Late nineteenth-century St. Louis was a hotbed for homicide, suicide, alcoholism, abortion and workplace accidents. Historian Dr. Sarah Lirley examines the role of the city’s Gilded Age coroners and their inquests conducted into these unexpected or suspicious deaths in her new book "Sudden Deaths in St. Louis: Coroner Bias in the Gilded Age." Adults.
Late nineteenth-century St. Louis was the scene of myriad grisly deaths, a hotbed for homicide, suicide, alcoholism, abortion and workplace accidents. Dr. Sarah Lirley examines the role of the city’s Gilded Age coroners and their inquests conducted into these unexpected or suspicious deaths. Verdicts varied not only by the circumstances of the deaths, but also the investigating coroners. Their investigations and verdicts were shaped by family testimony; training and experience (or lack thereof); and assumptions about the character of the deceased. Dr. Lirley chronicles some of these fascinating cases in her new book "Sudden Deaths in St. Louis: Coroner Bias in the Gilded Age." Books available for purchase after the program.
Dr. Sarah E. Lirley is a historian who specializes in the history of women and gender, nineteenth century history, and the history of death and death investigations. She is an assistant professor of history at Columbia College.
