John Colter

John Colter
John Colter historical marker, located in Stuarts Draft, Augusta County, Virginia
Born	c.1770-1775 Stuarts Draft, Augusta County, Colony of Virginia, present-day Stuarts Draft, Augusta County, Virginia
Died	May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813 (aged 37-43) Sullen Springs, St. Louis, Missouri, present-day St. Louis, Missouri
Cause of death	jaundice
Resting place	Miller's Landing, Franklin County, Missouri, present-day New Haven, Franklin County, Missouri
Nationality	American
Other names	John Coulter, John Coalter
Occupation	frontiersman, soldier, fur trapper
Employer	U.S. Government, self employed
Spouse(s)	Sallie Loucy
Children	Hiram Jefferson Colter
Parent(s)	Joseph Colter and Ellen Shields

John Colter (c.1774 – May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813, was 39 when died) 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.

John Colter was born in Stuarts Draft, Augusta County, Colony of Virginia, sometime between 1770 and 1775, based on assumptions by his family. The Colter family patriarch Micajah Coalter is believed to have migrated from Ireland in 1700. There is some debate as to which variation of the family name, Coalter, Coulter, or Colter, is correct and the issue was further convoluted by Captain William Clark utilizing all three spelling variations during his daily journals. It is unknown whether or not Colter was literate and knew how to write. Two signatures possessed by the Missouri State Historical Society assert that the proper spelling of the family name was "Colter" and that Colter was at least able to write his own name. Sometime around 1780, the Colter family moved west and settled near present-day Maysville, Kentucky. As a young man Colter may have served as a ranger under Simon Kenton. He was 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall. The outdoor skills he had developed from this frontier lifestyle impressed Meriwether Lewis, and on October 15, 1803, Lewis offered Colter the rank of private and a pay of five dollars a month when he was recruited to join what became the Lewis and Clark Expedition.