Benjamin Bonneville
Explorer
Explorer who blazed large portions of the Oregon Trail in the 1830's. He was also a fur trapper who served as a brevet Brigadier General in the American Civil War.
He was born in Paris and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in just two years.
He described his adventures to author Washington Irving, who wrote about them in his their 1837 book The Adventures of Captain Bonneville.
He married Sue Neis and had one daughter.
His journey from France to the United States was paid for by political theorist Thomas Paine.