John Mullanphy. [William Hyde and Howard L. Conard, eds., Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis, vol. 3 (1899)]

John Mullanphy, a merchant and philanthropist, was born in 1758 in northern Ireland near…

Jim Owen promoting the Branson Silver Cornet Band, one of his many enterprises. [Courtesy of Trenton Thompson/Findagrave.com]

James M. Owen, a young advertising and insurance professional in Jefferson City, left mid-…

John O’Fallon. [William Hyde and Howard L. Conard, eds., Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis, vol. 3]

John O’Fallon, a St. Louis merchant, banker, and philanthropist, was widely praised after…

Bernard Pratte. [Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Photographs and Prints Collection, N46666]

Bernard Pratte’s father, Jean Baptiste, settled first on the east bank of the Mississippi.…

Red’s Giant Hamburg sometime after it closed in December 1984. [State Historical Society of Missouri, David Eslick Photograph Collection, SP0088, 1976-2001]

The original Red’s Giant Hamburg on Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, was a legendary roadside spot for…

Joseph Robidoux. [State Historical Society of Missouri Image Collections]

Joseph Robidoux III, the eldest son of a large family, was born in St. Louis on August 10,…

John S. Sappington. [Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Thomas Easterly Daguerrotypes Collection, Photographs and Prints Collection, N17356]

            John S. Sappington was a…

Frisco logo

The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, popularly known as the Frisco, was a regional freight and passenger carrier…

A view of the upper Missouri River by Karl Bodmer, circa 1830s. Print by Charles Vogel. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Art Collection, 1958.0047]

William Lewis Sublette was born at Stanford, Kentucky, on September 21, 1799. The family…

Henry von Phul. [J. Thomas Scharf, History of Saint Louis City and County, vol. 1 (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts & Co., 1883)]

Henry von Phul was born in Philadelphia in 1784, the son of Johann Wilhelm (later William)…