Notable figures in Montana history
Encyclopedia
Montana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
and the state of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. Individuals listed played significant roles in the exploration and settlement of the region as well as the cultural, economic, military and political development of the territory and state.
Montana is a state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
located in the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. Added to the U.S. in 1803 and explored by Lewis and Clark, the territory was home to numerous Indian tribes. In the mid-19th century the discovery of gold silver or copper and other minerals led to a mining boom. Settlement by farmers and ranchers began as the railroads built a network linking Montana to Minneapolis in the East, Denver and the South, and Seattle in the West. At the state has produced numerous important politicians, especially in the Democratic Party, as well as famous entrepreneurs who built the mining industry, and the numerous small cities.
Pre-territorial period
- William Clark (explorer), leader of the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionLewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
(1804–1806) - Meriwether LewisMeriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) - Henry PlummerHenry PlummerHenry Plummer served as sheriff of what became Bannack, Montana, from May 24, 1863 until January 10, 1864, when he was hanged without legal system trial by the controversial Montana Vigilantes. [Notes of historical clarification: the original Idaho Territory, declared July 4, 1863 at Lewiston,...
, (1832 – 1864) served as sheriff of Bannack, MontanaBannack, MontanaBannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...
, from May 24, 1863 until January 10, 1864, when he was hanged without trial by the controversial vigilantes. - SacagaweaSacagaweaSacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
, indian guide for Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) - Father Pierre-Jean De SmetPierre-Jean De SmetPierre-Jean De Smet , also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus , active in missionary work among the Native Americans of the Midwestern United States in the mid-19th century.His extensive travels as a missionary were said to total...
(30 January 1801 – 23 May 1873), also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), active in missionary work among the Native Americans of Western Montana in the mid-19th century.
Montana Territory (1864–1889)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the State of Montana. This era was characterized by fighting between the Plains Indians and the U.S. Army, large-scale mining operations, large cattle up ranching operations, and the arrival of the railroads.
- John M. Bozeman, (1835–1867). In 1863, he and John Jacobs blazed the Bozeman TrailBozeman TrailThe Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
, a cutoff route from the Oregon TrailOregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
in WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
to Bannack, MontanaBannack, MontanaBannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...
, and guided miners to Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley. In 1864, he laid out the town of Bozeman, MontanaBozeman, MontanaBozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
. - Lt. Colonel George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
, (1839–1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Defeated and killed during the Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
in Southeast Montana. Custer's defeat made him one of the most famous military figures in American history. - Captain Gustavus Cheyney DoaneGustavus Cheyney DoaneGustavus Cheyney Doane was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.-Early life:...
, (1840–1892) was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane ExpeditionWashburn-Langford-Doane ExpeditionThe Washburn Expedition of 1870, explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that a couple years later became Yellowstone National Park. Led by Henry Washburn, Nathaniel P. Langford and under U.S. Army escort led by Lt. Gustavus C...
in 1871. - General Nelson A. MilesNelson A. MilesNelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.-Early life:Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm...
(1839 – 1925) was an American soldier who served in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Indian WarsIndian WarsAmerican Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, and the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. His command was responsible for the capture of Chief JosephChief JosephHin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, popularly known as Chief Joseph, or Young Joseph was the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain band of Nez Perce during General Oliver O. Howard's attempt to forcibly remove his band and the other "non-treaty" Nez Perce to a reservation in Idaho...
in the Bear Paw MountainsBear Paw MountainsThe Bear Paw Mountains are an insular-montane island range in North-Central Montana, USA, located approximately 10 miles south of Havre, Montana...
that concluded the Nez Perce War of 1877Nez Perce WarThe Nez Perce War was an armed conflict between the Nez Perce and the United States government fought in 1877 as part of the American Indian Wars. After a series of battles in which both the U.S. Army and native people sustained significant casualties, the Nez Perce surrendered and were relocated...
. - Granville Stuart, (1834–1918) was a pioneer, gold prospector, businessman, civic leader, author, cattleman and diplomat who played a prominent role in the in the early history of Montana Territory and the state of Montana.
- James Stuart, (1832–1873; brother of Granville) was a gold prospector, pioneer, businessman, explorer and indian agent who played a prominent role in the settlement of Montana TerritoryMontana TerritoryThe Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
. - Nathaniel P. LangfordNathaniel P. LangfordNathaniel Pitt Langford was an explorer, businessman, bureaucrat, vigilante and historian from St. Paul, Minnesota who played an important role in the early years of the Montana gold fields, territorial government and the creation of Yellowstone National Park.-Montana Gold Fields:On June 16, 1862...
