People

Western explorer and Scottish nobleman William Drummond Stewart spent the winter of 1834-1835 at Fort Vancouver.

Ann M. Archbold was a colorful member of Washington society for 45 years. She was a landowner who contributed to Glover Archbold park in north west Washington, DC and advocated for it to be a protected park in the 1960s.

Samuel de Champlain was the navigator credited with giving Mount Desert Island its name after his explorations of the area in 1604.

Explorer, trader, governor of Acadia, founder of the first permanent settlement in Canada, Pierre Dugua financed and led the expedition that settled on Saint Croix Island in 1604.

Gudmund Hatt was an archeologist and cultural geographer. He led an archeological survey of the Virgin Islands (including areas that are now national parks) and Santo Domingo in the Caribbean. While he visited several sites on both St. Thomas and St. John, he spent most of his time on St. Croix. He was one of the first archeologists to comment on Amerindian sites across St. Croix and note the significance of their location regarding the local environment and soil present.

Nellie Bly was a nationally significant journalist at the New York World. She was a pioneer in investigative journalism. Her reporting introduced readers to the horrors of insane asylums and to international travel.

During his time, Sir Francis Drake was known in England as an expert sailor, adventurer, privateer, navigator, and war hero. The Spanish, however, viewed him as an illegal trader of slaves and a ruthless pirate. From "The Voyage of Circumnavigation" of 1577–1580 through his 1585 expedition to the Caribbean to his final voyage in 1595, Drake left his mark at Point Reyes, St. Augustine, Roanoke Island, and San Juan—locations which have since become National Park Service sites.

An adventurous spirit, George Carmack was part of the group that discovered the gold that kicked off the Klondike Gold Rush. As the only white member of the group, George filed the first claim, now referred to as Discovery Claim.

Maria Mitchell was the first woman in the United States to work as a professional astronomer.

At a time when most Americans couldn’t travel far from home, Thomas Moran brought wondrous sights of the West back to the East through his sketches. A Hudson River School artist, Moran is known for his vast western landscapes.