April 27, 1822
Birthday of President, General, and adoptive Missourian Hiram Ulysses Grant (aka Ulysses S. Grant).
April 22, 1944
Millionaire balloonist and adventurer Steve Fossett was born on this day. In 1968, he received an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a longtime member of the Board of Trustees.
April 16, 1857
Birthday of Henry Smith Pritchett, astronomer, who was born at Fayette, MO and attended Pritchett College in Glasgow, MO. After additional training at the U.S. Naval Observatory he went to work at Washington University in St. Louis. He was named Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Geodetic Survey and was president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Peace.
April 15, 1889
Thomas Hart Benton, who was from Neosho and one of Missouri's greatest artists, was born today.
April 5, 1921
The citizens of St. James elected Mayme Ousley to be the first woman mayor in the state. This was just two years after women won the right to vote.
April 3, 1882
Jesse James was shot dead by Robert Ford, who was secretly working with Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden. The assassination took place in St. Joseph, Missouri.
March 12, 1955
The life of KC's fabulously talented Charlie "Bird" Parker ended on this day. He was suffering from pneumonia and an ulcer, as well as cirrhosis, and had struggled with declining mental health and an addiction to heroin and alcohol. He was 34 years old. Parker is buried in Lincoln Cemetery near Kansas City.
Inside Walt Disney’s Life in Marceline
Very little remains of the once massive cottonwood tree Walter Elias Disney called his “Dreaming Tree.” The coarse, woody debris is an anchor tying a small town in Missouri to the pioneer of the American entertainment industry.
February 15, 2011
"Baseballís perfect warrior, baseballís perfect knight," hall of famer, Stan the Man Musial was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on this date in Missouri history.