People

In the late eighteenth century, a young Spanish girl and a Russian explorer fell in love at the Presidio. Though challenged by different languages and cultures, the romance of Maria de la Concepcion Marcela Arguello and Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov spawned a legend that continues to capture the hearts of people today.

"While I was in college, I didn't want to go back home for the summer to work at the local grocery. I applied for a bunch of environmental internships and got a fisheries internship in Colorado. I had no prior experience or any interest in fish, but I thought 'why not?' I went out there, learned a lot, and had an amazing time. After the fisheries internship, I knew I wanted to continue to work in natural sciences."

French-born explorer and naturalist Adelbert von Chamisso (full name: Louis Charles Adélaïde de Chamisso de Boncourt) (1781-1838) visited the San Francisco Bay area in the early nineteenth century. During his time in California, Chamisso studied a number of indigenous plant and animal species and his inventory is considered a valuable ecological record to this day.

A courageous and dedicated woman by the standards of any period, Eda Blankart Funston (1877-1932) was a particularly remarkable figure in her day.

A Mexican-American pioneer, businesswoman, healer, and landowner, Doña Juana Briones de Miranda (1802-1889) lived in the San Francisco Bay area under the flags of three different nations. She was one of the first three settlers in Yerba Buena before it became San Francisco

A member of the African-American 10th Cavalry commonly known as the "Buffalo Soldiers," Private William Thompkins served in the Spanish-American War.

Crissy Field, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, is named after Major Dana H. Crissy. In the early 1900s, Presidio coast artilleryman Dana H. Crissy was full of ambition and fascinated by the new invention of human flight. Imagine the sensation of being lifted into the air, just above the ground, and magically transported somewhere else.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Irvin McDowell (1818–1885) initially attended the College de Troyes in France before graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838. After completing his education, McDowell served as a tactics instructor at the Academy before joining John E. Wool's staff in the Mexican War.

Leader among the legendary "Buffalo Soldiers", Charles Young (1864-1922) served in the segregated U-S Army of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The foremost military leader of his time, John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (1860-1948) served the United States in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, the Mexican Intervention, and the First World War.