George Wheeler (explorer)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "George Wheeler" explorer – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

George Wheeler
Portrait by Alice Pike Barney
Born	George Montague Wheeler (1842-10-09)October 9, 1842 Hopkinton, Massachusetts, US
Died	May 3, 1905(1905-05-03) (aged 62) New York City, New York, US
Alma mater	West Point
Known for	Exploration of the American West
Scientific career
Fields	explorer and cartographer
Institutions	United States Geological Survey

George Montague Wheeler (October 9, 1842 – May 3, 1905) was an American pioneering explorer and cartographer and the leader of the Wheeler Survey, one of the major geographical surveys of the western United States in the late 19th century.

Wheeler was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the son of John Wheeler and Miriam P. Daniels. He graduated from West Point in 1866, ranked sixth in his class, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He first served in California from 1866 to 1871. In 1869 General Edward O. C. Ord sent him on a reconnaissance mission through eastern Nevada.^[1]

In 1872, the US Congress authorized an ambitious plan to map the portion of the United States west of the 100th meridian at a scale of 8 miles to the inch. This plan necessitated what became known as the Wheeler Survey. The project lasted until 1879, when the Wheeler, King, and Powell Surveys were terminated and their combined work was reorganized as the United States Geological Survey.

Wheeler was promoted to captain in 1879. In 1881 he represented the United States at the Third International Geographical Congress and Exhibition in Venice, Italy. He entered semi-retirement in 1883 but continued to write scientific reports until his full retirement from the army in 1888 at the rank of major. He died in New York City in 1905.^[2]

Many places are named for George Wheeler, including Wheeler Peak in Nevada (within Great Basin National Park), Wheeler Peak in New Mexico (the state high point), and the scenic Wheeler Geologic Area in southern Colorado.