03. Tony Bowe on Adlai Stevenson, Retirement, Wall Street, Consulting, Nancy, and the Kids
3. Tony Bowe on Adlai Stevenson, Retirement, Wall Street, Consulting, Nancy, and the Kids Tony Bowe on Adlai Stevenson, Retirement, [...]
CHAPTER 5 Inventing the Future—Encyclopaedia Britannica
Buy Book CHAPTER 5: Inventing the Future—Encyclopaedia Britannica Subchapters A Milestone in Evolution of the Human/Machine Interface The [...]
CHAPTER 4 Before the Deluge—United Press International
Buy Book CHAPTER 4: Before the Deluge—United Press International Subchapters Transitioning to United Press International UPI—Second Banana to [...]
CHAPTER 3 Jane Byrne Burned – Chicago Politics in the 1970s
Buy Book CHAPTER 3: Jane Byrne Burned - Chicago Politics in the 1970s Subchapters Jane Byrne vs. The [...]
CHAPTER 2 Becoming a General Counsel
Buy Book CHAPTER 2: Becoming a General Counsel Subchapters Recruitment by J. Roderick MacArthur Rod MacArthur and The [...]
CHAPTER 1 Riots & Rockets – Army Days (1968-1971)
CHAPTER 1: Riots & Rockets - Army Days (1968-1971) Subchapters Riots & Rockets Army Days Map (1968-1971) Family in the [...]
Appendix 2 – The Building of Britannica Online
Buy Book The Building of Britannica Online By Robert McHenry Former Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopaedia Britannica Introduction Had someone back about 1985 [...]
Appendix 1 – Excerpts from Encyclopaedia Britannica Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States
Buy Book Appendix 2 QUESTIONS PRESENTED In the 1980s, Petitioner Encyclopaedia Britannica (“Britannica”) developed a pioneering multimedia search [...]
Acknowledgments
Buy Book Appendix 1 This book could not have been written without the help and support of family, friends, [...]
A Look Back from Encyclopaedia Britannica
Acknowledgements Looking back on my Encyclopaedia Britannica days, when I departed United Press International after its bankruptcy, UPI was fortunately headed towards a reorganization [...]
Compton’s Patent R.I.P.—An Afterthought
Next When the Patent Office reversed course in 1994 and withdrew the patent it had issued just the year before, Britannica challenged the [...]
Dr. Stanley Frank, Vice President, Development
Next Thus, from the beginning, the novel idea of developing an architecture based upon multiple search paths to related information was central to [...]
Harold Kester, SmarTrieve, and Compton’s Encyclopedia
Next Harold Kester After further analyzing the potential market for such a work, Stanley Frank, in charge of development by then, [...]
Peter Norton Takes Britannica into the Software Business
Next Although not willing to follow Wier’s advice in 1983, Britannica’s board of directors did believe the company needed to get closer to [...]
Patricia Wier, EB, Marvin Minsky, MIT, and Alan Kay
Next Britannica had first acquired a large mainframe computer in the 1960s. It had primarily been used to manage the company’s direct mail [...]
Solving the PC Data Storage Problem
Next Britannica editor Warren Preece had been able to foresee the possibility of an optical disc encyclopedia because of breakthrough engineering developments that [...]
Reinventing the Encyclopedia in Electronic Form
Next Warren E. Preece, Encyclopaedia Britannica Editor In 1981, Tom Goetz’s retired predecessor Warren Preece published “Notes Towards a New Encyclopedia.” [...]
Charles Van Doren, EB Editorial Vice President
Next Charles Van Doren In 1962, Adler’s young friend and acolyte Charles Van Doren had received a suspended sentence following his [...]
Mortimer Adler, Philosopher
Next Mortimer J. Adler, a precocious student (and later critic) of philosopher John Dewey at Columbia University, had also been attracted to the [...]
Robert Hutchins, University of Chicago President
Next Benton had been recruited to the University of Chicago in 1937 by his fellow student in the Yale College Class of 1924, [...]
William Benton, EB Owner and Publisher
Next William Benton, Publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica Paralleling this whole development of the computer, encyclopedists at Encyclopaedia Britannica had been thinking [...]
The Encyclopedist’s Art
Next In the twentieth century, encyclopedists were not the only people to worry about how to facilitate access to an ever-growing sum of [...]
A Milestone in Evolution of the Human/Machine Interface
Next Who would have guessed that at the end of the 20th century it would be a company founded in Scotland in 1768 [...]
The Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition
Next The three-volume First Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica paid homage to its classical roots in two conspicuous ways. One was a departure [...]
The Proper Study of Mankind
Next Alexander Pope Although a print publisher throughout its long life, Encyclopaedia Britannica had been keeping abreast of computer developments closely. [...]
UPI’s Bankruptcy Unfolds with a Shock
Next Chapter It has never sounded quite right when I tell people that as a result of my legal advice, UPI declared bankruptcy. [...]
The Los Angeles Blow Up
Next For some time, it had been the view of Nogales and Kenny that the time had come for Ruhe and Geissler to [...]
Ruhe and Geissler Lose Sway as UPI Implodes
Next As summer 1984 wore on, another Baha’i friend of Ruhe continued to chase payment for enormous consulting fees for an automated accounting [...]
UPI Begins Its Descent into Bankruptcy
Next In scrambling for cash to meet payrolls, UPI at this time was awash with highly paid consultants. Disadvantaging its growing legion of [...]
Moving to Nashville as UPI Assistant General Counsel
Next Ruhe and Geissler had made Linda Neal UPI’s General Counsel after their purchase of UPI. They also had decided to save money [...]
