1813-1890

American Explorer and Mapmaker

John Charles Fremont was an American explorer of the eighteenth century who parlayed skills as a mapmaker and explorer to earn a huge fortune and to achieve both high military rank and political office.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1813, Fremont's family moved to Charleston, South Carolina, after the death of his father. He enrolled at Charleston College in 1829 but was expelled in 1831 for poor attendance. Despite this Fremont was still recognized for his skill in mathematics. By 1833 he was a mathematics instructor on the United States Navy war sloop Natchez. He prospered in this position and was named a professor of mathematics by the Navy in 1835.

At this time his interests turned to civil engineering. In 1836 he surveyed a potential railroad line in the western Carolinas and eastern Tennessee. This seemed to whet his appetite for further exploration, and...