Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer who led the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) across the western territories to the Pacific Ocean.
A Virginia-born army officer, Lewis served as Thomas Jefferson's private secretary before Jefferson chose him to lead the Corps of Discovery.
He and William Clark mapped vast stretches of unmapped territory, documented hundreds of plant and animal species, and established relations with Native American tribes.
Lewis died in 1809 under disputed circumstances—officially ruled suicide, though murder theories persist.
Shoshone interpreter for westward expedition
- Thomas JeffersonThird American president
- Louisiana Purchase1803 territorial acquisition
- Missouri RiverMajor central waterway
- Rocky MountainsWestern North American cordillera
Pacific Northwest · Great Falls · Columbia River · Shoshone · Nez Perce · keelboat · pirogue · portage
Creating geographic representations
- mappingDiagram of correspondences
- navigationDetermining position and course
- unchartedNot yet documented
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
frontier · wilderness · pathfinder · trailblazing · confluence · landmark · surveying · compass
Record of daily events
- specimensRepresentative items for examination
- botanyScience of flora
- zoologyStudy of fauna
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
prairie dog · grizzly bear · pronghorn · bitterroot · observation · classification · documentation · flora
Sorrowful loss of life
- governorState's chief executive
- Louisiana TerritoryVast 1803 land acquisition
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- commemorationAct of honoring memory
Sacagawea
Shoshone interpreter for westward expedition
- Thomas JeffersonThird American president
- Louisiana Purchase1803 territorial acquisition
- Missouri RiverMajor central waterway
Rocky Mountains · Pacific Northwest · Great Falls · Columbia River · Shoshone · Nez Perce · keelboat · pirogue · portage · winter camp
cartography
Creating geographic representations
- mappingDiagram of correspondences
- navigationDetermining position and course
- unchartedNot yet documented
territory · frontier · wilderness · pathfinder · trailblazing · confluence · landmark · surveying · compass · sextant
journal
Record of daily events
ethnography · prairie dog · grizzly bear · pronghorn · bitterroot · observation · classification · documentation · flora · fauna
tragic death
Sorrowful loss of life
- governorState's chief executive
- Louisiana TerritoryVast 1803 land acquisition
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown