Daniel Read Offered Presidency of University of Missouri
October 19, 1866
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…
Read MorePhilemon Bliss Becomes First Dean of the University of Missouri Law Department
April 13, 1872
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…
Read MoreUniversity of Missouri Law Department Formally Opened
October 7, 1872
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…
Read MoreAcademic Hall Burns Down; Law Classes Meet at Boone County Courthouse
January 9, 1892
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…
Read MoreClasses Begin in New Law Department Building
February 21, 1893
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.…
Read MoreCarey May Carrol Becomes First Known Female Graduate of Mizzou Law
May 10, 1896
Carey May Carrol was the first known female graduate of the University of Missouri Law Department, graduating in the class of…
Read MoreMizzou School of Law Moves to Tate Hall
January 1, 1927
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…
Read MoreLloyd Gaines Applies to University of Missouri School of Law
May 13, 1936
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…
Read MoreLloyd Gaines Argues for Educational Equality in Missouri Before the United States Supreme Court
May 13, 1938
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…
Read MoreLloyd Gaines Last Seen in Chicago, IL
March 1, 1939
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…
Read MoreAddition to Tate Hall Completed
January 1, 1960
As the law school continued to grow in size, plans for an addition to Tate Hall were drafted in 1958. The Mizzou law faculty approved these plans, which included a combination courtroom, classroom, and auditorium located on the ground floor. The second and third floors featured conference rooms, offices for the deans and faculty, additional space for the library collection,…
Read MoreJoan Miday Krauskopf Becomes First Female Faculty Member at Mizzou Law
May 13, 1963
In Prof. Krauskopf Prof. Krauskopf attended the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law for her 1L year before transferring to Ohio State University, where she had earned her bachelor’s degree. In December 1957, Prof. Krauskopf graduated summa cum laude from Ohio State, tying for first place in her class.She taught at Ohio State until 1960 and then…
Read MoreHarold (Doc) L. Holliday, Jr. Becomes First Black Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law
May 13, 1968
Mr. Holliday enrolled at Mizzou Law in 1965 and became the first Black individual to matriculate and graduate from the law…
Read MoreLynwood J. Evans is Second Black Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law
May 13, 1969
Mr. Evans transferred to Mizzou Law in 1967 and then graduated in…
Read MoreJoyce Otten Appointed First Female Missouri Associate Circuit Judge
May 14, 1969
Joyce Otten, Mizzou Law class of 1968, was appointed as the Missouri Associate Circuit Judge to Circuit 2 in…
Read MoreIrene J. Smith Is First Black Female Student to Graduate from Mizzou Law
May 13, 1979
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,…
Read MoreEllen Roper Appointed First Female Circuit Judge in Missouri
June 14, 1979
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…
Read MoreMizzou Law Partially Moves to Lowry Hall
May 2, 1983
Due to the rising number of students coming to Mizzou Law, law classes were held in Lowry Hall in addition to Tate…
Read MoreMichael E. Melton is First Black Mizzou Law Graduate to Become Registered Patent Attorney
June 14, 1984
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…
Read MoreNeedra Jackson is First Black Law Librarian
December 17, 1984
Needra Jackson was the Black woman serving as a non-regular faculty member at the University of Missouri Law School. She served in several different positions within the Law Library, including head of the Circulation Department, the Reference Department, and as the Head of the Collection Development Department at her retirement in 2020.…
Read MoreKim J. Norwood, First Black Student Named to Law Review, Graduates from Mizzou Law
January 1, 1985
Kim Norwood, class of 1985, was the first Black Mizzou Law graduate named to Law Review. Prof. Norwood also became the first Black female Mizzou Law graduate to become a law professor at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis,…
Read MoreMichael A. Middleton is First Black Law Professor at Mizzou Law
January 2, 1985
Prof. Middleton, class of 1971, was the second Black student to enroll, fully matriculate, and graduate from Mizzou Law. In 1985, Prof. Middleton became the first African American law professor at Mizzou Law. In 1998, Prof. Middleton was also the first Black Mizzou Law graduate to be appointed Deputy Chancellor of the University of…
