Klem—The History of Science in St. Louis. 105 
probably the oldest university west of the Mississippi 
river, and certainly the oldest in the Louisiana Purchase 
Territory. 
Among the early professors was Father De Smet, who 
became so illustrious in succeeding years as a missionary 
among the Indians of the Rocky Mountains. <A copy of 
Father De Smet’s map of the Columbia river and the 
Puget Sound region is among the historical treasures 
of the university. The original map was presented to 
President Polk by Father De Smet during the interna- 
tional controversy with the British Government about 
the northwestern boundary. This map was of great im- 
portance as evidence in the settlement of this vexatious 
question. 
In 1836 the closing of a college in France gave St. Louis 
University the opportunity to purchase quite an assort- 
ment of chemical and physical apparatus of great value. 
This gave the university a high scientific rank, which it 
has maintained to the present time. In 1854 an observa- 
tory. was added, where some of the best work of the 
Fathers has been done. Since 1889 the university has 
maintained a post-graduate School of Philosophy and 
Science, and in 1908 added a School of Advanced Science, 
the object of which is to train scientific specialists. 
As early as 1835 the President of the University held 
a consultation with the Medical Society of St. Louis rela- 
tive to the establishment of a medical faculty at the uni- 
versity. Dr. William Beaumont,?* famous for his obser- 
vations on the process of digestion, was a member of 
the first medical faculty of the university. This depart- 
ment does not seem to have made much progress up to the 
year 1842, when it was reorganized, but was very success- 
ful from that time on, especially after the accession to the 
25 Reyburn, Thos. Memoir of the late Dr. Beaumont. St. Louis Med. 
Surg. Jour. 12: 127-139. 1854. 
Osler, Wm. William Beaumont. A pioneer American physiologist. 
Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc. Nov. 1902. 
Myer, J. S. Life and letters of Dr. William cpipessess 1912. 
