Meriwether Lewis

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Meriwether Lewis

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Meriwether Lewis 1774-1809, American explorer, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark expedition , b. near Charlottesville, Va. He was a captain in the army and served in a number of campaigns against Native Americans before becoming (1801) secretary to his friend President Jefferson. Selected to head the expedition for a land route to the Pacific Ocean, he chose William Clark as his associate. Upon that successful venture Lewis's fame rests. In 1807 he was made governor of Louisiana Territory, with headquarters at St. Louis. In 1809, while traveling to Washington to prepare the journals of the expedition for publication, he died suddenly—either by murder or suicide—in a lonely inn on the Natchez Trace. The cause of his death is still the subject of controversy.

Bibliography: See biography by R. H. Dillon (1968); see also bibliography under Lewis and Clark expedition.

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Lewis, Meriwether

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Lewis, Meriwether (1774–1809) US explorer. An army officer, he was secretary to Thomas Jefferson, who chose him to lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804). In 1808, he was appointed governor of Louisiana Territory.

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Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Was Explorer Meriwether Lewis Murdered?
Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 7/8/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...08-2009 Was Explorer Meriwether Lewis Murdered? Host: ROBERT...explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark blazed...Author, "The Death of Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime...believed that Meriwether Lewis committed suicide, it...
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Magazine article from: Montana; The Magazine of Western History; 1/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...to his famous uncle, Captain Meriwether Lewis. From 1961 until recently...William Clark's son, Major Meriwether Lewis Clark, indicates that Lewis...Jane Lewis Anderson, was Meriwether Lewis's eldest sibling. Since Lewis...
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The Enduring Mystery of Meriwether Lewis
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By His Own Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis
Magazine article from: The Journal of Southern History; 8/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis. Edited by John D. W. Guice...The recent bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition through the...appendix, "Varying Views of Meriwether Lewis's Death," revealing, and...
By His Own Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Journal of Southern History; 8/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis. Edited by John D. W. Guice...The recent bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition through the...appendix, "Varying Views of Meriwether Lewis's Death," revealing, and...
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: The Historian; 9/22/1997; ; 700+ words ; ...love of exploration that drew Meriwether Lewis and Thomas Jefferson into the...with the spectre of the suicidal Lewis haunting the narrative, Ambrose...who cannot fully understand why Meriwether Lewis, this man "of courage undaunted...
Area woman traces family's history to Meriwether Lewis
Newspaper article from: St. Joseph News-Press; 7/12/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...for the some time, you probably know Meriwether Lewis passed through here 200 years ago. But...According to Ms. Long's research, C.Q. Lewis was the first cousin twice removed of Meriwether Lewis. Ms. Long also said her heritage includes...
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
Magazine article from: The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography; 10/1/1997; ; 700+ words ; Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening...Thomas Jefferson, captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark fulfilled Captain...memoir of his Chesapeake survey, Lewis and Clark's saga included energetic...

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