Edward Fitzgerald Beale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Minister to Austria | |
| In office June 1, 1876 – April 20, 1877 | |
| President | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | Godlove S. Orth |
| Succeeded by | John A. Kasson |
| Surveyor General of California and Nevada | |
| In office 1861 | |
| President | Abraham Lincoln |
| Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada | |
| In office 1853–1856 | |
| President | Millard Fillmore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 4, 1822 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 1893 (aged 71) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Spouse |
Mary Edwards (m. 1849) |
| Children | 3 (incl. Truxtun) |
| Relatives | Samuel Edwards (father-in-law) John R. McLean (son-in-law) George Bakhmeteff (son-in-law) |
| Education | Naval School |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1837–1851 |
| Rank | Lieutenant (navy) |
Edward Fitzgerald Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was a national figure in the 19th-century United States. He was a naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, diplomat, and friend of Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill Cody and Ulysses S. Grant. He fought in the Mexican–American War, emerging as a hero of the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846. He achieved national fame in 1848 in carrying to the east the first gold samples from California, contributing to the gold rush.
In the late 1850s, Beale surveyed and built Beale's Wagon Road, which many settlers used to move to the West, and which became part of Route 66 and the route for the Transcontinental railroad. As California's first Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Beale helped charter a humanitarian policy towards Native Americans in the 1850s. He also founded the Tejon Ranch, the largest private landholding in California, and became a millionaire several times over. He received appointments from five U.S. presidents: Andrew Jackson appointed him to the Philadelphia Naval School, Millard Fillmore appointed him Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada, James Buchanan appointed him to survey a wagon road from New Mexico to California, Abraham Lincoln appointed him Surveyor General of California and Nevada, and Ulysses S. Grant appointed him Ambassador to Austria-Hungary.[1]
"Beale successfully pursued a personal El Dorado of adventure, status, and wealth," wrote Gerald Thompson. "In doing so, he mirrored the dreams of countless Americans of his day."[1]