On This Day

Source of Mississippi River discovered by American geographer Henry Schoolcraft

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832...

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi River. He is also noted for his major six-volume study of Native Americans commissioned by Congress and published in the 1850s.

He served as United States Indian agent in Michigan for a period beginning in 1822. During this period, he named several newly organized counties, often creating neologisms that he claimed were derived from indigenous languages.

There he married Jane Johnston, daughter of a prominent Scotch-Irish fur trader and an Ojibwe mother, who was the high-ranking daughter of Waubojeeg, a war chief.

Historical Significance

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi River.

Key People

Henry Schoolcraft

anthropologist

American anthropologist

Events Before

  1. Slave plantation owner Charles Farquharson begins his diary at Prospect Hill Plantation, Watlings Island (San Salvador),

    Slave plantation owner Charles Farquharson begins his diary at Prospect Hill Plantation, Watlings Island (San Salvador), the only plantation diary to survive from the Bahamas (ends Dec 1832) [1]

  2. Soldier and future Confederate General Robert E. Lee (24) marries Mary Custis (22) at Arlington House, Arlington Virgini

    Soldier and future Confederate General Robert E. Lee (24) marries Mary Custis (22) at Arlington House, Arlington Virginia

  3. "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)" with lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith has its first public performance at Park Street

    "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)" with lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith has its first public performance at Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts

  4. Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Head of State of modern Greece, is assassinated in Nafplion

    Count Ioannis Antoniou Kapodistrias, sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century...

  5. Michael Faraday demonstrates his dynamo invention, an electric generator

    Michael Faraday (22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism.

Events After

  1. Curaçao census: 2,602 white people, 6,531 free people, 5,894 enslaved people

    Curaçao census: 2,602 white people, 6,531 free people, 5,894 enslaved people

  2. French composer Hector Berlioz (29) weds Irish actress Harriet Smithson (30) at the British Embassy in Paris, France

    French composer Hector Berlioz (29) weds Irish actress Harriet Smithson (30) at the British Embassy in Paris, France

  3. The British Royal Navy arrives at the Falkland Islands and reasserts sovereignty

    In December 1832, the United Kingdom sent two naval vessels to re-assert British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), after the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata...

  4. Britain seizes control of Falkland Islands in South Atlantic

    The occupation of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was the short-lived Argentine occupation of a group of British islands in the South Atlantic whose sovereignty...

  5. Boston Academy of Music, first US music school, is established

    Boston Academy of Music, first US music school, is established

More from the 1830s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 13, 1832?
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi River. He is also noted for his major six-volume study of Native Americans commissioned by Congress and published in the 1850s. He served as United States Indian agent in Michigan for a period beginning in 1822.
Why is Source of Mississippi River discovered by American geographer Henry Schoolcraft significant?
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi River.
Who was involved in Source of Mississippi River discovered by American geographer Henry Schoolcraft?
Key figures include Henry Schoolcraft (anthropologist).

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