UPI—Second Banana to the Associated Press
Next United Press had been founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps, the owner of newspapers in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. The papers [...]
Transitioning to United Press International
Next After I left The Bradford Exchange in 1983, I briefly settled back into the private practice of law. Joining several of my [...]
The Aftermath—Harold Washington Defeats Jane Byrne
Next Chapter On Saturday, June 27, just one week after the Tribune laid out the details of the previously shielded transition report, it [...]
Will She or Won’t She?
Next At first, this was all taken very seriously. Tribune Managing Editor William Jones said in Monday’s Tribune: There is no vendetta and [...]
Rally ‘Round the First Amendment
Next Sunday morning, husband Jay McMullen spoke to Bob Crawford, longtime City Hall correspondent, on WBBM radio. When Crawford raised the question of [...]
“Innuendo, Lies, Smears, Character Assassinations and Male Chauvinist”
Next The upshot of this frantic deadline mission was that the early editions of the Sunday Tribune that hit the streets Saturday evening [...]
Rob Warden
Next I had met journalist Rob Warden both through my law practice, and separately knew him from frequenting Riccardo’s bar after working hours. [...]
Mayor Jane Byrne’s Secret Transition Report
Next Because Byrne had run as a reform candidate, after the primary election she quickly sought advice from a panel of knowledgeable experts [...]
Mayor Byrne’s 90-Day Report Card
Next Mike Royko feels proud to be a Chicagoan In the 1975 Democratic primary election for mayor, the Chicago Tribune had [...]
The Machine Weakens after Daley’s Death
Next With the anti-Daley vote thus split, Daley was reelected in the Democratic primary election in February 1975 with 58 percent of the [...]
Jane Byrne vs. The Chicago Tribune
Next Jane Byrne In June 1980, as Jane Byrne was starting her second year as Chicago’s first woman mayor, a strange [...]
Bradford Then and Now
Next Chapter Hammacher-Schlemmer's 5th Avenue Store in Manhattan closes in 2023 Rod MacArthur had primarily bought Hammacher to expand its mail order [...]
Hammacher Schlemmer
Next Hammacher Schlemmer catalog item As I began work for Bradford in 1979, Rod MacArthur was directly engaged [...]
Copyright and Trademark Mastery
Next Early Bradford Exchange logo The marketing of collector’s plates involved a good deal of intellectual property law. [...]
Hiring Lawyers
Next Wizard of Oz Collectors Plate I got extensive experience at Bradford in managing litigation outside the United [...]
Rod MacArthur and The MacArthur Foundation
Next William T. Kirby When his father had died at the age of 81 in 1978, most of [...]
Recruitment by J. Roderick MacArthur
Next Bob Grossman and Frank Roan at opening of Roan & Grossman's Sarasota, Florida office I put the Army in my [...]
Appendix 2 The Building of Britannica Online
1995 Britannica Online The Building of Britannica Online By Robert McHenry Former Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopaedia Britannica Introduction Had someone back [...]
Appendix 1 Excerpts from Encyclopaedia Britannica Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. vs. Dickstein, Shapiro, LLP QUESTIONS PRESENTED In the 1980s, Petitioner Encyclopaedia Britannica (“Britannica”) developed a pioneering multimedia [...]
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments This book could not have been written without the help and support of family, friends, and colleagues at [...]
Lunch with Gen. William Westmoreland
Next Chapter Lunch with Gen. William Westmoreland Gen. William Westmoreland after suing CBS for libel In June [...]
1974 Congressional Hearings on Military Surveillance
Next 1974 Congressional Hearings on Military Surveillance Testimony of William J. Bowe before U.S. Sen. Sam Ervin (D-NC), Chairman, Senate [...]
Getting Short—The 1971 “Stop the Government” Protests
Next Getting Short - The 1971 "Stop the Government" Protest 1971 Helicopter lands troops at the Washington Monument [...]
The Secretary of the Army’s Special Task Force
Next The Secretary of the Army’s Special Task Force on Military Surveillance 1974 Christopher Pyle at the [...]
Yale, The Black Panthers, and the Army
Next Yale, the Black Panthers, and the Army Black Panthers publication In May 1970, at the same [...]
Kent State University and the Aftermath
Next Four Dead in Ohio - National Guard troops at Kent State University Student protestors on the Kent [...]
Kwajalein Atoll—The Ronald Reagan Missile Test Site
Next Kwajalein Atoll - The Ronald Reagan Missile Test Site Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands [...]
Johnston Atoll and the Origins of Space Warfare
Next Johnston Atoll and the Origins of Space Warfare Kwajalein Atoll is about as far west of Hawaii [...]
NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain
Next NORAD's Missile Defense Operational Role NORAD tunnel to Command Complex My following visit to Cheyenne Mountain [...]
Huntsville, Alabama, and the Army Missile Command
Next Huntsville, Alabama and the Army Missile Command The Redstone Arsenal and the Safeguard Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) System [...]
The Safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile System
Next Mickelson Safeguard Anti-ballistic Missile Base, Nekoma, North Dakota Initial Safeguard deployment plan Though large antiwar demonstrations [...]
The Blue U and CIA Training
Next The Blue U (aka The Blue Goose) North Glebe Road (Virginia Route 120) and Fairfax Drive ( Route 237) Arlington, VA [...]
The Army Operations Center (AOC)
Next 1969 Richard Nixon Counter-Inauguration Protest The 1967 emergency deployment to Detroit had caught the Army by surprise, and Secretary Vance had [...]
Bernardine Dohrn-The SDS Revolutionaries Then and Now
Next Bernardine Dohrn Attends the Class of 1967's 55th Reunion of the University of Chicago Law School Bernardine Dohrn Takes [...]
