1770-1838

American Explorer

William Clark is best known as co-leader of the Corps of Discovery, leadership he shared with Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809). In this role Clark helped explore the Louisiana Purchase and western territories stretching to the Pacific Ocean, becoming in the process one of the greatest American explorers.

Born in 1770 in the state of Virginia, Clark's family soon moved to Kentucky. Clark was the younger brother of General George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War hero and a friend of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Clark joined the United States Army in 1790 and first met Lewis in 1795 when both were assigned to the same rifle company for six months. Prior to their meeting, Clark fought in the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

William Clark. (Archive Photos, Inc. Reproduced by permission.)

Though they spent only a short time together, Lewis and Clark developed a great respect for one another that...