Missouri History Today

When you hear the word "bodybuilder," do you think of Bernarr Macfadden? You should. He was born on this date in 1868.

Springfield, Missouri's "Great Cobra Scare" began on this date in 1953 when the first of nearly a dozen cobras was found in a yard not far from a pet shop on St. Louis Street.

Lula Christman died in Centralia on this date. Her grave was dug a week earlier. It's a strange story.

Legal gambling on horse racing began on this date in 1986. The state-sanctioned betting was off and running at the Missouri State Fair.

Missouri U.S. Senator David Rice Atchison was born on this date in Frogtown, Kentucky. Atchison also holds the distinction of being U.S. president for one day.

On this date in Missouri history, Missouri became a state and St. Charles was designated as the temporary capitol.

Tar and feathers? That was just one of the anti-chicken thief punishments promised by a new vigilante group in Shelby County 122 years ago.

The Fats and the Leans squared off for a baseball game in Hermann 125 years. Which team prevailed?

The Lake of the Ozarks owes its existence to the Osage River and the construction of Bagnell Dam, which began on this date in 1929.

Missouri History Today is a regular feature of missourilife.com that chronicles the Show-Me State's history day by day. What dates, events, or accomplishments are we missing from our collection?