Directorate of Civil Disturbance Planning and Operations
Next 1972 Army Civil Disturbance Field Manual One of Vance’s recommendations after Regular Army troops had been sent to [...]
The Vance Report
Next 1967 Federal troops during the Detroit riots Following the Detroit riot, former Secretary of the Army Cyrus [...]
CIAD in the CD of OACSI at DA in DC
Next 1969 Counterintelligence Analysis Division Office at Bailey's Crossroads In November 1968, the Counterintelligence Analysis Detachment (CIAD) of [...]
Assignment to the 902nd Military Intelligence Group
Before long, assignment day arrived. Next to my name on the class roster was “902nd MI Group.” All I could find out about the [...]
Fort Holabird and Intelligence Training
Next Fort Holabird administration and barracks building One of the first things I noticed once I had stepped [...]
The Decision to Enlist
Next 1968 At O'Hare Airport on leave from Basic Combat Training While I had no desire to be [...]
The Vietnam War Heats Up
Next 1969 SDS Days of Rage Poster As I started college in the fall of 1960, I just [...]
Family in the Military
Next 1917 William J. Bowe, Sr. recovering from foot amputation in Orleans France in World War I My [...]
Introduction
Buy Book The month after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, I enlisted in the Army’s Intelligence Branch [...]
Army Days Map (1968-1971)
After Army Intelligence School training at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, I was assigned to the 902nd Military Intelligence Group. Its headquarters occupied office space [...]
1 Riots & Rockets Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE Riots & Rockets - Army Days (1968-1971) Riots & Rockets Army Days Map (1968-1971) Family in the Military The Vietnam War Heats [...]
Remembering Jean-Gwinn Riboud (1950-2025)
Remembering Jean-Gwinn Riboud (1950-2025) Editor's Note: It was with great regret that I [...]
Aristotle, Mortimer Adler, Charles Van Doren & Bill Bowe on Happiness
Aristotle, Mortimer Adler, Charles Van Doren, & Bill Bowe on Happiness Editor's Note: Recently at The Cliff Dwellers family, friends, and a [...]
2023 Katherine Pargellis Bowe (1930-2016) and the Allen Family History
2023 Katherine Pargellis Bowe (1930-2016) and the Allen Family History Editor's Note: When John Edward Bowe (1928-1997) married Katherine ("Kathie") Pargellis (1930-2016), he [...]
Bill Bowe on the origins of Riots & Rockets:
“In early 2020, I feared my increased irritability during the ensuing lockdown could be a telltale sign I was descending rapidly into curmudgeonhood. Thinking this would be unfair to the dogs, not to mention my wife, Cathy, I decided I needed a project to keep my head straight. I started thinking and writing about several of the strange periods I had lived through in the years since my graduation from law school in 1967."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker Comes to Call
As an empty nester living in a cul-de-sac of eight houses in Northbrook, IL, I was hard at work minding my own business Saturday morning. I was reading the newspaper on my living room sofa when Cathy answered a knock on our front door. When her short conversation finished, I asked her who it was. She said the Governor was nearby and would be knocking on our door shortly.
1. Tony Bowe Interviews Bill Bowe on Young Bill Bowe
Tony Bowe Interviews Bill Bowe on Young Bill Bowe In this follow on to his earlier interview of Bill [...]
2. Law School to Army Intelligence Training (1967-1968)
Law School to Army Intelligence Training (1967-1968) In talking about his post college years with Tony Bowe, Bill Bowe recalls how the Vietnam War [...]
3. Settling Down after the Army
Tony Bowe Asks Bill Bowe about Settling Down after the Army Editor's Note: In this series of interviews by my cousin Tony Bowe, Tony [...]
6. Tony Bowe Asks Bill Bowe about His Encyclopaedia Britannica Years
Tony Bowe Asks Bill Bowe about His Encyclopaedia Britannica Years In this installment of Tony Bowe's conversations with his cousin, Bill Bowe [...]
5. Tony Bowe Asks about Bill Bowe’s Time with United Press International
Tony Bowe Asks about Bill Bowe's Time with United Press International In this segment of his conversation with his cousin, Tony Bowe asks Bill [...]
Introduction
The month after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 1968, I enlisted in the Army’s Intelligence Branch for three years. President Lyndon Johnson had just sent the Regular Army simultaneously to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Chicago to help control the ensuing violence and riots that had overwhelmed police and National Guard. This was a very strange and violent time. We’ve been lucky the country has largely been free of this kind of large-scale mayhem and destruction until the recent looting and riots we saw during the pandemic in the summer of 2020.
William John Bowe, Sr.
William John Bowe, Sr. 1970 William John Bowe, Sr. – His Early Life & Law Practice, Recalled in The Families Early Life and Schooling In [...]
Augustine Joseph Bowe
Augustine Joseph Bowe On February 11, 1961 in City Hall Augustine J. Bowe is congratulated by Mayor Richard J. Daley and Richard Nelson [...]
Bill Bowe on His Brother Richard Gwinn Bowe
[French and English subtitles are available at the CC (Closed Captions) button on the video’s lower right corner.] Bill Bowe on His [...]
How Bill Bowe, Sr. Met and Married Mary Gwinn
How Bill Bowe, Sr. Met Mary Gwinn Editor's Note: In this part of Tony Bowe's conversation, he asks Bill Bowe how his [...]
Bill Bowe, Sr. Is Injured in France in World War II
Bill Bowe, Sr. Is Injured in France in World War I Editor's Note: Bill Bowe's father had joined the Illinois National Guard when [...]
