Sadly, Mr. Gaines never attended law school at the University of Missouri School of Law. Three months after winning his case, Mr. Gaines was staying with some of his fraternity brothers at the Alpha Phi Alpha house in Chicago, IL. One day that March, Mr. Gaines left the house to buy stamps and never returned. Mr. Gaines was only 28…
Timeline: History of University of Missouri School of Law ⋅ Page 3
Lloyd Gaines Argues for Educational Equality in Missouri Before the United States Supreme Court
In February of 1938, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the School of Law’s decision to deny Mr. Gaines entry. The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari on Mr. Gaines’ case, Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada. On December 12, 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Missouri Supreme Court’s judgement remanding the case for further proceedings consistent…
Lloyd Gaines Applies to University of Missouri School of Law
Lloyd Lionel Gaines grew up in St. Louis and was valedictorian of his high school class. After attending graduating from Lincoln University with a B.A. in history with honors in 1935, Mr. Gaines applied to the University of Missouri School of Law in 1936. Although Mr. Gaines had an outstanding scholastic record, Mr. Gaines was denied admission to the School…
Mizzou School of Law Moves to Tate Hall
By 1926, 146 students were enrolled in the School of Law and the law library had a collection of over 25,000 books. It was clear that the school had outgrown the Law Barn. To remedy this, Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Tate offered to pay for half of the cost of a new building. This building was to be named…
Mizzou Law Department Becomes Mizzou School of Law
Although its enrollment and library remained relatively small, the University of Missouri Law Department was rechristened as the University of Missouri School of Law in…
Gratia E. Woodside Becomes First Female Student to Graduate at Head of Class
In 1899, Gratia E. Woodside graduated first in her class at Mizzou Law, the earliest female student to do so. Ms. Woodside would go on to become the second woman licensed to practice law in…
Carey May Carrol Becomes First Known Female Graduate of Mizzou Law
Carey May Carrol was the first known female graduate of the University of Missouri Law Department, graduating in the class of…
Classes Begin in New Law Department Building
Commonly called the “Law Barn” by law students, the Law Department Building opened in 1893 on the northeast corner of the Francis Quadrangle. It allotted considerably more space to the growing department, with two classrooms, moot court and club rooms, “quiz rooms,” offices for the faculty, and a large law library. The “Law Barn” would eventually become the Sociology Building.…
Academic Hall Burns Down; Law Classes Meet at Boone County Courthouse
During the evening of Saturday, January 9, 1892, a fire broke out on the east end of Academic Hall. By midnight, the fire had consumed the entire building. Because the rooms that housed the department of law were located at the west end of Academic Hall, most of the law library’s collection was rescued before the fire spread to the…
University of Missouri Law Department Formally Opened
On October 7, 1872, the University of Missouri Law Department was formally opened. There were 25 students in the inaugural class, and two connected classrooms were set aside in Academic Hall specifically for use by the law department. Later, a third connected room would be used to house the law…