January
Jun 11 Congress Lends Support to John Wesley Powell's Expedition
Year:
1868
Month:
june
Day:
11
Date:
Thu, 1868-06-11
SIA Image reference:
The US Congress authorizes the Secretary of War to provide rations for twenty-five men on an expedition to the Colorado River, under the direction of John Wesley Powell. The three months river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers included the first known passage through the Grand Canyon. Powell provides additional funds from his own salary and small grants from Illinois scientific societies. Powell later headed the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian and transferred many of the objects he collected on expeditions to the US National Museum.