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A biography of Joseph Nicollet, the brave & tireless explorer in 1838 & 1839 of the great northwestern triangle between the Missouri & the upper Mississippi rivers. Author Martha Coleman Bray has founded her very readable story on Nicollet’s journals, survey documents, correspondence, & published writings. Trained as an astronomer in Paris, Nicollet came to America after the revolution of 1830. His early travels took him to the South & to the sources of the Mississippi River. He won the confidence of the leaders of the newly-founded Corps of Topographical Engineers (precursor of the U.S. Geological Survey) & with John Charles Fremont as his assistant, he led the first of two expeditions to the Northwest. The superb “Map of the Hydrographic Basin of the Upper Mississippi River,” which resulted from these expeditions, was basic to the further exploration of the West & is our only source of Indian names of landscape features of the region. The “Report” which accompanied the map reveals Nicollet’s breadth of knowledge which brought him into the liveliest scientific circles of the U.S. He died in Washington in 1843. 300 illlus. & a fold-out map.
Price: $60.00
Pages: 300
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Imprint: The American Philosophical Society Press
Series: Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society
Publication Date:
January 1, 1980
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780871691408
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical
"Bray’s excellent biography is a long overdue rectification of the obscurity in which an important figure in American geography has been shrouded."
— John L. Allen
"[A] delightful, intimate portrayal of Nicollet’s career as his interests moved from astronomy and geography to geology and ethnology…[A]n insightful social picture of the development of science in early nineteenth-century America…[A] major contribution to our understanding of the scientific background of western expansion."
— Raymond J. Demaille
"Charmingly written, methodically developed, and nimbly researched in primary documents—this biography of Joseph Nicollet tells the symbiotic story of a man, an eminent French astronomer, and his even more celebrated map…Bray reproduces both the man and his map on an equally large scale."
— Stephen J. Heims
"This book is an excellent account of Nicollet’s struggles with the bureaucratic system of his day, something that we often mistakenly feel is unique to the twentieth century."
— Kenneth G. Johnson
"[A] distinguished biography which also contains some excellent social history, history of science, and historical geography… [A]n excellent treatment of Nicollet and his scientific survey of the greatest river in the United States and one of the great rivers of the world."
— Normal J. W. Thrower
"This handsome volume is recommended to all those interested in topography and early exploration of the upper Mississippi River Valley."
"An insightful and thorough biography."
— M. Edwin Derrick
— John L. Allen
"[A] delightful, intimate portrayal of Nicollet’s career as his interests moved from astronomy and geography to geology and ethnology…[A]n insightful social picture of the development of science in early nineteenth-century America…[A] major contribution to our understanding of the scientific background of western expansion."
— Raymond J. Demaille
"Charmingly written, methodically developed, and nimbly researched in primary documents—this biography of Joseph Nicollet tells the symbiotic story of a man, an eminent French astronomer, and his even more celebrated map…Bray reproduces both the man and his map on an equally large scale."
— Stephen J. Heims
"This book is an excellent account of Nicollet’s struggles with the bureaucratic system of his day, something that we often mistakenly feel is unique to the twentieth century."
— Kenneth G. Johnson
"[A] distinguished biography which also contains some excellent social history, history of science, and historical geography… [A]n excellent treatment of Nicollet and his scientific survey of the greatest river in the United States and one of the great rivers of the world."
— Normal J. W. Thrower
"This handsome volume is recommended to all those interested in topography and early exploration of the upper Mississippi River Valley."
"An insightful and thorough biography."
— M. Edwin Derrick