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| | | Short Biography of Meriwether Lewis Date of Birth: Born on August 18, 1774 Place of Birth : Ivy, Albemarle County, Virginia Parents: Father - Lt. William Lewis Mother: Lucy Meriwether Stepfather: Captain John Marks Marital Status: Unmarried Died: October 11, 1809 aged 35Short Biography of William Clark Date of Birth: Born on August 1, 1770 Place of Birth : Virginia Parents: Father - John Clark Mother: Ann Rogers Clark Marital Status: Married Julia Hancock and second wife was Harriet Kennerly Radford Died: September 1, 1838 | |
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| | 1770 | August 1, 1770 - William Clark was born in Virginia | |
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| | 1774 | August 18, 1774 - Meriwether Lewis was born in Virginia | |
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| | 1794 | Lewis served in the army and was neighbors with Thomas Jefferson | |
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| | 1801 | March 6, 1801 - Lewis was asked by President Thomas Jefferson to be his secretary | |
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| | 1803 | April 1803 - Lewis was chosen by President Jefferson as commander of an expedition, referred to as the Corps of Discovery, to explore new land purchased from the French | |
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| | 1803 | Lewis asks William Clark, a military leader and explorer, to join him in the expedition and share the command, which Clark accepts | |
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| | 1803 | July 4, 1803 - Public announcement of the Louisiana Purchase | |
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| | 1803 | July / August - Preparations made for the expedition along with recruitment consisting of about 40 men. | |
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| | 1803 | Lewis and Clark establish Camp Wood, the winter camp for their expedition force, on the Wood River in Illinois. | |
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| | 1803 | Lewis and Clark ensure that a keelboat is fully prepared for the journey. A keelboat is a river boat with a shallow draught and a keel. Keelboats were moved by rowing, punting or towing. Two smaller boats were also prepared | |
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| | 1804 | May 14, 1804 - The Expedition of the new land acquired via the Louisiana Purchase begins at the Missouri River. The land stretched from the Mississippi River all the way to the Pacific Ocean | |
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| | 1804 | July 4, 1804 - The expedition marks first 4th of July west of the Mississippi by firing the keelboat's cannon, and naming Independence Creek | |
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| | 1804 | August 3, 1804 - Lewis and Clark present gifts to representatives of the Oto and Missouri Indians | |
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| | 1804 | August 30, 1804 - Lewis and Clark meet with the friendly Yankton Sioux | |
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| | 1804 | September 25, 1804 - Lewis and Clark meet the Teton Sioux and Chief Black Buffalo | |
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| | 1804 | October 24, 1804 - Lewis and Clark discover earthlodge villages of the Mandan and Hidatsas Indians. They construct Fort Mandan across the river from the main village | |
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| | 1804 | November 4, 1804 - Charbonneau & Sacagawea: A French Canadian fur trapper called Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea, are hired as interpreters. Only the Lacota tribe were hostile towards the expedition | |
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| | 1804 | December 24, 1804 - Fort Mandan is completed for use as a winter camp | |
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| | 1805 | April 7, 1805 - Lewis and Clark send the keelboat and 12 men back with maps, reports, Indian artefacts and other scientific specimens for President Jefferson | |
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| | 1805 | April 7, 1805 -The remaining explorers head west and continue up the river in canoes. They are accompanied by Sacagawea, Charbonneau and their newborn baby, Jean-Baptiste | |
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| | 1805 | June 13, 1805 - Scouting ahead of the rest of the expedition, Lewis comes across the Great Falls of the Missouri and four more waterfalls - the expedition have to carry boats and supplies overland for 18 milesto get past them | |
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| | 1805 | July, 1805 - The expedition reaches the 3 forks of the Missouri River which they name the Gallatin, the Madison, and the Jefferson. The expedition continues southwest, up the Jefferson | |
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| | 1805 | August 8, 1805 - Sacagawea recognizes Beaverhead Rock marking the headwaters of the Missouri, and the home of the Shoshone Indians. Lewis scouts ahead of the expedition | |
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| | 1805 | August 12, 1805 - The shipment from fort Mandan is delivered to President Jefferson | |
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| | 1805 | August 17, 1805 - The expedition meet the Shoshone chief Cameahwait, who is Sacagawea's brother | |
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| | 1805 | August 17, 1805 - Lewis and Clark name the site Camp Fortunate | |
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| | 1805 | August - October 1805 - Lewis and Clark and the expedition travel across the harsh mountains until they reach the Columbia River | |
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| | 1805 | November 7, 1805 - William Clark writes his most famous journal entry: "Ocean in view! O! the joy." | |
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| | 1805 | November 1805 - The Clark and Lewis expedition encounter bad storms that halt their progress for nearly 3 weeks. | |
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| | 1805 | January 4, 1806 - - President Jefferson receives a delegation of Missouri, Oto, Arikara, and Yankton Sioux chiefs who had met with Lewis and Clark more than a year earlier | |
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| | 1806 | March 23, 1806 - The Lewis and Clark expedition begin the journey home | |
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| | 1806 | June, 1806 - Lewis and Clark stay with the Nez Perce Indians in the Columbia River Plateau waiting for the snows to melt | |
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| | 1806 | July 3, 1806 - The Lewis and Clark expedition splits up to explore more of the territory. Lewis takes the shortcut to the Great Falls, and the Maris River whilst Clark follows the the Yellowstone River | |
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| | 1806 | July 25, 1806 - Near present-day Billings in Montana William Clark inscribes his name and the date on the rock face of Pompy's Tower - the inscription reads, "Wm. Clark July 25th 1806," which can still be seen today | |
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| | 1806 | August 12, 1806 - the Lewis and Clark expeditions are reunited near the mouth of the Yellowstone River | |
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| | 1806 | August 11 – Lewis is accidentally shot by a member of his own party | |
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| | 1806 | August 14, 1806 - Charbonneau, Sacagawea, and Jean Baptist leave the Lewis and Clark expedition and make their home at the Mandan village | |
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| | 1806 | September 23, 1806 - The Lewis and Clark expedition reach St. Louis, ending their journey after two years, four months, and ten days | |
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| | 1806 | Lewis and Clark were treated like National heroes | |
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| | 1807 | 1807, Jefferson appoints Lewis as governor of the Louisiana Territory and he settled in St. Louis | |
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| | 1808 | William Clark married Julia Hancock on January 5, 1808, at Fincastle, Virginia, and they had five children | |
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| | 1809 | Meriwether Lewis Died on October 11, 1809 aged 35 - his death is a mystery some say suicide, others say it was murder | |
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| | 1808 | William Clark married Julia Hancock on January 5, 1808, at Fincastle, Virginia, and they had five children After Julia's death in 1820, William Clark married her first cousin, Harriet Kennerly Radford. They had another three children | |
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| | 1820 | 1820 - After Julia's death William Clark married his first wife's first cousin, Harriet Kennerly Radford. They had three children | |
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| | 1808 | September 1, 1838 - William Clark died in St Louis. He was buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery | |
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