John Wesely Powell
| John Wesley Powell | |
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Powell as he appears at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
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| Born | March 24, 1834 Mount Morris, New York |
| Died | September 23, 1902 (aged 68) Haven Colony, Brooklin, Maine |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery, Section 1 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Traversing Colorado River of the Grand Canyon |
| Spouse(s) | Emma Dean Powell |
| 2nd Director of the United States Geological Survey | |
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In office 1881 – 1894 |
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| Preceded by | Clarence King |
| Succeeded by | Charles Doolittle Walcott |
John Wesley "Wes" Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for the 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first known passage by persons of European descent through the Grand Canyon.
Powell served as second director of the U.S. Geological Survey (1881–1894) and proposed, for development of the arid West, policies that were prescient for his accurate evaluation of conditions. He became the first director of the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution during his service as director of the U.S. Geological Survey, where he supported linguistic and sociological research and publications.
Powell was born in Mount Morris, New York, in 1834, the son of Joseph and Mary Powell. His father, a poor itinerant preacher, had emigrated to the U.S. from Shrewsbury, England, in 1830. His family moved westward to Jackson, Ohio, then Walworth County, Wisconsin, before settling in rural Boone County, Illinois.
As a young man he undertook a series of adventures through the Mississippi River valley. In 1855, he spent four months walking across Wisconsin. During 1856, he rowed the Mississippi from St. Anthony, Minnesota, to the sea. In 1857, he rowed down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi River, traveling north to reach St. Louis. In 1858 he rowed down the Illinois River, then up the Mississippi and the Des Moines River to central Iowa. At age 25, he was elected in 1859 to the Illinois Natural History Society.
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