, member of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition to Yellowstone in 1871 and Virginia City, MontanaVirginia City, MontanaVirginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
vigilanteVigilanteA vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
. - Henry D. WashburnHenry D. WashburnHenry Dana Washburn was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, Surveyor General of Montana Territory and leader of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition to Yellowstone in 1871. - Lester S. WillsonLester S. WillsonBrevet Brigadier General Lester Sebastion Willson, , was a U.S. Civil War officer in the Union Army, Assistant Quartermaster General of New York, and a Montana merchant and politician in Bozeman, Montana. He was married at Albany, N.Y., on March 2, 1869, to Miss Emma D. Weeks, a native of Vermont...
, (1839–1919) U.S. Civil War officer and merchant and politician from Bozeman, MontanaBozeman, MontanaBozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
.
State of Montana (19th century)
- William Horace Clagett (1838 – 1901) was Montana Territorial Congressman (1871–1872) and introduced the Act of Dedication bill into Congress that ultimately led to the creation of Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone National ParkYellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. - William Andrews ClarkWilliam Andrews ClarkWilliam Andrews Clark, Sr. was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads.-Biography:...
, Sr. (1839–1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking and railroads. He known as one of the three "Copper KingsCopper KingsThe Copper Kings, industrialists William Andrews Clark, Marcus Daly, and F. Augustus Heinze, were collectively known for the epic battles they fought in Butte, Montana and the surrounding region during the Gilded Age over the control of the local copper mining industry, a fight which had...
" of Butte, MontanaButte, MontanaButte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
and was also a U.S. Senator from Montana. - Marcus DalyMarcus DalyMarcus Daly redirects here, see also Marcus Daly Marcus Daly was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States.- Early life:...
, (1841–1900) was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three "Copper KingsCopper KingsThe Copper Kings, industrialists William Andrews Clark, Marcus Daly, and F. Augustus Heinze, were collectively known for the epic battles they fought in Butte, Montana and the surrounding region during the Gilded Age over the control of the local copper mining industry, a fight which had...
" of Butte, MontanaButte, MontanaButte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
. - Paris GibsonParis GibsonParis Gibson was an American entrepreneur and politician.Gibson was born in Brownfield, Maine. An 1851 graduate of Bowdoin College, he served as a member of the Montana State Senate and as a Democratic member of the United States Senate between 1901 and 1905.-Career:In 1853 he was elected to the...
, (1830–1920), was an entrepreneur and Montana politician who founded Great Falls, MontanaGreat Falls, MontanaGreat Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
. - James Jerome Hill, (1838–1916), was a Canadian-AmericanCanadian-AmericanA Canadian American is someone who was born or someone who grew up in Canada then moved to the United States. The term is particularly apt when applied or self-applied to people with strong ties to Canada, such as those who have lived a significant portion of their lives in, or were educated in,...
railroad executive based in St. Paul, Minnesota. He headed a group of lines especiall the Great Northern Railway, which served Montana and a substantial area of the Upper MidwestMidwestern United StatesThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, the northern Great PlainsGreat PlainsThe Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, and Pacific NorthwestPacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Because of the size of this region and the economic dominance exerted by the Hill lines, Hill became known during his lifetime as The Empire Builder. - Charles Marion RussellCharles Marion RussellCharles Marion Russell , also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an artist of the Old American West. Russell created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States, in addition to bronze sculptures...
, (1864 – 1926) was an artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
of the Old American WestAmerican Old WestThe American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. Russell created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in Montana in addition to bronze sculptures. Known as 'the cowboy artist', Russell was also a storyteller and author. The C. M. Russell Museum ComplexC. M. Russell Museum ComplexC.M. Russell Museum Complex is an art museum located in the city of Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. The museum's primary function is to display the artwork of Great Falls "cowboy artist" Charles Marion Russell, for whom the museum is named...
located in Great Falls, MontanaGreat Falls, MontanaGreat Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
houses more than 2,000 Russell artworks, personal objects, and artifacts. - Conrad KohrsConrad KohrsConrad Kohrs, born Carsten Conrad Kohrs was a Montana cattle rancher .He was born in Holstein, a province that was ethnically and culturally German and part of the German Confederation but ruled at the time in personal union by Denmark...
, (1835–1920) owned one of the largest Montana cattle ranches which at its peak ran over 50,000 head of cattle. - Harvey LoganHarvey LoganHarvey Alexander Logan , also known as Kid Curry, was an American outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang. Despite being less well known than his counterparts, he has since been referred to as "the wildest of the Wild Bunch"...
(1867–1904), also known as Kid Curry, was a notorious Montana outlawOutlawIn historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
and gunman who ran with Butch CassidyButch CassidyRobert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild BunchButch Cassidy's Wild BunchButch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch...
gang. He killed at least nine law enforcement officers in five different shootings, and another two men in other instances, and was involved in several shootouts with posses and civilians during his outlaw days. - John Frank StevensJohn Frank StevensJohn Frank Stevens was an American engineer who built the Great Northern Railway in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907.- Biography :...
