St. Louis & Washington University Chronology

St. Louis and Washington University
20th Century Timeline

The following chronology concentrates on St. Louis and, within that, the professional schools and clinical care institutions that form the heritage of Washington University Medical Center. Unless otherwise noted, locations of events and institutions are within the city and county of St. Louis. Some entries have nothing directly to do with women in the health sciences, but are elements of the political and social context against which their stories are told.

       
1901 The Beaumont Hospital Medical College and the Marion Sims College of Medicine merge. Classes are held in the Marion Sims facilities at Grand and Caroline Street.  
1902 The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis opens. The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, ca. 1910s
1903 The School of Medicine of St. Louis University is established when the University takes over the Marion Sims-Beaumont Medical College. St. Louis University had been without a medical department since 1855.  
Jan. 1, 1905 Washington University Hospital opens. Woman's ward, Washington University Hospital, ca. 1908
1905 The St. Louis Skin and Cancer Hospital is established to provide treatment of patients suffering from skin diseases and cancer. St. Louis Skin and Cancer Hospital
1905 The Washington University Training School for Nurses opens. First graduates of the Washington University Training School for Nurses
1907 The Hippocratean College of Medicine is organized as a night medical school. There are no graduates before the school ceases operation in 1910.  
1908 The faculty of the Dental Department of Washington University passes a resolution allowing admission of female students. The first woman to receive a dental degree from the University is Sophia Wachsmuth in 1910.  
1908 St. Louis Maternity Hospital opens.  
1909 The Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association authorizes the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to conduct a survey of the status of medical schools in the United States and Canada. Abraham Flexner, a prominent educator, was appointed investigator. His subsequent report, “Medical Education in the United States and Canada,” was highly critical of most of the schools he visited. Abraham Flexner, ca. 1928
1910 The population of the city of St. Louis is 687,029. The population of St. Louis County is 82,417.  
1910 The new 44-bed Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital opens. Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital
1911 The Barnes Medical College merges into the American Medical College.  
1912 The combined American Medical College-Barnes Medical College becomes the Medical Department of the National University of Arts and Sciences in St. Louis. In 1915 the National University merges with the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, but the latter withdraws in 1916. The National University of Arts and Sciences Medical Department graduates its last class in 1918.  
Sept. 1914 The Central Institute for the Deaf is organized. Central Insitute for the Deaf
Fall 1914 The new buildings of the Washington University Medical School open in time for the 1914-1915 academic year. North and South Buildings, Washington University Medical School
Dec. 1914 Barnes Hospital opens. Barnes Hospital, 1914
January 9, 1915 Dedication ceremonies are held for the newly completed St. Louis Children’s Hospital. St. Louis Children's Hospital
Apr. 29 & 30, 1915 Dedication ceremonies are held for the new buildings and affiliated hospitals of the Washington University Medical School.  
1915 The City of St. Louis Board of Alderman passes an ordinance providing for a municipal training school for nurses. In July the St. Louis Training School for Nurses is transferred to the city and renamed the St. Louis City Hospital Training School for Nurses.  
Apr. 6, 1917 President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war with Imperial Germany.  
May 17, 1917 Members of Base Hospital 21, an army medical unit comprised chiefly of doctors and nurses from Washington University, Barnes Hospital and other St. Louis area hospitals, depart for service overseas. Base Hospital 21 celebration
Spring 1918 The Executive Faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine recommends to the University’s Chancellor that women be admitted to the School of Medicine under the same conditions as men. The first woman to receive a medical degree from the University is Faye Cashatt in 1921.  
Nov. 11, 1918 The Allied powers sign a cease-fire agreement with Germany at Rethondes, France, thus ending the First World War.  
1919 City Hospital No. 2 opens. City Hospital No. 2
1920 The population of the city of St. Louis is 772,897. The population of St. Louis County is 100,737.  
1920 The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote.  
Apr. 1924 The Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children opens. Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children
