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The Lewis and Clark Expedition set out from St. Louis
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Joseph Charless founded the first newspaper in Missouri, the "Missouri Gazette"
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Lewis and Clark help organize the St. Louis Missouri River Fur Company.
The abundance of animal pelts in the Mississippi Valley region played a key role in the development of the Upper Louisiana territory. Prominent members of the Company included fur trader Manuel Lisa, Auguste and Pierre Chouteau, and William Clark. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri statehood controversy became a national issue as the issue of slavery was debated. The "Missouri Compromise" allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, thus keeping the balance of slave and free states equal in Congress. Although Missouri was allowed to enter as a slave state, the remaining portion of the Louisiana Purchase area north of the 36° 30¢ line was to be forever free of slavery -
Writer Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) was born in Florida, Missour
Samuel L. Clemens wrote under the pen name Mark Twain and went on to author several novels, including two major classics of American literature: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. -
Slavery was abolished in Missouri.
Slavery was abolished in Missouri by an ordinance of immediate emancipation, making Missouri the first slave state to emancipate its slaves before the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution. -
Jesse James' gang Active
Jesse James was an American outlaw, guerrilla, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the "Little Dixie" area of western Missouri. He was the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas or bushwhackers during the Civil War. They were accused of participating in atrocities committed against Union soldiers, including the Centralia Massacre. After the war, they robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains. -
First US public kindergarten opened in St. Louis.
Susan Blow opened the first public kindergarten in the United States in St. Louis. She is known as the Mother of Kindergarten. -
Ozark Spook Light first official report
The orange fire-like ball has reportedly been appearing nightly for well over a one hundred years. According to locals, the best time to view the spook light is between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and midnight and tends to shy away from large groups and loud sounds.Though many paranormal and scientific investigators have studied the light, including the Army Corps of Engineers, no one has been able to provide a conclusive answer as to the origin of the light. -
Branson, Missouri formed.
An entrepreneur named Ruben Branson opened the first general store and post office as settlers began to come to the area seeking and finding plentiful game and fertile land. -
Bald Knobber Vigilante Group Formed in Taney County, Missouri
The Bald Knobbers were described as the nation’s largest and fiercest vigilante movement. -
"Show Me State" nickname established
The origins of Missouri's nickname as the "Show Me State" are unclear, but a popular story traces it to a 1899 statement by Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, "I'm from Missouri and you've got to show me." -
Frankie and Johnny Song Released
In 1899, popular St Louis balladeer Bill Dooley composed "Frankie Killed Allen" shortly after the Baker murder case. In St. Louis, Missouri, on the morning of October 15, 1899. Frankie Baker, a 22-year-old woman, shot her 17-year-old lover Allen Britt in the abdomen. Britt had just returned from a cakewalk at a local dance hall, where he and another woman, Nelly Bly, had won a prize in a slow-dancing contest. -
Scott Joplin's "The Maple Leaf Rag" published.
Published in Sedalia, Missouri, it was one of Joplin's early works, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. It is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces. As a result Joplin was called the "King of Ragtime".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_dI6BZt06U -
Ice Cream Cones and Iced Tea invented during St. Louis World's Fair
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Shepherd of the Hills published.
Tourists were drawn to Branson with the help of this book. -
Charles Lindbergh landed the "Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris.
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France, for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize. -
George Washington Carver monument erected.
Time Magazine once called George Washington Carver a "Black Leonardo", a title worthy of this great scientist, educator, botanist and inventor. This was the first national monument dedicated to an African American, and the first to honor someone other than a President. -
First President from Missouri
U.S. Vice President Harry S Truman, from Independence, became President upon the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt -
Creve Coeur Park was first established park donated to St. Louis County.
Creve Coeur Lake in Missouri has been a destination stop for lovers and those who appreciate a good unrequited love story, to see the lake forever changed by a young girl’s broken heart. The name Creve Coeur means "damaged heart." -
St. Louis Arch Constructed
The Gateway Arch (Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) designed by Eero Saarinen was completed. Located on the original settlement site of St. Louis, it symbolizes the role of St. Louis in the development of the western frontier. -
Route 66 State Park Opens on Site of Times Beach.
Park opens on site of Times Beach, a tourist area closed due to dioxin contamination.