Bill Bowe, Jr. Talks about His Father, William John Bowe, Sr.
Bill Bowe, Jr. Talks about His Father, William John Bowe, Sr. Editor's Note: In this conversation, Bill Bowe, Jr. discusses his father's [...]
The Cliff Dwellers 116th Annual Meeting
The Cliff Dwellers 116th Annual Members Meeting Editor's Note: Another January after 1907 rolled around and after 116 First Mondays after the [...]
A Farewell to Deirdre McCloskey
A Farewell to Deirdre McCloskey Editor's Note: As the New Year rolled in, Deirdre McCloskey, 20 years a Cliff Dweller, prepared to [...]
Ted Nelson – Hypertext Envisioned and Pursued
Ted Nelson - Hypertext Envisioned and Pursued Chapter 5: Inventing the Future – Encyclopaedia Britannica (in entirety) [...]
Mary Gwinn Bowe and The 1960 Kennedy Presidential Campaign
Editor's Note: In 1960, John F. Kennedy was running for President. After a September campaign event in our apartment living room with Ethel and Joan Kennedy, the wives of his JFK's brothers Robert and Edward Kennedy, my mother joins the soon-to-be-elected President at an event in his Chicago campaign office. Also attending are then Mayor Richard J. Daley, and later Mayor Jane Byrne.
A Christmas Gone to the Dogs
A Christmas Gone to the Dogs On a cold Christmas Day in 2022, Charlie and Betty helped open the presents under the tree. [...]
United Press International – Before the Deluge
On the Way to UPI After I left Bradford in 1983, I briefly settled back into the practice of law. Joining several of [...]
Becoming a Lawyer
An Early Decision At about the age of 14 or so, I decided that I would become a lawyer. I [...]
Settling Down in Life and the Law
Settling Down in Life and the Law Ill-Fated Book Attempt Though I was discharged from the [...]
Richard Bowe and the 1968 SDS Days of Rage in Chicago
Richard Bowe's Report on the 1968 SDS Days of Rage Violence in Chicago Editor's Note: In a March 14, 2022 interview Tony and [...]
Curriculum Vitae
CURRICULUM VITAE WILLIAM J. BOWE wbowe1@gmail.com PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 1986 - 2014, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Chicago, IL Retired [...]
Jane Byrne Burned – Chicago Politics in the 1970s
An unusually prominent front page story appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Sunday, June 22,1980. It reported details of Mayor Jane Bryne’s transition team report and revealed me to be an author of part of the previously secret study, as well as the immediate source of its startling revelations.
France 2022
With the pandemic and lockdown fading fast in the rear view mirror, I proposed to my son Pat that he join me in visiting our cousins in France this summer.
Diet Troubles
Diet Troubles Though a delicate subject for me, I spoke directly about my diet troubles. [Automatically generated subtitles in both English and French [...]
Earlier Times with the 80th Birthday Guests
Earlier Times with the 80th Birthday Guests The birthday event featured a 9-minute slideshow of the invitees in earlier years. You can take [...]
Turning 80
Turning 80 At my last birthday party, I had a chance to tell family and friends why Turning 80 was no bed of [...]
Fête du 80e Anniversaire de Bill Bowe (En Française)
Remarques de William J. Bowe Fête du 80e anniversaire Cliquez ici pour voir les photos de la fête Note de l'éditeur [...]
80th Birthday Party
Bill Bowe Remarks Remarques de Bill Bowe 80th Birthday Party Click here to see the party pictures [...]
Walker Johnson at Bill Bowe’s 80th Party
Walker Johnson at Bill Bowe's 80th Birthday Party Editor's Note: I know both architect Walker Johnson as well as his architect son [...]
Beth Hanley Dunn
Beth Hanley Dunn Editor's Note: Beth Hanley Dunn represented the entire Hanley Family, including her brother John Hanley. In a reminder that the [...]
Jay Edelston
Jay Edelston Editor's Note: Two years ahead of me in high school were Jay Edelston and his classmates Steve Heineman and John Eshoo. [...]
Cathy Parish Skura
Cathy Parish Skura Editor's Note: The paternal grandmother of Cathy Parish Skura was, Catherine Canavan Parish, was the 9th of the 13 children born [...]
Jan Grayson
Jan Grayson (1941-2025) Remembering Jan Grayson in Photos Editor's Note: I got to know Jan Grayson when [...]
Charley Bowe
Charley Bowe Editor's Note: Charley Bowe arranged to host the party at the Wilmette Harbor Club and he and June arranged the decorations with [...]
Lester Munson, Jr.
Lester Munson, Jr. Editor's Note: I first met Lester Munson in fall 1964 as we entered the Class of 1967 at the University of [...]
The Full 80th Birthday Party Program
The Full 80th Birthday Party Program Click here to see the party pictures Editor's Note: Thanks to my [...]
Mayor Lori Lightfoot at EeroQ Quantum Hardware
On September 15, 2022, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot took time off from her campaign for a second term as Mayor. She left City Hall in the Loop to travel to Humboldt Park, a neighborhood on the city's West Side. A lawyer by training not noted for her scientific interests, she joined a crowd uniquely devoted to exploring the hidden secrets of next new thing, quantum computing.
Rev. Theodore E. Tack, Prior General, O.S.A. (1929-2013)
Pope Leo XIV and Rev. Theodore E. Tack, Prior General, O.S.A. (1929-2013) Fr. Theodore E. Tack, [...]
Bernardine Dohrn
From Riots & Rockets: Bernardine Dohrn-The SDS Revolutionaries Then and Now Bernardine Dohrn Editor's Note: Bernardine Dohrn's remarks were made on April 29, [...]
