John Colter | |
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Born | c.1770–1775 Stuarts Draft, Colony of Virginia (present-day Stuarts Draft, Virginia) |
Died | May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813 (age 36–43) Sullen Springs, St. Louis, Territory of Missouri (present-day St. Louis, Missouri) |
Resting place | Miller's Landing, Franklin County, Missouri (present-day New Haven, Franklin County, Missouri) |
Nationality | American |
Other names | John Coulter, John Coalter |
Occupation(s) | frontiersman, soldier, fur trapper |
Employer(s) | U.S. Government, self employed |
Spouse | Sallie Loucy |
Children | 1 |
John Colter (c.1770–1775 – May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813) was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). Though party to one of the more famous expeditions in history, Colter is best remembered for explorations he made during the winter of 1807–1808, when he became the first known person of European descent to enter the region which later became Yellowstone National Park and to see the Teton Mountain Range. Colter spent months alone in the wilderness and is widely considered to be the first known mountain man.[1]