Read MoreRon Norwood, First Black Mizzou Law Student Elected to Editorial Board of Law Review, Graduates
January 1, 1986
Ron Norwood was the first Black Mizzou law student elected to the Editorial Board of the Missouri Law…
Read MoreAnn Kettering Covington Appointed First Female Missouri Court of Appeals Judge
January 1, 1987
Ann Kettering Covington, Mizzou Law class of 1977, was the first woman to be appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals as a judge. Shortly after this, she was appointed as the first woman to the Supreme Court of Missouri, where she served from 1989 to 2001. She served a two-year term during this period as the Court’s Chief Justice…
Read MoreEllar Duff Appointed First Black Female Associate Judge on Third Judicial Circuit in Madison County, IL
January 1, 1988
Hulston Hall Opens
January 1, 1988
Also called the “New Law Barn”, Hulston Hall opened in 1988 to provide a larger space for the increasing amount of students attending Mizzou…
Read MoreKylar Broadus, Black Trans Attorney, Activist, Author, Professor, and Public Speaker, Graduates from Mizzou Law
May 15, 1988
Kylar Broadus, a Black trans man and a pioneer in the LGBT movement, graduated from Mizzou Law in 1988. Prof. Broadus is an attorney, activist, author, public speaker, and a professor at the historically black Lincoln University in Jefferson City,…
Read MoreMary L. Scott, First Female Editor-in-Chief of Mizzou Law Review, Graduates
January 1, 1990
Mary Scott (’90) served as the first female editor-in-chief of the Missouri Law Review in…
Read MoreEdward Blakely Graduates from Mizzou Law
January 1, 1995
Blakely had a neuro-muscular condition that limited the use of his legs and forced him to use a wheelchair. While in law school, the only accomodation he asked for was extra time to take exams because he “wouldn’t accept that [he] was different than anyone…
Read MoreWin Nickens Becomes First Black President of Mizzou SBA
January 1, 1997
Win Nickens became the first SBA president that was African…
Read MoreEric K. Banks First Black Mizzou Law Graduate to Serve as St. Louis City Counselor
January 2, 1997
Eric Banks (’80) became St. Louis City Counselor from 1997 to January 1999. He then became the first African American graduate named partner in a major law firm (Thompson Coburn LLC). Banks formed his own law firm, Banks Law, LLC., where he currently…
Read MoreDay Al-Mohamed, Visually-Impaired Disability Rights Advocate, Graduates from Mizzou Law
January 1, 2002
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…
Read MoreMary E. Nelson is First African American Woman to Be Appointed Director of Boards and Commissions
January 1, 2009
Mary Nelson has many ‘firsts’ under her belt. Before she was Governor Jay Nixon’s Director of Boards and Commissions, Ms. Nelson was the first African American elected to membership in the 80-year history of the law firm, Lashly and Baer. She was later appointed by Governor Nixon to serve as a Commissioner on the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and…
Read MoreArsenio Mims, First Black Editor-in-Chief of a Mizzou Law Review, Graduates
May 15, 2014
Arsenio L. Mims served as the first African-American Editor-In-Chief of any law journal at the University of Missouri School of Law. He was the EIC of the Journal of Environmental and Sustainability…
Read MoreLyrissa B. Lidsky Becomes First Female Dean of Mizzou Law
July 1, 2017
Lyrissa Lidsky is Dean of the University of Missouri School of Law and Judge C.A. Leedy Professor of Law, and the focus of her research and teaching is the intersection of Tort Law and the First Amendment, with an emphasis on free speech issues in social media. Missouri Lawyers Media named Lidsky its 2020 Woman of the Year based on…
Read MoreWesley Bell Becomes First African American Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri
January 1, 2019
Wesley Bell is the Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri. He was sworn in to office on January 1st, 2019 and is the first African American to serve in this position. Elected in a 2018 landslide, Wesley ran a vigorous grassroots campaign to unseat a 28 year incumbent by a 14 point…
Read MoreJudge Robin Ransom Is First Black Woman Appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court
June 8, 2021
Judge Robin Ransom was selected by Governor Mike Parson to replace Judge Laura Denvir Stith on the Missouri Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman to join the…
Read MoreKayla Jackson-Williams to become first Black Boone County Judge
January 1, 2023
Mizzou Law alumna, Kayla Jackson-Williams (’16), is running unopposed for the position of family law judge in Boone County. When she takes the seat, she will become the first Black Boone County Judge.…
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