Philemon Bliss accepted appointment as Professor of Law for the 1872-73 academic year following the end of his term as a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Soon after, he was designated as the department of law’s first…
Timeline: History of University of Missouri School of Law ⋅ Page 4
University of Missouri Board of Curators Vote to Establish Law Department
On April 17, 1867, the Board of Curators voted to establish a department of law at the University of Missouri. In doing so, they fulfilled President Read’s request for a college of law at the…
Daniel Read Offered Presidency of University of Missouri
When Read was offered the position of university president, he conditioned his acceptance on the addition of colleges of agriculture, education, and law to the University of Missouri. When Read called for the establishment of what would become the University of Missouri School of Law, there were only three other schools of law west of the Allegheny Mountains and none…
Day Al-Mohamed, Visually-Impaired Disability Rights Advocate, Graduates from Mizzou Law
Al-Mohamed had a rock climbing accident when she was 19 that left her with the loss of her vision. She learned braille and had fellow students read to her to help her take notes. She also took her exams on a computer that would read the questions aloud to…
Michael E. Melton is First Black Mizzou Law Graduate to Become Registered Patent Attorney
Michael Melton, class of 1984, is the first Black graduate of Mizzou Law to become a Registered Patent Attorney. Mr. Melton was also the first Black Mizzou Law graduate to serve as European Legal Counsel for a major corporation and the first Black Mizzou Law graduate to serve as a corporate Vice President. Mr. Melton founded, and is now the…
Ellen Roper Appointed First Female Circuit Judge in Missouri
Ellen Roper, Mizzou Law class of 1973, became the first female circuit judge in Missouri when she was appointed to the 13th Judicial Circuit in Missouri. She served as a circuit judge until 2007 and now works on civil mediation…
Irene J. Smith Is First Black Female Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law
Irene Smith, class of 1979, became the first Black female graduate of Mizzou Law. She then went on to become the first Black graduate elected to the Board of Alderman in St. Louis,…
Joyce Otten Appointed First Female Missouri Associate Circuit Judge
Joyce Otten, Mizzou Law class of 1968, was appointed as the Missouri Associate Circuit Judge to Circuit 2 in…
Lynwood J. Evans is Second Black Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law
Mr. Evans transferred to Mizzou Law in 1967 and then graduated in…
Harold (Doc) L. Holliday, Jr. Becomes First Black Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law
Mr. Holliday enrolled at Mizzou Law in 1965 and became the first Black individual to matriculate and graduate from the law…