This Week in Kansas City History
Hail to the Chief
May 8, 1974: H. Roe Bartle, a charismatic Boy Scout executive, public speaker, lawyer, and two-term mayor of Kansas City, dies in Kansas City.
Exodusters Mark the Spot
April 25, 1879: The Wyandotte Commercial Gazette reports that more than 1,000 destitute people have arrived in Wyandotte City, most of them freed slaves drawn by Kansas' reputation as a free state.
And Then It Happened
April 9, 1968: With tensions high after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., riots break out in Kansas City, leaving seven people dead and nearly 100 buildings damaged.
Death Takes a Holiday (Maybe)
March 27, 1836: George S. Park, who will go on to found Parkville, Missouri, and what has become Park University, purportedly survives a Mexican firing squad during the fight for Texan independence by pretending to be dead.
Separate but Equal?
March 2, 1930: After much political maneuvering over its location, the new—and remarkably high-quality, albeit segregated—General Hospital No. 2 opens to serve Kansas City's African American community.
