Follow these links to read articles about Missouri from Encyclopedias and Almanacs:

• Britannica Online Encyclopedia
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Information Please Almanac

Official State Links

• Show Me – Missouri.gov: Your Online Portal to State Government Services
  http://www.mo.gov/
  This is the official website for the State of Missouri.
• Missouri State Library
  http://www.sos.mo.gov/library/Default.asp
  Here is the homepage for the Missouri State Library.
• State Historical Society of Missouri
  http://shs.umsystem.edu/index.shtml
  Here is the homepage for the Missouri State Historical Society.
• Missouri State Archives
  http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/
  Here is the homepage for the Missouri State Archives.
• Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites
  http://www.mostateparks.com/
  Here is the homepage for Missouri State Parks.
• Missouri: Close to Home
  http://www.missouritourism.com/
  Here is the official state tourism website for Missouri.
• Missouri Kids Page
  http://sos.mo.gov/kids/
  Here is the official Missouri state site for kids, developed by the Secretary of State office.

Other State Links

• 50states.com: Missouri
  http://www.50states.com/missouri.htm
  The site provides a wealth of information about Missouri. It includes everything from the highest point to county profile to climate.
• Things To Do in Missouri
  http://www.thingstodo.com/states/MO/index.htm
  ThingsToDo.com is an online guide to information about Missouri’s entertainment, recreation, and travel, and includes the state’s interesting facts, famous people, and special events.
• Roadside America: Missouri Attractions
  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/mo.html
  Roadside America describes itself as an online guide to offbeat attractions. This site offers reviews of “weird sites along the highway” in Missouri.
• Missouri Department of Economic Development
  http://www.ded.mo.gov/
  This site provides links to Missouri state agencies concerned with economic and workforce development.
• FedStats: MapStat: United States: Missouri
  http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/29000.html
  Fast access to statistics from more than 100 federal agencies on “economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more” in Missouri.

• Missouri played a leading role as the gateway to the West. St. Joseph, Missouri was the eastern starting point for the Pony Express, and both the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails began in Indep endence, Missouri.
• Bagnell Dam across from the Osage River in the Ozarks is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, covering 65,000 acres of surface area. It was completed in 1931.
• As part of the Louisiana Purchase territory, Missouri has belonged to three nations: France, Spain and the United States. First claimed for France by LaSalle in 1682, Missouri was ceded to Spain in 1762. By secret treaty in 1802, Spain ceded the Louisiana Territory back to France. Napoleon Bonaparte, anxious to rid himself of the vast and troublesome frontier, sold it to the United States in 1803 for a total of $15,000,000. Missouri was organized as a territory in 1812, and was admitted to the Union as the 24th state on August 10, 1821. Missouri was the second state (after Louisiana) of the Louisiana Purchase to be admitted to the Union.
• In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was passed, whereby Missouri was to be admitted as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Although admitted as a slave state, Missouri nevertheless remai ned with the Union throughout the Civil War.

Some Famous People from this State

• Presidents from Missouri with links to ipl’s POTUS (Presidents of the United States) page:
  
  • Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, was born in Lamar, Missouri in 1884.
• Samuel Clemens, better known as author Mark Twain, was born in Florida, Missouri. His love for the Mississippi River and for his Missouri boyhood are best reflected in his stories about Tom Sawyer and Hu ck Finn.
• George Washington Carver, born a slave near Diamond, Missouri, later became one of America’s greatest scientists.
• Jesse James, the notorious outlaw, was born in Kearney, Missouri in 1847.
• Omar N. Bradley, born near Moberly, Missouri in 1893, commanded the 12th Army Group in World War II, the largest American force ever united under one man’s command. Bradley served 69 years on active duty in the Armed Forces (until his death in 1981), longer than any other soldier in United States history.
• David Rice Atchison, a Missouri native, held the office of president of the United States for one day in 1849. The terms of President James K. Polk and Vice President George Dallas officially expired at noon, Sunday, March 4. President-elect Zachary Taylor, a very religious man, refused to take the presidential oath on a Sunday. Senator Atchison, then president pro tem of the Senate, thus served as president of the United States from noon, March 4, unt il 11:30 a.m, March 5, 1849.