Origin
Although many believe the inventor of the cocktail party was Alec Waugh of London, an article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press in May, 1917, credited its invention to a certain Mrs. Julius S. Walsh Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri.
Mrs. Walsh invited 50 guests to her house on a Sunday at high noon for a one-hour affair. "The party scored an instant hit," the newspaper declared and stated that, within weeks, cocktail parties had become "a St. Louis institution".
Alec Waugh noted that the first cocktail party in England was hosted in 1924 by war artist Christopher Nevinson.
Read more about this topic: Cocktail Party
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