This Month in St. Louis History

McDonnell-Douglas merger, "ear-bite" death

In Aprils past, the St. Louis history was marked by some unusual events. The merger of the McDonnell and Douglas aircraft companies were large but ordinary. But, the death of a St. Louis politican after he's bitten by a rival was weird.

Author Tennessee Williams' literary career took off after his attack of "nervous exhaustion" in 1935. And the movie, "The Hoodlum Priest" was filmed in St. Louis.

(Each month, the Missouri History Museum provides Young Saint Louis.com with a number of items about people and events from Missouri's past. If you'd like to know more about the state's and the St. Louis area's history, visit www.mohistory.com.)

McDonnell-Douglas merger in 1967

 

Intelsat 1 satellite

The merger rush for the nation's aviation companies hit St. Louis on April 28, 1967, when local McDonnell Aviation merged with Douglas Aviation. The merger brought together two companies that were making their mark in space and communications.

In 1965, McDonnell had built the Gemini spacecraft that put the U.S. into the space race with Russia.

That same year, Douglas Aviation provided NASA with the rocket for launching the Intelsat 1 (Early Bird) satellite. That was the first commercial communications satellite, a service that now brings us our TV and phone service.

Of course, that merged company is now a part of Boeing, the world's largest airplane building company and a major force in military aircraft production. The company also remains a player in space exploration.

St. Louis is the headquarters of Boeing's the military and space production.

Here are a trio of internet links that will help you learn more:

On Boeing, visit www.boeing.com/history/chronology/chron10.html.
On Douglas Aviation, www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/companies/douglas.html.
On NASA satellites, www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/satcomhistory.html.

Ear-bite kills St. Louis politician

On April 14, 1893, the deadly result of a fight between St. Louis Democratic Committeeman John Buttermore and former Republican committeeman Gus Vogel made the New York Times.

The headline read: "Died from a Bite on the Ear."

" The incident started on election day when Buttermore and Vogel go into an argument about the chances of W.C. Kelly and John Ball as candidates for the House of Delegates." The argument escalated into a fist fight with some biting thrown in.

Police and friends broke up the fight but not before the bites to Buttermore's ear and cheek occurred.

But, later, Buttermore's face began looking bad and he felt as if he'd caught a cold.

By the time a doctor was called, the infection had turned into erysipelas. The illness had progressed to the point that Buttermore became fatally ill. The bite that was fatal was to the lobe of his left ear.

Tennessee Williams' literary career starts

Tennessee Williams

Author Tennessee Williams is known as one the nation's most talented playwrights. But, in April, 1935, he was working in a menial job for the International Shoe Company in St. Louis.

That's when he suffered a nervous breakdown. And, it was during his recuperation that his writing career got its big start.

Williams, who was born in the South, had moved to St. Louis when his father got a managerial job. He enrolled at the University of Missouri but left after failing an ROTC class.

His father got him the job with International Shoe, which was housed in the building on Washington Ave. that now houses Windows on Washington. After his breakdown, he collaborated to write a comedy, "Cairo, Shanghai, Bombay."

He went to Washington University and then the University of Iowa, where he earned a BA in English in 1938.

He was a script writer for MGM film studio but never had a script approved. Back in St. Louis, his first big success was "The Glass Menagerie." That was a biographical play about his unbalanced older sister, Rose.

For a bio of Williams, visit: www.enotes.com/short-story-criticism/williams-tennessee.

For more on International Shoe, visit: www.builtstlouis.net/washington/14a.html

"The Hoodlum Priest" of St. Louis

On April 2, 1961, the Astor Theater in New York screened a film entitled "The Hoodlum Priest." It starred actor Don Murray as Fr. Charles Dismas Clark, who made a reputation for preaching to the most violent convicts in St. Louis. Thus his nickname.

The Times review noted Murray was trying to broaden his movie career. Earlier, he had been known for lighter movie roles. In this film, Murray not only starred in a very serious role but also co-wrote and co-produced the film.

The review said this film was "an unrelievedly grim, serious and action-filled case against the uncompromising attitude toward former convicts and capital punishment."

The two lead characters are Father Clark and a former convict who ends up dying for a crime for which he wasn't totally responsible.

For the full review of the movie from the NYTimes, visit:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=
9502E6D81F3CE13ABC4B53DFB266838A679EDE&oref=slogin.