THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN ST. LOUIS.* 

 Maey J. Klem. 



The history of science in St. Louis extends back nearly 

 to the time of its founding as one of the first settlements 

 of Upper Louisiana one hundred and fifty years ago. 

 The Jesuit missionaries, the great pioneers of the north 

 and west, were the first white persons to visit the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley and the adjoining country, Father Mar- 

 quette, the intrepid explorer, having been the first to 

 pass the lonely forest that covered the site of the future 

 city of St. Louis in the year 1673. 



Fortunately the early missionaries were men of learn- 

 ing and observation. While they acquitted themselves 

 faithfully of the duties of their calling, they recorded 

 carefully the progress of events around them. The 

 course of the Mississippi and the nature of the country 

 were known to them and to the traders, who jointly 

 with the missionaries carried on the discovery and ex- 

 ploration of the west. By the expeditions of Marquette, 

 Jolliet, La Salle, Hennepin, and others, the Mississippi 

 had been discovered and explored, opening to France 

 the richest and most fertile territory of the new world. 



Andre Michaux, 1 a distinguished French botanist, 



* Read before The Academy of Science of St. Louis, May 18, 1914. 



i Hooker, W. J. On the botany of America. Amer. Jour. Sci. and 

 Arts. I. 9: 266-269. 1825. 



Gray, Asa. Notes of a botanical excursion 'to the mountains of 

 North Carolina. Amer. Jour. Sci. and Arts. I. 42: 2-9. 1842. 



Sargent, C. S. Portions of the journal of Andre" Michaux, botanist, 

 written during his travels in the United States and Canada, 1785 to 

 1796. With an introduction and explanatory notes. Proc. Amer. Phil. 

 Soc. 26: 1-145. 1889. 



Thwaites, R. G. Andr<§ Michaux's travels into Kentucky, 1793-96. 

 Early Western Travels 1748-1846. 3. 1904. 



Spaulding, Perley. A biographical history of botany at St. Louis, 

 Missouri. Pop. Sci. Month. 1908: 488-491. 



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