(1853–1943) was an engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who built the Great Northern Railway and the first European AmericanEuropean AmericanA European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
to discover the Marias PassMarias PassMarias Pass is a high mountain pass near Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana in the United States.The pass traverses the continental divide in the Lewis Range, along the boundary between the Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Flathead National Forest...
over the Continental DivideContinental DivideThe Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
in 1889.
State of Montana (20th century)
- Evelyn CameronEvelyn CameronEvelyn Cameron was a Terry, Montana based photographer. British-born Cameron, and her naturalist husband Ewen, moved to Terry in the 19th century...
(1868–1928) was a Terry, MontanaTerry, Montana-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 611 people, 294 households, and 171 families residing in the town. The population density was 866.2 people per square mile . There were 387 housing units at an average density of 548.7 per square mile...
based photographer. - George F. GrantGeorge F. GrantGeorge F. Grant was an angler, author and conservationist from Butte, Montana. He was active for many years on the Big Hole River.-Biography:...
, (1906 – 2008) was an anglerFishermanA fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
, author and conservationist from Butte, MontanaButte, MontanaButte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
. He was active for many years on the Big Hole RiverBig Hole RiverThe Big Hole River is a tributary of the Jefferson River, approximately 153 miles long, in southwestern Montana in the United States. It rises in Skinner lake in the Beaverhead National Forest in the Beaverhead Mountains of the Bitterroot Range at the continental divide along the...
. In 1988 Grant established the Big Hole Foundation to focus conservation efforts on the river he had saved through his earlier conservation activities. - George Bird GrinnellGeorge Bird GrinnellGeorge Bird Grinnell was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student...
(1849–1938) was an anthropologist, historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, naturalistNatural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, and writer who was instrumental in the establishment of Glacier National Park. - A. B. Guthrie, Jr.A. B. Guthrie, Jr.Alfred Bertram Guthrie, Jr. was an American novelist, screenwriter, historian, and literary historian who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1950 for his novel The Way West. The author called himself "Bud" because he felt that Alfred Bertram "was a sissy name."-Biography:A. B. Guthrie, Jr...
, (1901 – 1991) was a novelist, historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, and literaryLiteratureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
historian who won the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for fictionFictionFiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
in 1950 for his The Way WestThe Way WestThe Way West is a 1949 western novel by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. . The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1950. The book became the basis for a film starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark....
dealing with the Oregon TrailOregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
and the development of Montana. - Joseph Kinsey HowardJoseph Kinsey HowardJoseph Kinsey Howard was an American journalist, historian, and author, who wrote extensively about the history, culture, and economic circumstances of Montana...
, (1906–1951) was a journalist and historian who wrote about the history, culture, and economic circumstances of Montana and the West. Howard's landmark 1943 book, Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome is an animated account of Montana history that has influenced later generations of historians. - Michael Joseph MansfieldMike MansfieldMichael Joseph Mansfield was an American Democratic politician and the longest-serving Majority Leader of the United States Senate, serving from 1961 to 1977. He also served as United States Ambassador to Japan for over ten years...
, (1903–2001) was a politician and the longest-serving Majority Leader of the United States SenateParty leaders of the United States SenateThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
, serving from 1961 to 1977. Mansfield represented the state of Montana throughout his political career. - James E. Murray (1876–1961) was a United States SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, and a leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961. - Jeannette Pickering Rankin, (1880–1973) was the first woman in the U.S. Congress, elected statewide in 1916 and again in 1940. A lifelong pacifist, she voted against the entry of the United States into both World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the only member of Congress to vote against the latter. To date, she is the only woman to be elected to Congress from MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. - James Willard SchultzJames Willard SchultzJames Willard Schultz, or Apikuni, was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfoot Indians. While operating a fur trading post at Carroll, Montana and living amongst the Pikuni tribe during the period 1880-82, he was given the name "Apikuni"...
, or Apikuni, (1859–1947) was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, and historian of the Blackfoot Indians. Schultz is most noted for his prolific stories about Blackfoot life and his contributions to the naming of prominent features in Glacier National Park. - Kenneth Ross Toole, (1920–1981) was an historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and educator who specialized in the history of MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. Perhaps the best-known and most influential of the state's 20th-century historians, Toole served as director of the state's historical society, authored several noted volumes of state history and social commentary, and was a popular professor at the University of Montana for 16 years.
State of Montana (21st century)
- Max BaucusMax BaucusMax Sieben Baucus is the senior United States Senator from Montana and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, as of 2010 he is the longest-serving Senator from Montana, and the fifth longest-serving U.S...
, U.S. Senator, longest serving Senator from Montana (1978 to present)