MGB (1903-18): Deal, Tacks and Sisters
Editor's Note: With financial help from Richard Gwinn, Jr. and his sister, Mary Cornelia Gwinn, a house at 58 Sydney Avenue in Deal, New Jersey was purchased and run by their mother as a rooming house. This becomes my mother's summer home.
MGB (1901-02): The Early Years before Deal
Editor's Note: In this clip, Tony Bowe asks about my mother's childhood. When her mother, Agnes Roche Gwinn dies giving birth to her in 1901, I explain how my mother came to be largely raised by her father Richard Gwinn, Jr.'s mother, Elizabeth Agnes Burns Gwinn.
Olivia Riboud on Her Riboud and Gwinn Parents and Grandparents
In the spring of 2023, Olivia Cosgrave Riboud discussed her family history with her first cousin Bill Bowe.
Mary Gwinn Bowe, The Kennedys & The Mayors
Daisy Janeway Bowe spotted my mother when our local public television station ran a documentary film on Jane Byrne, Chicago's first woman mayor.
06. Jean Paul de la Chapelle on the de la Chapelle Family
Jean Paul de la Chapelle In June 2023, I had a chance to talk with Jean Paul de la Chapelle (JPD) who was [...]
Riots & Rockets: Bernardine Dohrn
From Riots & Rockets: Bernardine Dohrn-The SDS Revolutionaries Then and Now Return to Riots & Rockets Bernardine Dohrn Editor's Note: Bernardine Dohrn's remarks [...]
Kwajalein Atoll and the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site
Kwajalein Missile Range was then the western terminus of the Pacific Missile Test Range. Today it is formally known as the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site.
A Half Century of Ballistic Missile & Satellite Defense
Bill Bowe, a former President of The Cliff Dwellers and Executive Vice President of Encyclopaedia Britannica, begins with a lighthearted look at a subject he’s been following since the 1950’s. Though hard to believe today, Nike missiles with nuclear warheads were once ready to be launched from 22 sites around Chicago, including Belmont Harbor and Jackson Park on the lakefront.
Featured Documents
FEATURED DOCUMENTS 2026-07-22 About Vintage Chicago, A Cliff Dweller's History of Chicago (Description of the interactive map and narrative history A Cliff Dweller's [...]
The 55th Reunion of the Law School Class of 1967: The Later Years
The 55th Reunion of the Law School Class of 1967: The Later Years Editor's Note: In this four-minute video we again see members [...]
The 55th Reunion of the Law School Class of 1967: The Early Years
The 55th Reunion of the Law School Class of 1967: The Early Years Editor's Note: This three-minute video collects pictures of members of [...]
Fake News at the 115th Annual Meeting
Fake News at the 115th Annual Members' Meeting Editor's Note: On January 10, 2022, during the Omicron stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, The [...]
Writings & Clippings
Remarks, Reports, Clippings & Correspondence 2024-01-15 Rockets & Riots - (William J. Bowe, Jr. Looks Back at a Tumultuous Time) 2021-05-02 Hamlin [...]
Chicago Botanic Garden
Chicago Botanic Garden Editor's Note: Sunday brought the Reunion crowd another gorgeous, sunny day. The Buehler Enabling Garden was exclusively set aside for [...]
Augustine J. Bowe Obituary
Augustine J. Bowe Obituary (law-lit.net) Strangers to Us All Lawyers and Poetry Augustine Joseph Bowe (1892-1966) Chicago Lawyers and Literature James R. Elkins [...]
A Nickel Tour: Encyclopaedia Britannica at the Reid Murdoch Building
A Nickel Tour: Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Reid Murdoch Building Editor's Note: As Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Encyclopaedia Britannica, I [...]
Introduction of Reunion Co-Hosts Anthony Canavan Bowe and Beth Hanley Dunn
Editor's Note: To get the pre-dinner part of the Reunion program underway, Bill Bowe introduces the Reunion's star-name attraction, host Anthony Canavan Bowe, and [...]
Bill Bowe warns of B.E.D. risk.
Editor's Note: In my pre-dinner remarks, I took time to warn the Reunion diners of the dangers of B.E.D. First diagnosed two years earlier [...]
Architectural Boat Tour: The Movie
Architectural Boat Tour: The Movie Editor's Note: The first event of the Canavan Family Reunion in 2021 was an exclusive Chicago River tour with [...]
6 The Canavans Abandon Ship
The Canavan related crowd abandoned ship in good order and surprisingly quickly. The rapidity of their departure was driven no doubt by the desire not to miss a minute of the approaching cocktail hour at The Cliff Dwellers.
5 Eastbound to Navy Pier & a Return to Riverwalk
The next leg of the Canavan Family Reunion architectural boat tour took us east to the turning basin by the Chicago locks. There, adjacent to nearby Navy Pier, we stared into the sun and took in Chicago’s striking skyline.
The Impossible Dream – Renaming the Reid Murdoch Building
Unfortunately I got carried away at the end and proposed that the name of the Reid Murdoch Building be changed to the Bowe Building. From the laughter and smirks on the faces of my kin, I could see they hadn’t been persuaded. That night I cried myself to sleep, knowing the Bowe Building would never come to be.
1 From the Riverwalk to Wolf Point
Out chartered tour boat proceeded west towards Wolf Point, passing under the DuSable, Rush, State, Dearborn, Clark, LaSalle, Wells and Franklin bascule bridges over the Chicago River. Our docent guide from the Chicago Architectural Foundation filled us in on the significance of the City’s famous buildings along this stretch of the River.
