261 years ago today, on February 15, 1764 (January 14, 1764 lunar calendar), the American city of St. Louis was established. St. Louis (ST. LOUIS, or SAINTLOUIS, saint means saint, usually people die to get this title) is a large city in eastern Missouri, USA. Located on the middle reaches of the Mississippi River, the longest river in the United States, in the center of the continental United States, almost in the geometric center of the United States, it is of great strategic importance in geographical location. This area was a French colony at the time, and the city was named after the French king. The economic development of the United States was advanced from the eastern Atlantic coast to the vast desolate areas of the west. European colonists and later people and goods also constantly flocked to the western region from here. American geographers usually call this the gateway to the west. In history, St. Louis was the fur trading port of the Indians and the largest cattle market in the United States. Later, it developed into the center of the leather and shoe industry in the United States. In 1764, the French adventurer and merchant Pierre Leckled came from New Orleans to the birthplace of St. Louis - the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. At the time of the decline of the French Empire, he hoped to free himself from the control of the British colonists and establish the last city of the French style. The city was named St. Louis in honor of King St. Louis IX of France. From 1800, St. Louis saw an initial prosperity and development. By 1850, it had developed into a medium-sized city with a population of more than 161,000, making it the 11th largest city in the United States at that time.