Our Opinion: On Missouri Day, test your knowledge

October 21, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. | Updated October 21, 2015 at 12:00 p.m.

Although it often passes with little fanfare, today is Missouri Day.

The third Wedneday in October was designated by state lawmakers in 1915 as Missouri Day, a time designated to "foster love for our state's history and to teach rising generations of boys and girls the glories of Missouri."

Inspiration for the observance is credited to Anna Lee Brosius Korn, a Missouri native and schoolteacher.

In the spirit of boosting interest in Missouri's history, we invite our readers to test their knowledge of our state.

  1. Missouri became a state in what year?

a.) 1801

b.) 1821

c.) 1841

  1. Missouri's first state capital was in what city?

a.) Jefferson City

b.) Sedalia

c.) St. Charles

What is Missouri's official state song?

a.) The Missouri Waltz

b.) Shenandoah

c.) Maple Leaf Rag

  1. What is the origin of Missouri's nickname as the Show Me State?

a.) The phrase was coined by Meriwether Lewis during the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition.

b.) The phrase was used in former President Harry S. Truman's speech that also included the phrase, "the buck stops here."

c.) The phrase is derived from the quote, "I am from Missouri. You have got to show me," by Willard Duncan Vandiver, a congressman from Missouri.

  1. Which of the following "famous Missourians" lived in Missouri for a while, but was born in another state?

a.) Walter Cronkite

b.) Walt Disney

c.) Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

Answers

  1. b.) Missouri was granted statehood on Aug. 10, 1821.

  2. c.) St. Charles, which will host a Missouri Day celebration today at the First Missouri State Capital State Historic Site.

  3. a.) "The Missouri Waltz," which had been a minstrel song, was adopted by lawmakers as the official state song on June 30, 1949.

  4. c.) In an 1899 speech in Philadelphia, Vandiver said: "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." According to the website, State Symbols USA: "The phrase is now used to describe the character of Missourians - not gullible - conservative and unwilling to believe without adequate evidence."

  5. b.) Walt Disney was born in Chicago. His family moved to Marceline when he was 4, and to Kansas City when he was 9.

Upcoming Events