Secrets, scandals and little-known stories about the 1904 World's Fair

St. Louisans generally regard the 1904 World’s Fair as a high-water mark in our history. More than 20 million people visited the “Greatest of Expositions” when we were the fourth-largest city in the country. But remembering its glory shouldn’t mean whitewashing its dark side.

In addition to the innovation, magnificent buildings and entertainment, there was virulent racism, dozens of dead babies and American Imperialism on display at the fair. Scholars who study the world’s fairs shared some of the controversies, scandals and lesser-known stories about the city’s beloved cultural touchstone.

At the beginning of the American Century, premature babies were literally a sideshow exhibit. Visitors would pay to walk through rows of tiny babies in incubators. Hospitals had little regard for “weaklings,” as they were known, and desperate parents would flock to these fairs for a chance at survival.

Dawn Raffel, author of “The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies,” tells the incredible account of a man who revolutionized neonatal care a hundred years ago. In her research, she explored how the exhibit went horribly wrong in St. Louis.

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/secrets-scandals-and-little-known-stories-about-the-world-s/collection_8dd7c5e9-7bb0-51c9-8da8-40822ab2c64e.html#1