July 31 1904 The St. Louis Police Department announced it would use the fingerprint method of identification on a trial basis. The method was introduced at the fair by Scotland Yard. Fingerprints would be utilized in conjunction with the Bertillion Method of photographs and measurements, shown here during a demonstration at the fair. Bertillion superintendent John Shea was to begin lessons of fingerprinting. 1912 The landmark Southern Hotel closed its doors. The Southern occupied the entire city block where the Stadium East Garage stands today. It was the scene of one of the deadliest fires in St. Louis history in April 1877. It was also the site of the Maxwell-Preller murder, one of the most infamous crimes in city history. Notables who stayed there included Presidents Cleveland, McKinley and Wilson. Demolition of the Southern in 1933-34 destroyed the burial site of Chief Pontiac under the lobby. 1972 Democratic vice presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton withdrew his name from the ticket. It had been revealed that the Missouri Senator had undergone shock treatments for depression. Sargent Shriver replaced Eagleton as the running mate for George McGovern. 1981 The last Corvette rolled off the assembly plant at the General Motors Plant in North St. Louis. The plant had built about 700,000 Vettes since 1954. GM moved the Corvette assembly line to Bowling Green, Kentucky. 1993 Dramatic live television footage showed helicopter rescues from the flooded Chesterfield Valley. A tornado swept across the flooded areas near St. Peters, Portage des Sioux and West Alton. A benefit concert by John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Dylan and Blind Melon at Riverport was cancelled because Highway 40 was flooded and officials feared major delays on the Blanchette Bridge. 1993 Lost amid all the bad news from the river was some good news for commuters. The Metro Link light rail system was opened from East St. Louis to the Hanley Road station. It was extended to Lambert Field in 1994. Within a year, the number of riders had exceeded the wildest projections. 1997 The Cardinals acquired Mark McGwire from Oakland for relief pitcher T.J. Mathews and minor league pitchers Blake Stein and Erick Ludwick. McGwire started out as a pitcher at the University of Southern California and in the Alaskan Summer League. In 1982, Anchorage Glacier Pilots assistan coach Ron Vaughn switched him to first base and began instructing McGwire on hitting.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 10:15:00 +0000
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