Giacomo Beltrami

Giacomo Costantino Beltrami (detail from an 1861 painting, six years after Beltrami's death, by Enrico Scuri)

Giacomo Costantino Beltrami (1779 – January 6, 1855[1]) was an Italian jurist, author, and explorer, known for claiming to have discovered the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1823 while on a trip through much of the United States (later expeditions determined a different source). In Minnesota, Beltrami (in Polk County) and Beltrami County are named for him.[2] He had an extensive network of notable figures for friends and acquaintances, including members of the powerful Medici family.

  1. ^ "Biographical Outline: Giacomo Costantino Beltrami". Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai. Bergamo, Italy. July 25, 2000. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  2. ^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 34.