Home > Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)

Mackenzie was born in Stornoway in the Hebrides. In 1774 his family moved to New York, and then to Montreal in 1776 during the American Revolution. In 1779 he obtained a job with the North West Company, on whose behalf he travelled to Lake Athabasca and founded Fort ChipewyanFort Chipewyan is the oldest European settlement in the province of Alberta, Canada. The settlement was established by the North West Company when it setup a trading post there in 1788. The Fort was named after the Chipewyan First Nation living in the are in 1788Events January 1 First edition of The Times previously The Daily Universal Register was published. January 2 Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 4th U. January 9 Connecticut ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes t. He was sent to replace Peter PondPeter Pond (c. 1739 1807) was born in Milford, Connecticut. He was a soldier with a Connecticut regiment, a fur trader, founding member of the North West Company, an explorer and cartographer. Despite his accomplishments he died in relative obscurity and, a partner in the North West Company. From Pond he learned that the First Nations people understood that the local rivers flowed to the northwest. Acting on this information he set out by canoe and discovered the Mackenzie RiverFor other uses, see Mackenzie River (disambiguation The lower Mackenzie River at the end of August. Source: NASA The Mackenzie River originates in Great Slave Lake and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada and, together with on July 10July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. Events 48 BC Battle of Dyrrhachium, Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. 1778 American Revolution: Louis XVI of Fr, 1789Events January 7 First nationwide United States election January 21 The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth is printed in Boston, Massachusetts January 23 Georgetown College becomes the first Catholic coll, following it to its mouth in hope of finding the Northwest PassageThe Northwest Passage is a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic archipelago of Canada. Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, Europeans attempted to establish a commercial sea route north and west around to the Pacific Ocean. Although he ended up discovering the Arctic Ocean, he named the river "Disappointment River" as it did not lead to Cook Inlet in Alaska as he had expected. The river was later renamed in his honour.

In 1791 he travelled to England to study the new advances in the measurement of longitude. Upon his return in 1792 he set out once again to find a route to the Pacific, and in 1793 he became the first European to cross both the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountains. He found the upper reaches of the Fraser River and following its course, reached the Pacific coast of Canada on July 22 of that year becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing north of Mexico.

He was knighted for his efforts in 1802, and served in the legislature of Lower Canada from 1804 to 1808. In 1812, he married and retired to Scotland. Mackenzie died in 1820 of Bright's disease.