2 From Wolf Point to Montgomery Ward on The North Branch
Rounding the confluence of the North and South Branches of the Chicago River at Wolf Point, Chicago’s Classic Lady headed up the North Branch to the turning basin at Goose Island by the original Montgomery Ward warehouse and office complex.
27 The Cliff Notes Version of How We’re All Related
27 The Cliff Notes Version of How We're All Related Well, there you have it. That’s the Cliff Notes version of how this [...]
26 Nancy Gwinn & Jacques Riboud (de la Chapelle, Lacombe, Kuhn and Corderoc’h)
26 Nancy Gwinn & Jacques Riboud (de la Chapelle, Lacombe, Kuhn and Corderoc'h) When two of the four daughters of my grandfather Richard [...]
25 The Gwinn Sisters (Bowe, Casey, Danielak & Riboud)
25 The Gwinn Sisters (Bowe, Casey, Danielak & Riboud) We’re in the home stretch now folks, as we follow the Gwinn sisters into [...]
21 Francis Joseph Lynch & Susan Alling Family
21 Francis Joseph Lynch & Susan Alling Family The first child born to Patrick and Catherine Casey Lynch was Francis Lynch. On the [...]
2021-20 Margaret Elizabeth Canavan & John Dominic Casey (Lynches & Gwinns)
Margaret Elizabeth Canavan & John Dominic Casey (Lynches & Gwinns) If you follow these light green tags, you can see that the last [...]
2021-07 The Bowe, Thompson & De Rosa Families
The Bowe, Thompson & De Rosa Families In the center of this slide you see Mabel’s daughter Julia Lecour. Julia married my uncle, [...]
2021-06 Mabel Canavan & Edward Lecour (Julia Lecour Bowe)
Mabel Canavan Lecour & Edward Lecour (Julia Lecour Bowe) In 1900, Mabel Canavan moved from Michigan back to Kankakee County, where her father [...]
2021-05 James Canavan & Julia Kingsley (Mabel Canavan Lecour)
James Canavan & Julia Kingsley (Mabel Canavan Lecour) As the oldest of the 13 children of Anthony Canavan, Sr. and Ann Hughes, James [...]
2021-04 The 13 Children of Anthony Canavan, Sr. and Ann Hughes
The 13 Children of Anthony Canavan, Sr. and Ann Hughes In this family tree, you see all the 13 children of Anthony Canavan, [...]
2021-03 Coming to America – John Casey on Anthony Canavan, Sr. and Ann Hughes
Coming to America - John Casey on Anthony Canavan, Sr. and Ann Hughes Editor's Note: In 1987, I sat down with my uncle [...]
The Navy Blue Angels Practice
On Friday, August 20, 2021, I went down to The Cliff Dwellers early for lunch. I wanted to catch the morning practice session of the Navy’s Blue Angels. They didn’t disappoint. Errol Garner playing Avalon couldn’t keep up with them.
Over All the Years Video
This slideshow finds many of the classmates together, usually at reunions. Looks are not deceiving. They always had a good time.
1983-2002 Andy and Pat Bowe Hit the Amusement Park Trail
1983-2002 Andy and Pat Bowe Hit the Amusement Park Trail Editor's Note: Between 1983, when Andy Bowe was three, to 2002, when he was 22 [...]
2020 Roan & Grossman Through the Years
This film tells the true story of real people seen between 1973 and 2019 who once worked in Chicago for the law firm of Roan & Grossman between.
2004 Bali, Indonesia
For their final stop in Southeast Asia in 2004, Andy and Bill Bowe flew from Bangkok to Bali, a tropical island in eastern Indonesia.
2004 Bangkok, Thailand
In 2004, after their stop in Cambodia, Andy and Bill Bowe took the short flight south to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
2004 Angkor Wat, Cambodia
After our stop in Ho Chi Minh City, Andy Bowe and I took a short flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the Khmer temple ruins at Angkor Wat.
2004 Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
In 2004 Andy and Bill Bowe travelled to Southeast Asia. Their stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City, know before the Vietnam War as Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam.
2014 New Orleans to Memphis
Editor’s Note: In September 2014 my son Andy Bowe and I flew from Chicago to New Orleans. After a day in the French Quarter and a night at the Hilton on the Mississippi, we boarded the newly built Queen of the Mississippi.
2014 Up, Up and Away to Indianapolis
On October 26th, 2014, Steve Heineman piloted Carol Teuscher and me to Indianapolis and back. Flying in his Cessna 185 Skywagon, we departed in the morning from Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Illinois, had lunch at Rick's Cafe Boatyard at the Eagle Creek Airport in Indianapolis, and then returned that afternoon.
Mary Gwinn Bowe (1960): Hosts Sisters of John F. Kennedy During the U.S. Presidential Campaign
Mary Gwinn Bowe (1960): Hosts Dinner for Kennedy Kin, Mrs. Wendall Green & Ms. Helen Touhy On September 16, 1960, shortly before John F. [...]
Honesty in Kindness – Augustine J. Bowe, The Poet, Presiding Judge
In this profile of Augustine J. Bowe, Justice Michael B. Hyman paints a portrait of Gus Bowe, the poet, while also noting his other lives as a distinguished lawyer, civic leader and Cook County Presiding Judge.
2011 Andy Bowe in Abu Dhabi & Dubai
In 2011, on their way to see northern India by train, Andy and Bill Bowe stopped in Abu Dhabi, the Capital of the seven emerates that make up the United Arab Emerates.
Julia Bowe, 85, A Savior of Poetry Magazine
Savior of Poetry Magazine In her Chicago Tribune Obituary, the headline writer focused on Julia Lecour Bowe's central role in the survival of Poetry [...]
