lead a group advocating for Averbuch's sister, Olga
Oscar Straus, Secretary of
Commerce and Labor, who ordered immigration officers to work with the
United States Secret Service and local police to find, arrest, and deport immigrants with Anarchist beliefs in response to Averbuch's death
Adolph J. Sabath, (
D-IL), Jewish-American
Congressman representing Chicago's West Side. Was debating restrictions on anarchist immigration on March 2
After 1886: appointed Patrolman at Harrison Street Station, later Desk Sergeant at Stanton Avenue/22nd Street Station
19 June 1891: appointed Lieutenant, Harrison Street Station
5 October 1891: appointed Captain
1892: transferred to Woodlawn Station
1893: resigned from Chicago Police, later returned, serving at Stock Yards Station
1898: transferred to South Chicago Station
1904: promoted to Police Inspector, Desplaines Street Station
15 April 1907: appointed Superintendent by Mayor
Fred A. Busse
3 August 1909: steps down as Superintendent
The death of Lazarus Averbuch, also known as the Averbuch incident, occurred on
March 2,
1908, at the home of the
Chicago Police Department's Superintendent, George M. Shippy, in the
Lincoln Park neighborhood of
Chicago,
Illinois. Averbuch called on the Superintendent at 9 AM; Shippy claimed that Averbuch was an anarchist who attempted to stab and shoot him, leading to Shippy and his driver, James Foley, shooting Averbuch to death. Shippy, his son Harry, and Foley were wounded in the melee.
Anarchy in Chicago
The
Great Chicago Fire of
October 8,
1871 devastated Chicago, destroying the central business district (today's
Loop). A construction boom followed as the city rebuilt; new arrivals flooded in via the network of railroads that converged on Chicago. The city expanded, and new factories and facilities opened. The new wealth in Chicago was not evenly distributed, and angry workers demanded better working conditions. On
May 3,
1886, Chicago Police killed several workers protesting for an eight-hour workday. The next day,
May 4, at a protest at the city's Haymarket (located at
Randolph and DesPlaines),
a bomb was thrown at the speaker's wagon---the ensuing explosion killed 7 police officers and 4 workers. A crackdown on unions by Chicago Police followed. After an investigation, 8 men were arrested, tried and convicted for the bombing. 4 were hanged, one committed suicide, and three were pardoned by Illinois
GovernorJohn Peter Altgeld. The Haymarket incident is what attracted
Emma Goldman to anarchism.
Lazarus Averbuch (
Russian: Лазарь Авербух, also referred to as Jeremiah or Harry), a recent arrival in the United States, lived on the city's
Near West Side, sharing an apartment at 218 West Washburne Avenue (renumbered 1440 in 1909, now demolished) in the Jewish ghetto near
Maxwell Street, with his sister Olga. The Averbuchs were natives of
Kishinev,
Russian Empire (now Chișinău,
Moldova).
Two pogroms in the early 20th Century forced their family to leave: in April
1903, the murder of a Christian child was spun into a
blood libel against the Jewish community in Kishinev; the ensuing
pogrom killed approximately 120 Jews; in October
1905, a protest against the
Tsar turned into a second pogrom against the Jews, 20 dying in this one. After this second pogrom, the Averbuchs fled Kishinev for
Chernovitsy, in
Austria-Hungary (now part of
Ukraine). Olga emigrated to Chicago while Averbuch worked as a bookkeeper in Austria. He joined Olga in Chicago in 1907. Unable to get work as a bookkeeper or clerk, he took a job packing eggs for W. H. Eichengreen at the South Water Street Market (now part of
Illinois Center).
Emma Goldman, anarchist who was previously scheduled to speak in Chicago after Averbuch's death, avoided arrest but had difficulty finding a venue that would let her speak
Jane Addams, founder of
Hull House and prominent social activist. She lead a group advocating for Averbuch's sister, Olga
Oscar Straus, Secretary of
Commerce and Labor, who ordered immigration officers to work with the
United States Secret Service and local police to find, arrest, and deport immigrants with Anarchist beliefs in response to Averbuch's death
Adolph J. Sabath, (
D-IL), Jewish-American
Congressman representing Chicago's West Side. Was debating restrictions on anarchist immigration on March 2