The 1904 World's Fair: Innovations and Inventions

Class & Event Types:

Evenings & Weekends, History & Culture, Virtual

Age Group:

Teens (Grades 7-12), Adults, Ages 18+, Ages 21+, Ages 55+
Registration for this event will be open from April 17, 2025 @ 7:00pm to May 15, 2025 @ 7:00pm.

Program Description

Event Details

Discover information on historical people, places, or things. 

Many inventions made their debut at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis: the detachable electric plug, the fax machine, cotton candy, the electric typewriter, the cellphone, the photo booth, a solar furnace that reached 6,300 degrees, and many others. 

The World’s Fair exposed people to things that they had never seen before, including the ice cream cone. Dr. Pepper, and puffed rice…and brought St. Louis clear drinking water for the first time.  

Doug Schneider will talk about our Fair that was full of innovations and inventions.

1904 invention of a plug

Recommended reading from the Library: 1904 World's Fair Inventions

The presenter is Doug Schneider, author, St. Louis walking tour guide, Scottish country dancer, fan of architecture, Route 66 enthusiast, who graduated from Brown University, one of the eight Ivy League universities, with a Bachelor's in History; and from the University of London with a Master's in Linguistics.