Julia Bowe Spins a Bedtime Tale for Her Grandchildren
Magic World of Yesterday Article from Chicago's American In 1960, shortly after the publication of her family history in The Generations, Chicago's American, [...]
2011 Acra and The Taj Mahal
Andy and Bill Bowe's last stop on their 2011 train tour of northern India was in Acra, in western Uttar Pradesh state. There the [...]
2003 Kenya & Tanzania
In June, 2003, Andy and Bill Bowe travelled by way of London to the game parks of Kenya and Tanzania.
Mary Gwinn Bowe Photos (1901-1979)
Mary Gwinn Bowe Photos As happened not infrequently in those days, when Mary Gwinn Bowe entered the world in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901, her [...]
Richard Lawrence Gwinn, Jr. (1867-1932)
My grandfather, Richard Lawrence Gwinn, Jr., was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1867. He attended Calvert College there and pursued a career in banking and public service. He died in Baltimore in 1932 after suffering a stroke.
2011 Northern India by Train
122 foot-tall Victory Tower at Chittogarh Fort Bill and Andy Bowe, Agra, India, 2011 watch the taj mahal video VIEW ALL THE [...]
1935: The Parishes & Bowes in Palos Park
Editor’s Note: The still picture above was taken in Palos Park, Illinois by my mother Mary Gwinn Bowe in 1935. It shows my father, William John Bowe, Sr., [...]
1981 Julie Anne Bowe Thompson (1931-1981)
Julie Anne Bowe Thompson was the daughter of Augustine Joseph Bowe and Julia Leonie Lecour Bowe. She was born in 1931, three years after her only sibling John Edward Bowe was born. As a young child she often navigated her Chicago block with John in a stroller he had recently outgrown.
Ecuadorian Brandy: Its Origin & the Origin of Another Precious Commodity
Editor's Note: When Tony Bowe interviewed me about his grandfather Gus Bowe, I told him that after a meal at my uncle Gus and aunt [...]
1987 (4) John Bowe (-1910) and Ellen Canavan (1861-1943)
John Casey has memories as a boy of visiting his mother's sister, Ellen Bowe and her family when they were living on Albany Avenue.
1987 (1) Anthony Canavan (1822-1890) & Ann Hughes (1818-1899)
John tells the story of their nine-week sailing voyage from Ireland to Baltimore, their immediate relocation to Philadelphia and Ann quickly finding a job during Anthony's serious illness.
The Children of Anthony Canavan and Ann Hughes
Long story short: they quit after 13.
2021 Obsessed: The Pandemic Meets the 114th Annual Meeting of Members of The Cliff Dwellers
Bill Bowe tells questionable stories of his incarceration during the pandemic.
2023 Anthony Canavan and Ann Hughes Descendants
Descendants of Anthony Canavan & Ann Hughes Index of Individual Canavan Descendants Index of Canavan Descendant Locations
Tony Bowe Asks Bill Bowe about His Mother, Mary Gwinn Bowe
Tony Bowe Asks Bill Bowe about His Mother, Mary Gwinn Bowe Editor's Note: In November 2022, Tony Bowe resumed his conversations with [...]
Mary Gwinn Bowe Materials
1970 The Families, by Mary Gwinn Bowe 1970 Mary Gwinn Bowe Before & After Chicago, from The Families 1960-09-16 Mary Bowe Hosts Kennedy [...]
William John Bowe, Sr. Materials
William John (Patrick) Bowe was born in Chicago at 1024 West Superior Street on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1893. He died December 30, 1965, at the age of seventy-two. I never heard him use or be called by his extra middle name Patrick. His mother was Ellen Frances Canavan. His father was John Joseph Bowe. He was a bright child, rather destructive, had all the infant diseases, loved animals and sports, and was well-liked and very sociable.
Mary Gwinn Bowe Before & After Chicago from the Families (1970)
1809 Dixon Hill Road, Mt. Washington, Baltimore, Maryland Left to Right: Mary, Bessie, Tom, "Mama", Mary Cornelia, Betty, Richard & Elizabeth Gwinn [...]
William John Bowe, Jr. Documents
Photos Through the Decades RIOTS & ROCKETS The Book Curriculum Vitae Featured Documents Foreign Travel Writings & Clippings Photos Through the Decades [...]
Augustine Joseph Bowe Materials
On February 11, 1961 in City Hall Augustine J. Bowe is congratulated by Mayor Richard J. Daley and Richard Nelson as he is [...]
Julia Lecour Bowe Materials
2012-09-12 Transmittal of Julia and Gus to the Poetry Foundation (by William John Bowe, Jr.) 2011 Preface to Julia & Gus, by [...]
Mary Gwinn Bowe Recalls Her Life in Chicago in The Families (1970)
Editor's Note: In the second installment of her personal recollections written for her 1970 history and genealogy book The Families, Mary Gwinn Bowe covers [...]
1970 Mary Gwinn Bowe Recalls Her Life Before Chicago in The Families
In the "Before Chicago" part of her remembrances in The Families, Mary Gwinn Bowe recalls the period in her life before her marriage in 1928 to my father, William John Bowe, Sr. After her own mother Mary Agnes Roche died giving birth to her in 1901, she was brought up by her father's mother, Elizabeth Agnes Burns Gwinn. Mary always called her "Mama." Being a widowed by then with modest resources, she made ends meet by managing a rooming house on the Atlantic shore in Deal, New Jersey. Mary goes on to talk about her schooling, the excitement of being on the New Jersey State women's basketball championship team at Asbury Park High School and her fortuitous entrance at the 11th hour to Trinity College in Washington, D.C.
