MoHistory

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Henry Lang, the Boy Who Loved America’s Pastime"

Listen to an episode about milk on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. Today you need a license to drive a car, operate a boat, and even sell milk. Wait . . . what? That’s right, if you’re looking to sell pasteurized milk, you need a license, and there’s a thorough process for licensing processors and distributors …

Continue reading "The Battle for Safer Milk in St. Louis"

Can you remember what you were doing 84 days ago? Well, if it was May 26, 1928, and you had decided to compete in a strange event called the Bunion Derby, the answer would be easy. You were running. National highways had captured public attention in 1928, which gave California sports promoter C. C. Pyle …

Continue reading "The Bunion Derby"

Listen to an episode about The Metropolis of Tomorrow on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. What do Batman’s moody Gotham City, Superman’s soaring Metropolis, Dorothy’s glimmering Emerald City, and the dystopian Los Angeles of Blade Runner all have in common? They all owe some of their style to the drawings of one St. Louisan. Born in …

Continue reading "The Metropolis of Tomorrow"

Evergreen trees have long been a part of wintertime traditions and holiday celebrations, both around the world and here in St. Louis. From the dramatic and towering to the sparkly and sequined, here are a few of our favorite Christmas trees from the Missouri Historical Society Collections. 1. Lighting Up Downtown Although the first strand …

Continue reading "5 Festive Christmas Trees from the Collections"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Hop Alley and Beyond: Untold Stories"

St. Louisan Dr. Thomas A. “Tom” Dooley, III, helped lay the groundwork for American involvement in the Vietnam War. His bestselling books about his work providing medical aid to Vietnamese and Laotian refugees brought the region’s struggles to Americans’ attention. Like many things about the Vietnam War, though, nothing about Dooley was simple. He constructed …

Continue reading "A Closer Look at Dr. Tom Dooley: The Early Years"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Lucas and Garrison: Wayman Crow"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Union Station’s Restoration"

The places we love grow large in our imaginations. That was the case for Sally Benson’s beloved childhood home in St. Louis at 5135 Kensington Avenue. In the movie Meet Me in St. Louis, based on Benson’s 1942 autobiographical novel of the same name, the house was a grand Victorian mansion; in reality, it was …

Continue reading "Meet Me at 5135 Kensington"

Listen to an episode about “The Cheater” on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. St. Louis record label Musicland USA only released one major song, but it was a big one. In St. Louis, no other one-hit wonder approaches Bob Kuban and the In-Men’s “The Cheater.” An eight-piece band formed in 1964 by local drummer Bob Kuban, …

Continue reading "Cheater Fever: Bob Kuban and the In-Men"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Lucas and Garrison: An Intersection of St. Louis Lives, Times, and Places"

In the early 1900s the St. Louis press became obsessed with a group of local revolutionaries dubbed the “St. Louis Junta,” led by the anarchist writer and journalist Ricardo Flores Magón. Nicknamed “The Scorpion” because of the venomous sting of his pen, Flores Magón was one of the most outspoken critics of Mexican president Porfirio …

Continue reading "The St. Louis Junta and the Mexican Revolution"

When a tornado tore through the bohemian neighborhood of Greenwich Corners in St. Louis in February 1959, it spelled the end for this up-and-coming St. Louis hotspot near Olive Street and Boyle Avenue in the Central West End. Over the previous six years, a few clubs and restaurants had moved in and turned this strip …

Continue reading "Lighting Up Gaslight Square"

On November 20, 1945, some of the most important trials of the 20th century began in Nuremberg, Germany. Known as the Nuremberg Trials, the cases brought against 24 of the most prominent surviving Nazis captured the attention of the world as legal experts from several countries exposed the depths of Nazi criminality before an international …

Continue reading "The Last Lawyer from the Nuremberg Trials"

Listen to an episode about stained-glass windows on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. From towering mansions down to the smallest shotgun houses, stained-glass windows are everywhere in St. Louis. They’re points of pride for homeowners and selling points for realtors, but the larger story behind these colorful windows isn’t so obvious today. It’s a story that …

Continue reading "Why Does St. Louis Have So Many Stained-Glass Windows?"

Listen to an episode about St. Louis’s mayors in 1875 on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. The election process is often full of ups and downs, but nothing compares to the results from one strange year in St. Louis history. If you were alive in 1875, it would have been tough remembering who the mayor was. …

Continue reading "The Year St. Louis (Almost) Had Four Mayors"

Listen to an episode about William Taussig on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. Some of the biggest stories in St. Louis history—the 1849 cholera epidemic, the Eads Bridge and tunnel, the Civil War, the building of Union Station, and more—involve a man named Dr. William Taussig. Though his name may be unfamiliar to most, Taussig is …

Continue reading "The Man at the Edge of St. Louis History"

Mention “Erich Weiss,” to a random St. Louisan, and you’re likely to get a shrug. But use Erich Weiss’s more famous adopted name—Harry Houdini—and you’ll get a different reaction. The most famous magician in history, Harry Houdini’s image remains instantly recognizable today. His name is used to describe any object that has disappeared (“My car …

Continue reading "Harry Houdini in St. Louis"

This Halloween season is the perfect time to look at some of the lesser-known creepy tunes and spine-tingling ballads recorded by St. Louisans during the early 20th century. Each of the songs on this list were recorded for Okeh Records as part of their race records series—a collection of 78rpm records featuring, promoting, and marketed …

Continue reading "5 Chilling Songs to Get You Ready for Halloween"