1924 The Sisters of St. Mary establish St. Mary’s Hospital on Clayton Road and Bellevue Avenue, just west of the city limits. St. Mary's Hospital, ca. 1929
1927 The new St. Louis Maternity Hospital opens next to Barnes Hospital. St. Louis Maternity Hospital
1930 The population of the city of St. Louis is 821,960. The population of St. Louis County is 211,593 – over double the population in 1920.  
July 1931 St. Louis County Hospital opens.  
1931 The McMillan Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital and the Oscar Johnson Institute for Research in Ophthalmology and Oto-laryngology open. McMillan Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital
1931 The Rand Johnson Memorial Building replaces the surgical wing of Barnes Hospital.  
1931 The Edward Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology opens. Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, ca. 1931
Feb. 3, 1933 Firmin Desloge Hospital opens across from the St. Louis University School of Medicine. Firmin Desloge Hospital
1933 The Sisters of St. Mary re-dedicate St. Mary’s Infirmary on Papin Street as a hospital for African-Americans. At the time no other Catholic hospital in St. Louis accepted African-American patients.  
Feb. 22, 1937 The Homer G. Phillips Hospital opens, named in honor of one of the leaders in St. Louis’ African-American community. Homer G. Phillips Hospital, 1937
1940 The population of the city of St. Louis is 816,048. The population of St. Louis County is 274,230.  
Dec. 1941 Japan bombs Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th. The United States declares war on Japan the following day. Germany declares war on the United States on December 11th.  
May 7, 1945 The German forces unconditionally surrender to the Allied forces. The following day crowds celebrate VE (Victory in Europe) Day.  
Aug. 14, 1945 The Japanese forces unconditionally surrender. VJ (Victory over Japan) Day is celebrated.  
1950 The population of the city of St. Louis is 856,796. The population of St. Louis County is 406,349.  
Fall 1951 Washington University School of Medicine’s Cancer Research Building opens. Cancer Research Building, Washington University School of Medicine
Nov. 1953 The David P. Wohl, Jr. Memorial Hospital opens. Wohl Hospital and Clinics, ca. 1961
Oct. 1954 The Barnard Free Skin & Cancer Hospital opens on the Washington University Medical Campus.  
1955 In compliance with the Supreme court ruling Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the St. Louis Public Schools are officially integrated. The city Housing Authority desegregates its public housing units. The largest of the “projects,” the Pruitt-Igoe Homes, opens.  
Oct. 1955 The Renard Hospital opens. Renard Hospital
July 1956 The Cardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital for Children opens on South Grand Blvd. It is the only hospital in the United States operated by an archdiocese.  
1957 The University of Missouri re-establishes its four-year medical degree program in Columbia, Missouri.  
Oct. 1959 The Irene Walter Johnson Institute of Rehabilitation opens at 509 S. Euclid Avenue, between the McMillan Hospital and the Washington University Clinics.  
1960 The population of the city of St. Louis city is 750,026, a loss of over 100,000 people since the 1950 census. The population of St. Louis County has risen over 70% to 703,532.  
1963 St. John’s Hospital closes its hospital in the city of St. Louis and moves to a new facility in St. Louis County.  
Jan. 1964 The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis becomes a major affiliate of the Washington University School of Medicine. Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, ca. 1977
1969 Citing a lack of space and the fact that continued accreditation would be impossible without the expenditure of large sums of money, Washington University closes its School of Nursing.  
1970 The population of the city of St. Louis is 622,236. The population of St. Louis County is 951,671.  
1972 In response to the shifting population of the St. Louis area from the city to the surrounding county, DePaul Hospital breaks ground in Bridgeton for a large, modern medical center, the DePaul Health Center.  
1979 The Homer G. Phillips Hospital closes. The buildings remain empty for over 20 years until they are converted into the Homer G. Phillips Senior Living Community, which opens in April 2003.  
1980 The population of the city of St. Louis is 452,804. The population of St. Louis County is 974,177.  
1985 The city of St. Louis closes St. Louis City Hospital. The hospital buildings are empty for about 15 years before plans are approved to demolish some of the buildings and to convert the remaining buildings into condominiums, stores, and offices.  
1990 The population of the city of St. Louis is 396,685. The population of St. Louis County is 993,529.  
1991 The Washington University School of Dental Medicine closes due to budget deficits and declining enrollment.  
2000 The population of the city of St. Louis is 348,189; the population of St. Louis County is 1,016,315.