As part of its mission to generate interest and appreciation for the rich cultural heritage of the state and its people, the Society hosts a wide range of engaging and educational events for scholars and community members of all ages.
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A new biography of retired Columbia City Manager Ray Beck offers insight into the longtime civil servant who helped shape Columbia from 1960 to 2006 as a sanitary engineer, public works director, planning director, and city manager.
You're invited to an Open House at our Cape Girardeau Research Center as we end a fabulous year after moving to the Kent Library on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. If you haven't seen our newish location, stop by and visit with research center staff and learn about the people, places, and historical events in our collections that have influenced the Southeast region of the state for centuries.
Join us on Tuesday, January 13 at 11 a.m. for an open house to welcome SHSMO's new executive director Joel Rhodes. Meet Joel and enjoy refreshments before his History on Elm presentation of Beatlemania in the Ozarks. Joel's one-hour presentation begins at noon.
Ladies and Gentlemen… the Beatles! With those words Ed Sullivan – America’s unofficial Minister of Culture – introduced us to the Fab Four on February 9, 1964. With just five catchy songs on Sullivan’s show, “the sixties” as an era began that Sunday night. During their 1964 US tour, the Beatles played an exhausting stretch of eight concerts a week, including Kansas City. On September 19, they were secretly flown to a ranch in Alton, Missouri for a needed weekend of rest and relaxation.
Join us for a free screening of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Faye Dunaway (Bonnie) and Warren Beatty (Clyde). Gene Hackman plays Clyde's brother Buck and Gene Wilder makes his film debut as a hapless undertaker. The movie is based on the real-life story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow who led a notorious crime spree in the 1930s. Among the couple's hideouts included a small apartment in Joplin, Mo.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The February 13 lecture will feature Erika Pani, Research Professor at Centro de Estudios Históricos, El Colegio de México.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The February 20 program will be presented by Eliza Reid, author of Secret of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Woman and How They Are Changing the World.
National History Day in Missouri will host regional contests for students grades 6-12, leading up to the Missouri History Day state contest on April 25, 2026. Students from each region will present their innovative projects in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Contest winners will represent their region at the NHDMO state contest in April, which is administered by the State Historical Society of Missouri. Below are the dates and locations of each regional contest.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The March 13 lecture will feature Sayuri Shimizu, Dunlevie Family Chair in History at Rice University.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The April 10 lecture will feature Brandon Park, Associate Professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The April 17 lecture will feature Jay Sexton, Kinder Institute Director and Rich & Nancy Kinder Chair of Constitutional Democracy.
Join us for the National History Day in Missouri state contest, administered by the State Historical Society of Missouri. The annual contest will take place in-person at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Sign up to be a judge and support Missouri students! Top-ranking state projects will go on to compete in the national contest run by the NHD office in College Park, Maryland in June 2026.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The May 12 lecture will feature Lawrence Goldman, Kinder Institute Senior Fellow and St. Peter’s College (Oxford) Emeritus Fellow in History.
SHSMO has a selection of on demand programs that are freely available to worldwide audiences.
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Former Missouri Senator and Boone County Prosector Joe Moseley looks back on a groundbreaking case nearly 40 years ago where DNA evidence was used to convict Columbia, Mo. resident Ralph Davis of murdering his wife, Susan Davis. On June 10, 1986, Susan disappeared with her red Ford Escort car from her home. Police detectives immediately suspected Susan’s estranged husband in her disappearance due to threats Ralph had made against her. Previously, the court had issued an ex parte order of protection for Susan.
Gary R. Kremer, executive director emeritus of the State Historical Society of Missouri, was the featured speaker at the Society's annual My Missouri lecture on Nov. 22, 2025, at the Center for Missouri Studies, SHSMO's headquarters in Columbia. Kremer served as executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri for over 21 years. He became the "unofficial state historian" to many Missourians during his half century career teaching, preserving, and publishing the state's history.
As the United States reflects on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and our history as a nation, join genealogy expert Bill Eddleman for the 19th episode of the Basic Genealogy series produced the State Historical Society of Missouri. Eddleman examines the roles our ancestors might have played in the beginning period of the United States.
In 1928, the International Trans Continental Foot Race, popularly knowns as the Bunion Derby by the American press, was a footrace from Los Angeles to New York. Organized by Charles "Cash and Carry" Pyle, the race included 199 runners. Fifty-five would cross the finish line at Madison Square Garden in New York on May 26, 1928. The 3,423 miles followed the new Route 66, including parts of Missouri. Andy Payne of Claremore, Oklahoma won the race and was awarded $25,000. Historic footage in this video includes runners who came through Springfield, Missouri.
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…an airship? In 1897, reports circulated across the United States of mysterious nocturnal sightings of airships of unknown origins. In this recorded webinar, Sean Rost, State Historical Society of Missouri Assistant Director of Research, explores the bizarre arrival of aeronauts to the Show-Me State in 1897.
