Meriwether Lewis

author

Meriwether Lewis

1774–1809

An explorer, soldier, and public servant, he is best known for co-leading the Lewis and Clark Expedition across the newly acquired American West. His journals and reports helped introduce much of the continent's geography, plants, animals, and Native nations to readers in the early United States.

3 Audiobooks

The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806

The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806

by William Clark, Meriwether Lewis

History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 1.

History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 1.

by William Clark, Meriwether Lewis

History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 2.

History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 2.

by William Clark, Meriwether Lewis

About the author

Born in Virginia in 1774, Meriwether Lewis served in the U.S. Army and became a trusted secretary to President Thomas Jefferson. In 1803 Jefferson chose him to lead an expedition across the Louisiana Purchase, and Lewis invited William Clark to share command.

From 1804 to 1806, the Corps of Discovery traveled from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Coast and back. Lewis played a central role in planning the journey, gathering scientific observations, and keeping detailed journals that recorded landscapes, wildlife, and encounters along the route.

After the expedition, Lewis was appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory. He died in 1809 at the age of 35, but his name remains closely tied to one of the most important exploration stories in American history.