Browse famous American explorers, including Neil Armstrong, Kit Carson and Daniel Boone.
Meet famous people born in August. Barack Obama, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Tim Tebow, Ingrid Bergman, Halle Berry, Tony Bennett, Jack Black, Coco Chanel, and Andy Warhol are just some of the names you'll find share an August birthday.
Discover unexpected relationships between famous figures by exploring Biography.com's group of famous explorers. Browse some of the world's most famous adventure-seekers, including Christopher Columbus, Louis Joliet, Jacques Marquette, William Clark, Ernest Shackleton, Diego Velázquez, Matthew Henson, Leif Eriksson and Thor Heyerdahl.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, led an expedition to survey the land West of the Missipppi, known as Louisana Territory, that had been purchased from France in 1803. Lewis, Clark, and the rest of their expedition began their journey near St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1804. This group - often called the Corps of Discovery by historians - faced nearly every obstacle and hardship imaginable on their trip. They braved dangerous waters and harsh weather and endured hunger, illness, injury, and fatigue. During their first winter, they recieved help and guidance from Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian.
Take a look at famous people named William, including Prince William, William Clark, William Randolph Hearst and William Grant Still.
Meet famous people such as Johnny Cash, Dorothy Dandridge, James Dean, Grace Kelly, Jimi Hendrix, and Steve Irwin, who died in the month of September.
The Wild West holds a special place in American history—Western films depict it as a place where the rules didn't apply, and where scores were settled with gun slinging and shootouts. The colorful characters who made up the old West were men, women, cowboys, Indians, sheriffs just plain outlaws. Though we've come to have a more nuanced understanding of the good and the bad of the old West, we can still learn from the stories of the people who made it and who wrote about what it was.