2. 1673 During their voyage down the Mississippi River, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were the first Europeans to set foot on land that would later become Missouri. Timeline

3. 1750 Approximate date of the founding of Ste. Genevieve, the first permanent white settlement. Timeline

4. 1764 City of St. Louis was founded by Pierre Laclede Liguest on February 15. Timeline

5. 1803 The Louisiana Purchase was signed on April 30. Timeline

6. 1804 The Lewis and Clark Expedition set out from St. Louis on May 14 Timeline

7. 1811 The New Madrid Earthquake, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the continental United States of America, occurred on December 16. Timeline

8. 1817 The steamboat Zebulon M. Pike, the first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River above the mouth of the Ohio River reached St. Louis on August 2. Timeline

9. 1820 Missouri’s first Constitution was adopted on July 19. Timeline

10. 1821 Missouri was admitted as the 24th state on August 10. Timeline

11. 1826 Jefferson City was designated Missouri’s permanent seat of government. Timeline

12. 1837 Missouri’s first capitol in Jefferson City was destroyed by fire on November 15. Timeline

13. 1839 The University of Missouri, the first state university west of the Mississippi River, opened April 14. Timeline

14. 1860 The Pony Express started its first run from St. Joseph to Sacramento, California on April 3. Timeline

15. 1865 Slavery was abolished in Missouri by an ordinance of immediate emancipation, making Missouri the first slave state to emancipate its slaves. Timeline

16. 1866 The Missouri Historical Society was organized in St. Louis on August 11. Timeline

17. 1873 Susan Blow opened the first public kindergarten in the United States in St. Louis. Timeline

18. 1874 The Eads Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River, was opened in St. Louis on July 4. Timeline

19. 1882 Jesse James was killed by Bob Ford in St. Joseph on April 3. Timeline

20. 1901 The first State Fair held at Sedalia opened on September 9. Timeline

21. 1904 The 1904 World’s Fair opened in St. Louis on April 30. Timeline

22. 1911 Missouri State Capitol was completely destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning on February 5. Timeline

23. 1927 Charles Lindbergh landed the "Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris on May 21. Timeline

24. 1945 U.S. Vice President Harry S. Truman, from Independence, became President upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12. Timeline

25. 1946 Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of England, delivered his "Iron Curtain" speech at Fulton’s Westminster College on March 5. Timeline

26. 1965 The Gateway Arch was completed. Timeline