Jebediah Strong Smith

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Jebediah Strong Smith

1799-1831

American fur trader and explorer best known for his explorations into the central Rocky Mountains and the Columbia River basin. Smith was the first white man to travel overland to California through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Great Basin. He conducted two missions of exploration into the American Southwest before being killed by Comanche Indians while leading a wagon train to Santa Fe at the age of 32.