This Month in Missouri History

Mark Twain, Wehrenberg Theaters and KPLR-TV

Author Mark Twain, the Wehrenberg Theaters and KPLR-TV all marked significant benchmarks during Aprils past. And the movie, "St. Louis Blues" had its premiere showing here.

Also, newspaper publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer retired in April, 1907.

(Each month, the Missouri History Museum collects information concerning items of historic interest that occurred in past Aprils. Young Saint Louis.com then sends them to you to give you ideas about the state's colorful past.)

Mark Twain gets riverboat pilot's license

 

Mark Twain, photographed in his pilot days, about 1859-60.

Samuel Clemens, better known as famed author Mark Twain, satisfied a long-standing desire on April 9, 1859, when he earned his riverboat pilot's license.

Clemens, born in Hannibal, MO, is long associated with life along the Mississippi River with his Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn stories.

But, an accomplishment that he always desired was earning his license as a riverboat pilot. And, in his day, the Mississippi River was one of the primary transportation arteries in the country, before railroads and highways gained prominence.

For a pictorial biography of Twain, visit http://bit.ly/bjeKuH.

And more about Twain, visit http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mark-twain-receives-steamboat-pilots-license

Wehrenberg Theaters' 100th anniversary

The Wehrenberg Theater group celebrated its 100th anniversary in April, 2006.

The theater chain, headquartered in St. Louis, bills itself as the "oldest family-owned and operated theater company in the country."

For more about cinema history, visit http://www.wehrenberg.com/company.aspx.

And an article about the 100th anniversary, see http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?
vnu_content_id= 1002157689

KPLR-TV begins broadcasting in 1959

KPLR-TV began operation on April 28, 1959, as the first independent television station in Missouri.

The station was owned by Harold Koplar, who also ran the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis.

For the story about Koplar and the Chase Park Plaza, visit http://bit.ly/aq1jhD.

"St. Louis Blues" movie has premiere showing

The landmark film by Paramount Pictures, "St. Louis Blues," premiered in St. Louis on April 10, 1958.

The film starred some of the "blues" greats like Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Mihalia Jackson, Rudy Dee and Pearl Bailey.

One of the ironies of the premiere was that W. C. Handy, the famous composer on whose life the film is based, died just days before he was scheduled to fly to St. Louis for the opening.

W.C. Handy

Handy's obit in the New York Times said he had spent some of his early days in St. Louis where he was "penniless, hungry and cold." He had been quoted as saying that "I have tried to forget that first sojourn in St. Louis."

But the memories lingered and led him to write the famous song, "St. Louis Blues," in 1914. That song set the pattern for hundreds of blues songs.

For more about the blues, visit http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=121586&
mainArticleId=156499.

And more about Handy, visit http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1116.html.

Newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer retires

Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer, the owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and one of the great early publishers of American newspapers, retired in April, 1907. He also is known for the Pulitzer Prizes, still the pinnacle of journalistic awards.

Here is an excerpt from his farewell speech, which was published for years in the newspaper and gives his ideas on journalistic excellence:

"I know that my retirement will make no difference in its cardinal principles, that it will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty."

For more about Pulitzer, see http://shs.umsystem.edu/famousmissourians/journalists/pulitzer/
pulitzertruth.html.