Washington University

Missouri History Today August 29, 1904: Olympic Games Begin In St. Louis

Eliot Seminary (now Washington University) was chartered in St. Louis on this date.

On December 7, 1914, Barnes Hospital opened in St. Louis and admitted 26 patients.  Later that year Children’s Hospital and the Washington University Medical School moved nearby and thus began the present medical complex.  

Philanthropist John O’Fallon was born on this day.  He established the O’Fallon Institute which is now Washington University. 

Washington University established the first Art Museum west of the Mississippi, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, on this date.

Phoebe Couzins became Missouri's first woman law school graduate (Washington University in St. Louis). In 1887 she became the first female US Marshall in the country's history. She was also on the Board of Directors for the World's Fair.

William Greenleaf Eliot died on this day. He was a co-founder of Eliot Seminary which became Washington University. He was the grandfather of St. Louis author, T.S. Eliot.

“You have brought more freshness, charm, and vitality to illustration than any other living illustrator.” Norman Rockwell wrote these words in a letter to graphic illustrator Al Parker in 1948.