The Families Vol. 2 Website Launches
November 29, 2020 Well over 50 people joined the Zoom launch meeting yesterday for The Families: Vol. 2 website. They came from the West [...]
Bill and Gus Bowe, as Remembered by Jim Hart in his Memoirs
8/1/1918 WB JHT 1700 Oakland Street, Des Moines, Iowa -- According to Joe Hart (a retired Canavan relative in Ireland) this is Bill Bowe, [...]
All the Kids of Anthony Canavan and Ann Hughes and Then Some
Editor's Note: If the tome of Descendants of Anthony Canavan and Ann Hughes were in book form and you weren't careful, [...]
Julia Lecour Bowe’s Preface to The Generations (1959)
Preface to The Generations (1959) by Julia Lecour Bowe What kind of a country was it that Paulin Pallissard came to in 1855? It [...]
Anthony Canavan & Ann Hughes Trees
Editor's Note: Our progenitor Anthony Canavan, Sr. was born in Ireland in 1822 to his namesake father Anthony Canavan and his mother Catherine (Kitty) [...]
William John Bowe, Sr. and Mary Gwinn Bowe Family Tree
Editor’s Note: These Bowe Family Trees are drawn from the family history book of my mother, Mary Gwinn Bowe, The Families, and the genealogy volume [...]
Vanselow Family Trees
Wilhelm Vanselow married Bertha Dammer. Bertha Dammer was born in 1862.They had seven children: Mary, Otto, Albert, Paul, Arthur, Franziska [...]
Tack Family Tree
Elizabeth Josephine Tack was the daughter of Theodore Edward Tack and Mary Agnes Cosgrave. She was a sibling of painter Augustus Vincent Tack and [...]
De Rosa Family
Richard Gwinn Bowe was the son of William John Bowe, Sr. and Mary Gwinn Bowe. In 1963 in Chicago he married Ann Fauble of [...]
Riboud Family Tree
Editor's Note: The Riboud family is linked to the Bowe, Casey and Lynch families through my aunt, Chesley Nancy Ann [...]
Gwinn Family Tree
Our progenitor Richard Lawrence Gwinn, Sr. was born in 1833 in Newton County, Georgia. He was the son of Minor Gwinn [...]
Casey & Danielak Family Trees
Editor’s Note: As with most of the other families, a Canavan ancestor looms large for the Casey Families and their [...]
Lecour Family Tree
Editor’s Note: Our progenitor Anthony Canavan, Sr. was born in Ireland in 1822 to his namesake father Anthony Canavan and his mother Catherine (Kitty) Kirby. [...]
2021 Old Chicago
Editor's Note: Here is a collection of photos and postcards of a now lost Chicago shown at The Cliff Dwellers at a Canavan [...]
The Families
Editor's Note. In 1970 my mother Mary Gwinn Bowe published 500 copies of The Families, her book of family stories and genealogy. It was [...]
The Generations
Editor's Note: In 1959 my aunt Julia Lecour Bowe published The Generations, a scholarly history of her French Pallissard ancestors. She recorded their French [...]
2011 Preface of William John Bowe Jr. to Julia & Gus
Preface I was delighted when Charley Bowe told me that he had run across a typewritten memoir authored by his paternal grandmother, Julia Lecour [...]
2011 Acknowledgements of Charles Bowe in Julia and Gus, the Memoirs of Julia Bowe
Acknowledgements of Charles Bowe in Julia & Gus, Julia Lecour Bowe’s Memoirs Acknowledgements I am indebted to many people, without whom telling this story [...]
Anna Bowe and Raymond Walters Tree
Ellen Frances Canavan was born on Saturday, December 21, 1861, in Sumner Township, IL. She was the daughter of Anthony Canavan Sr. and Ann [...]
1997 Hamster Heaven Home
Editor's Note. At his grandparents home in Springfield, Illinois, Pat Bowe puts together a multi-story McMansion for his newly arrived hamster. After thinking about [...]
2019 Wilbert R. Hasbrouck Memorial
Bill Hasbrouck was a Past-President of The Cliff Dwellers who advocated for, and presided over, admission of women to the club. He [...]
John Edward Bowe and Katherine Pargellis Tree
Editor's Note: John Edward Bowe was born December 15, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of Augustine Joseph Bowe and Julia Leonie [...]
Bowe Family Trees
Gus and Julia Bowe Tree Gus, John, Julia and Julie Ann Bowe Apartment 4D 1947 Your Content Goes Here Mary & Bill Bowe [...]
Augustine & Julia Bowe Family Tree
Julie Anne Bowe (Thompson) Trees John Edward Bowe Trees Editor's Note: These Bowe Family Trees are drawn from the genealogy volume Descendants of [...]
Anthony Canavan
Anthony Canavan, Sr. was a native of Ireland, his birth occurring in County Mayo in 1822. He was one o f a family of eleven children born to Anthony and Catherine Kirby (“Kittie”) Canavan.
Moses Bowe
Moses Bowe (1833-1912) His Arrival and His Legacy
Richard Gwinn, Sr.
Richard Lawrence Gwinn , Sr. (a twin brother of John Chesley Gwinn) was born in Newton County , Georgia in 1831 and died in Philadelphia in 1898.
2019 Richard Gwinn Bowe Memorial Lunch
At The Cliff Dwellers: A Remembrance and Celebration of the Life of Richard Gwinn Bowe (1938-2019) with a eulogy from his brother, William [...]
2002 Charley Bowe Heads to Sea with the De Rosa Family, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
2002 Charley Bowe Heads to Sea with the De Rosa Family, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Editor's Note: In August, 2002, we joined Alex, James, [...]
