John C. Frémont

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Illustration of Pyramid Lake, northwestern Nevada, U.S., from the report on John C. Frémont's 1843–44 Western expedition.

View of Pikes Peak from forty miles distant; from Fremonts report of his expedition.The government responded to interest in the Far West by sending John C. Fremont, a young Army engineer, on a series of expeditions to survey and map the trails to Oregon and California. Fremont spent 1842 in the Wind River Mountains and in 1843–44 led an expedition that marched from St. Louis to Oregon, then south into Nevada and across the Sierra into California, returning East by way of Nevada and Utah.

For Students

John C. Frémont summary

Read Next

Battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862, lithograph by Kurz and Allison, circa 1888.

9 Questions About the American Civil War Answered

The United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.

14 Questions About Government in the United States Answered

Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.

U.S. Death Toll During Major Events

The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.

26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

Discover

A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin

Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine

What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?

Four year old boy with grandfather and father lighting Hanukkah menorah. Photo taken on: December 21st, 2009

Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah?

Facsimile of one of William Henry Ireland's forgeries, a primitive self-portrait of William Shakespeare(tinted engraving). Published for Samuel Ireland, Norfolk Street, Strand, December 1, 1795. (W.H. Ireland, forgery)

The Time a Law Clerk Successfully Forged a New Shakespeare Play to Impress His Dad

9 Mind-Altering Plants

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

John C. Frémont

American explorer, military officer, and politician

Also known as: John Charles Frémont

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: John Charles Frémont

Born:: January 21, 1813, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.

Died:: July 13, 1890, New York, New York (aged 77)

Political Affiliation:: Republican Party

Notable Family Members:: spouse Jessie Ann Benton Frémont

John C. Frémont (born January 21, 1813, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.—died July 13, 1890, New York, New York) was an American military officer and an early explorer and mapmaker of the American West, who was one of the principal figures in opening up that region to settlement and was instrumental in the U.S. conquest and development of California. He was also a politician who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. presidency in 1856 as the first candidate of the newly formed Republican Party. When Frémont was six years old, his father, a French émigré, died, and the family moved from Georgia to ...(100 of 1125 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.