the State Historical Society of Missouri
![Joan Crawford in 1928. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-133571]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2021-03/1-Joan-Crawford.jpg?h=3a3a887f&itok=dzrcMkNh "Joan Crawford in 1928. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-133571]")
Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur on March 23, 1908, in what she described as “a drab…
![Jane Darwell in a photo taken in 1918. [University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, 22471]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2021-03/1-Jane-Darwell.jpg?h=1ca7a6de&itok=LFTKxWAv "Jane Darwell in a photo taken in 1918. [University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, 22471]")
Jane Darwell, a pioneering film actress whose career spanned more than sixty years, was…
Elizabeth Jane Dugan, better known by her pseudonym “Rosa Pearle,” was the founder, editor…
![Jeanne Eagels in costume. [The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, ID#100058, New York Public Library Digital Collections]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-03/1.%20Jeanne%20Eagels.jpg?h=8b88be68&itok=FtD0mArZ "Jeanne Eagels in costume. [The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, ID#100058, New York Public Library Digital Collections]")
Although there is some dispute about the date and place of her birth, most sources state…
![Cliff Edwards. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection, TH-10109]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2023-08/1.%20Cliff%20Edwards.jpg?h=29e77187&itok=ShK3DfnA "Cliff Edwards. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection, TH-10109]")
Singer-actor Cliff Edwards was born in Hannibal, Missouri, on June 14, 1895, and is best…
![A publicity photo of Gordon “Wild Bill” Elliott. [Find a Grave / William Bjornstad]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2023-10/1.-gordon-wild-bill-elliott.jpg?h=698ee15c&itok=liAhLhoD "A publicity photo of Gordon “Wild Bill” Elliott. [Find a Grave / William Bjornstad]")
Gordon “Wild Bill” Elliott was one of the film industry’s top moneymakers in westerns…
![John Breckenridge Ellis. [History of Clinton and Caldwell Counties, Missouri, 1923]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2024-11/1.-john-breckinridge-ellis_0.jpg?h=0b4ce3a6&itok=Ot5r910v "John Breckenridge Ellis. [History of Clinton and Caldwell Counties, Missouri, 1923]")
John Breckenridge Ellis wrote more than twenty-five books during his long life. At eighteen months, he…
![The editorial room of the Westliche Post, circa 1870. The paper’s prominent figures included Carl Schurz (fourth from left, seated at table), Emil Preetorius (sixth from left), and Joseph Pulitzer (not pictured). [Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Photographs and Prints Collection, N01710]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2026-01/1.-german-press-in-missouri.jpg?h=afc47d21&itok=XA2t2vBK "The editorial room of the Westliche Post, circa 1870. The paper’s prominent figures included Carl Schurz (fourth from left, seated at table), Emil Preetorius (sixth from left), and Joseph Pulitzer (not pictured). [Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Photographs and Prints Collection, N01710]")
Of all the ethnic groups to settle in Missouri, none embraced the press more vigorously than the Germans.…
![Jean Harlow in a publicity photo. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, ID# TH-190010]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2020-06/Jean-Harlow-Pub-Still.jpg?h=4cc55283&itok=QHj0lS7X "Jean Harlow in a publicity photo. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, ID# TH-190010]")
Jean Harlow was born Harlean Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911. Her father, Mont Clair…
![Rupert Hughes and his second wife, Adelaide Manola Mould Bissell. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-32320]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-04/1.%20Rupert%20Hughes.jpg?h=70a94650&itok=RrY2h_E1 "Rupert Hughes and his second wife, Adelaide Manola Mould Bissell. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-32320]")
Rupert Hughes, a versatile popular writer, was born in Lancaster, Missouri, on January 31,…