Historic Highlights: Celebration of first Earth Day held across Illinois in 1970

Earth Day Across America

On April 22, 1970, more than 20 million Americans gathered on college campuses and in city squares to celebrate the first Earth Day.

Here's what the very first Earth Day looked like

In 1970, the first Earth Day events were "teach-ins" on campuses across the country.

Historic Highlights: Celebration of first Earth Day held across Illinois in 1970

In Illinois, the first Earth Day in 1970 was celebrated from the largest cities to the smallest towns, especially in schools, as thousands of the state’s schoolchildren took the day to learn to help the planet.

Over the centuries a great deal of history happened on April 22nd. People were born who co-determined the welfare and woe of the world. And it is the day of the earth.

Earth Day begins in 1970

It was April 22, 1970, when kids across the United States poured out of schools carrying banners and hand-lettered signs asking for a better environment to grow up in. It was a time when smog thickened the air in Chicago,…

Happy Earth Day from NOAA Satellites

See breathtaking imagery of our world since the last Earth Day Still from Earth from Orbit video featuring NOAA satellite imagery from Earth Day 2024 to Earth Day 2025. (Image credit: NOAA Satellites) Download Image April 22, 2025     Satellites 0 Off