World History Moment: First Subway

By Julian Hayda, Jerome McDonnell
Kingsway in London, England in 1971 with the large sign marking the entrance to the Chancery Lane Underground subway station.
Kingsway in London, England in 1971 with the large sign marking the entrance to the Chancery Lane Underground subway station. AP Photo
Kingsway in London, England in 1971 with the large sign marking the entrance to the Chancery Lane Underground subway station.
Kingsway in London, England in 1971 with the large sign marking the entrance to the Chancery Lane Underground subway station. AP Photo

World History Moment: First Subway

By Julian Hayda, Jerome McDonnell
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Here in Chicago, our first subway opened in 1943. Our World History Moment for today goes back eighty years earlier to January 10, 1863 and the opening of the world’s first subway in London. In 1843, a pedestrian tunnel was completed under the Thames River. This gave a politician named Charles Pearson an idea. Why not tunnel a railroad line under the congested city streets? Historian John Schmidt shares how the idea came to fruition.