John Wesley Powell
Sign in to saveAlso known as Wes Powell, J. W. Powell, J.W.Powell, Major John Wesley, John W. Powell, Major Powell
American geologist (1834-1902)
Key facts
- Preceded by
- Clarence King
- Succeeded by
- Charles Doolittle Walcott
- Born
- March 24, 1834 , Mount Morris, New York , U.S.
- Died
- September 23, 1902 (1902-09-23) (aged 68) , Haven Colony, Brooklin, Maine , U.S.
- Resting place
- Arlington National Cemetery, Section 1
- Spouse
- Emma Dean Powell
- Relatives
- William B Powell , brother. Walter H Powell , brother
- Known for
- Traversing Colorado River of the Grand Canyon
- Education
- Illinois College Oberlin College
- Fields
- Natural sciences
- Institutions
- Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois State Normal University U.S. Geological Survey Smithsonian Institution
- Allegiance
- United States of America
- Branch
- United States Army
- Service years
- 1861–1865
- Rank
- Major
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Family name
- Powell
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Mount Morris
- Place of death
- North Haven
- Educated at
- Wheaton College
- Employer
- Illinois State University
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Field of work
- natural science
- Military branch
- United States Army
- Image
- John Wesley Powell USGS.jpg
Show 14 more facts
- contributed to creative work
- Popular Science
- Commons category
- John Wesley Powell
- date of death
- 1902-09-23
- date of birth
- 1834-03-24
- member of
- American Philosophical Society
- place of burial
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Commons gallery
- John Wesley Powell
- name in native language
- John Wesley Powell
- writing language
- English language
- allegiance
- United States
- has works in the collection
- National Museum of World Cultures
- P6944
- John Wesley Powell
- Commons Creator page
- John Wesley Powell
- collection items at
- National Museum of Natural History
Sources (11)
via Wikidata · CC0
~27 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Charles Doolittle Walcott, John Wesley Powell, and Sir Archibald Geikie on a geological field excursion to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, May 1897.
John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for his 1869 geographic expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first official U.S. government-sponsored passage through the Grand Canyon.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Wesley Powell” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.