History of the Ruhr and steel industries have declined drastically History of the Ruhr The actual boundaries of the Ruhr vary slightly depending on the source, but a good working definition is to define the Lippe and Ruhr as its northern and southern boundaries respectively, the Rhine as its western boundary, and the town of Hamm as the eastern limit. In the Middle Ages, local power was vested primarily in the counts ("Grafen") of Berg, Mark and Cleves. The left bank of the Rhine was held by the Archbishop of Cologne. The Hellweg was an important trade route crossing the region from Duisburg to
History of the Kansas City metropolitan area 1930s and 1940s, TWA was known as "The Airline Run by Flyers." With about 300 employees prior to World War II, the airline eventually employed more than 20,000 people from the metropolitan area. William T. Kemper became the scion for a powerful financial family that had controlling interest of the city's two biggest banks, Commerce Trust Company (now Commerce Bancshares) and City Center Bank (later City National Bank, now UMB Financial Corporation). The family has influenced financial endeavors throughout Missouri and Kansas, including Kemper Arena and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. William became president of Commerce. One of his