The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from August 29 until September 3, 1904, as part of an extended sports program lasting from July 1 to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. It was the first time that the Olympic Games were held in a majority English language nation, and the first time that they were held outside of Europe.

European tension caused by the Russo-Japanese War, and the difficulty of getting to St. Louis, kept most of the world's top athletes away. Only 62 of the 650 athletes who competed came from outside of North America, and only 12-15 nations were represented in all. 80% of competitors were from the United States, and in over half of the events these were the only competitors. In some cases the U.S. national championship was combined with the Olympic championship.

The city of Chicago, Illinois originally won the bid to host the 1904 Summer Olympics, but the organizers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis would not accept another international event in the same time frame. The exposition organization began to plan for its own sports activities, informing the Chicago OCOG that its own international sports events intended to eclipse the Olympic Games unless they were moved to St. Louis. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, gave in and awarded the games to St. Louis.

St. Louis organizers treated the games in a manner similar to the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Competitions were reduced to a side-show of the World's Fair and were overshadowed by other, more popular cultural exhibits. David R. Francis, the President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, declined to invite anybody else to open the Games and, on July 1 did so himself.

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