1836Education
In 1836 Gale publicized a subscription- and land purchase-based plan to found manual labor colleges in the Mississippi River valley.
1837Education
Land was purchased for this purpose in Knox County and in 1837 the first subscribers to the college-founding plan arrived and began to settle what became Galesburg.
1858History
On October 7, 1858, the city was the site of the fifth Lincoln–Douglas debate.
1890Sports
Galesburg was home to minor league baseball from 1890 to 1914.
1895Sports
Galesburg teams played as members of the Eastern Iowa League (1895), Central Interstate League (1890), Illinois-Iowa League (1890), Illinois-Missouri League (1908–1909), and Cen...
1899History
The Carr Mansion at 560 North Prairie Street was the site of a presidential cabinet meeting held in 1899 by U.S.
1908Education
Galesburg teams played at Illinois Field (1908–1912, 1914), Lombard College Field (1908–1912, 1914) and Willard Field at Knox College (1890, 1895).
1909Sports
Baseball Hall of Fame members Grover Cleveland Alexander (1909) and Sam Rice (1912) played for Galesburg.
1912Disaster
Rice left the Galesburg team in 1912, when his wife, two children, parents, and two sisters were killed in a tornado.
1914Culture
According to legend, the four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Gummo) first received their nicknames at Galesburg's Gaity Theatre in 1914.
1917Education
Ronald Reagan attended second grade at Silas Willard Elementary School between 1917 and 1918.
1927History
The Galesburg Register-Mail is the result of the merger of the Galesburg Republican-Register and the Galesburg Daily Mail in 1927.
1930Education
Lombard College was in Galesburg until 1930, and is now the site of Lombard Middle School.
1952Culture
He portrayed pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander in the movie The Winning Team in 1952, starting with Alexander's stint with the minor-league Galesburg Boosters.
1967History
Foxx left just before his death in 1967.
1977Culture
The festival began in 1977 as an open house to the public from the then Burlington Northern.
1981Government
In 1981, the Galesburg Railroad Museum was founded and opened during Railroad Days.
1983Architecture
The CB&Q also built a major depot on South Seminary Street that was controversially torn down and replaced by a much smaller station in 1983.
1989Culture
The Zephyr was started in 1989, was published on Thursdays, and was the only locally owned newspaper until its final edition on December 9, 2010.
2002Culture
In 2002, the railroad backed out of the festival and there were no yard tours.
2003Culture
In 2003 the city worked with local groups to revamp the festival and the Galesburg Railroad Museum resumed bus tours of the yards.
2004Economy
Since the 2004 closure of the Maytag plant, BNSF is once again Galesburg's largest private employer.
2007History
A daily, it is the city's main newspaper, and was owned by Copley Press until it was sold to Gate House Media in 2007.
2010Government
In 2010, the Galesburg Railroad Museum started offering a VIP tour of the yards, in which a select group of riders are allowed in the Hump Towers and Diesel Shop to see the BNSF...
2011Education
Obama also visited Galesburg High School in 2011 to speak to students while in the area for a Midwestern bus tour.
2013History
The New Zephyr began publication in 2013.
2015History
== Notable people ==
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Broughton, Chad (2015).
2016Government
The Knoxville Bulletin is a weekly newspaper established in 2016.
2020History
=== Climate ===
== Demographics ==
As of the 2020 census there were 30,052 people, 12,495 households, and 6,060 families residing in the city.
2026Culture
Funding has been secured, and design of the museum is set to begin in 2026.