List of people associated with the California gold rush
Overview
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
during the period from 1848 to 1855.
- See also :Category:People of the California Gold Rush
- James "Grizzly" Adams
- Charles H. BennettCharles H. Bennett (soldier)Charles H. Bennett was present at the discovery of gold that initiated the California gold rush in January 1848. Earlier he served in the United States Army and was captain of a militia unit of the Provisional Government of Oregon...
, present at the first discovery of gold. - Henry Bigler, one of the first people to note the discovery of gold at Sutter's MillSutter's MillSutter's Mill was a sawmill owned by 19th century pioneer John Sutter in partnership with James W. Marshall. It was located in Coloma, California, at the bank of the South Fork American River...
- Samuel BrannanSamuel BrannanSamuel Brannan was an American settler, businessman, and journalist, who founded the "California Star" newspaper in San Francisco, California...
- Frederick CatherwoodFrederick CatherwoodFrederick Catherwood was an English artist and architect, best remembered for his meticulously detailed drawings of the ruins of the Maya civilization. He explored Mesoamerica in the mid 19th century with writer John Lloyd Stephens...
- Jean Baptiste CharbonneauJean Baptiste CharbonneauJean Baptiste Charbonneau was an American explorer and guide, fur trapper and trader, military scout during the Mexican-American War, alcalde of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, and a gold prospector and hotel operator in California. He spoke French and English, and learned German and Spanish...
- Charles CrockerCharles CrockerCharles Crocker was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Crocker was born in Troy, New York, to a modest family and moved to an Indiana farm at age 14. He soon became independent, working on several farms, a sawmill, and at an iron forge. In 1845 he founded a small, independent iron...
- Alonzo DelanoAlonzo DelanoAlonzo Delano , who went by the pen name "Old Block", was an American humorist, pioneer town city father, and a California Gold Rush Forty-niner. Delano's sketches of gold rush camp life rivaled Bret Harte and Mark Twain in popularity.-Early life:Delano was born in Aurora, New York. His father, Dr...
- Charles S. FairfaxCharles S. FairfaxCharles Snowdon Fairfax was an American Democratic politician of California. He was of Scottish noble descent and was himself entitled to the title as the 10th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Fairfax was lured west as part of the gold rush...
- Thomas FallonThomas FallonThomas Fallon was an Irish-born, Canadian-raised American capitalist and politician, the tenth Mayor of San Jose, California.-Biography:...
- Joseph Libbey FolsomJoseph Libbey FolsomJoseph Libbey Folsom was a U.S. Army officer and real estate investor in the early days of California's statehood. He is the founder of what is now Folsom, California...
- John C. FrémontJohn C. FrémontJohn Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
- John White Geary
- Domingo GhirardelliDomingo GhirardelliDomenico "Domingo" Ghirardelli, Sr. was born in Rapallo, Italy, the son and apprentice of a chocolatier. In 1837, Ghirardelli moved to Uruguay, then in 1838 to Lima, Peru, and established a confectionery, and began using the Spanish equivalent of his Italian name, Domingo.In 1849 he moved to...
- Daniel GovanDaniel GovanDaniel Chevilette Govan was an American miner, planter, and soldier. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, prominent in campaigns and battles in the Western Theater.-Early life and career:...
- Ulysses Grant
- O. C. HackettO. C. Hackett- Vital Statistics :Oliver Cromwell Hackett was born March 29, 1822 in Scott County Kentucky. His father was John Hackett, and his grandfather was noted Kentucky frontiersman and militiaman of the American Revolution, Peter Hackett. John Hackett moved the family, including young O. C., from...
- Albert W. HicksAlbert W. HicksAlbert W. Hicks , also known as William Johnson, John Hicks and 'Pirate Hicks', was the name of the last person executed for piracy in the United States .-Confession:"The affair occurred," said Hicks, "about half past nine or ten o'clock at night, while...
- John Wesley HillmanJohn Wesley HillmanJohn Wesley Hillman was an American prospector during the California Gold Rush and explorer who was among the first European Americans to see Crater Lake in the U.S. state of Oregon....
- Sherman Otis HoughtonSherman Otis HoughtonSherman Otis Houghton was an American politician from California.-Biography:He was born in New York City on April 10, 1828...
- William B. IdeWilliam B. IdeWilliam Brown Ide was a California pioneer and Commander of the short-lived California Republic.-Life:...
- Frank JamesFrank JamesAlexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
- Seth KinmanSeth KinmanSeth Kinman was an early settler of Humboldt County, California, a hunter based in Fort Humboldt, a famous chair maker, and a nationally recognized entertainer. He stood over tall and was known for his hunting prowess and his brutality toward bears and Indians...
- James LickJames LickJames Lick was an American carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. At the time of his death, he was the wealthiest man in California, and left the majority of his estate to social and scientific causes.-Early years:James Lick was born in Stumpstown Pennsylvania on August...
- Heinrich LienhardHeinrich LienhardHeinrich Lienhard was a Swiss immigrant to the United States. He left Switzerland at the age of 21...
- James MarshallJames W. MarshallJames Wilson Marshall was an American carpenter and sawmill operator, whose discovery of gold in the American River in California on January 24, 1848 set the stage for the California Gold Rush. The mill property was owned by Johan Sutter who employed Marshall to build his mill...
, discoverer of the first gold - Richard Barnes MasonRichard Barnes MasonRichard Barnes Mason was a career general officer in the United States Army and the fifth military governor of California before it became a U.S. state.-Early life:...
- John Templeton McCarty
- James McClatchyJames McClatchyJames McClatchy was an American newspaper editor.Although he is thought of as founder of The Sacramento Bee, which grew into The McClatchy Company, James McClatchy was actually the newspaper's second editor, taking over just days after the newspaper began publication as The Daily Bee in February...
- Ross McCloudRoss McCloudRoss McCloud was a California pioneer and early settler in Northern California. While he is regarded by some as a namesake of the town of McCloud, California, and the nearby McCloud River, please see historical note below.Born and raised in Ohio, McCloud moved to Iowa when he was a young man,...
- Benjamin McCullochBenjamin McCullochBenjamin McCulloch was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a U.S. marshal, and a brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
- George McKnight, discovered gold at Gold HillGold Hill (Nevada County, California)Gold Hill, in Grass Valley, California, was the site of one of the first discoveries of quartz gold in California. While quartz gold was also found in other areas of Nevada County, California during the same time, it is this find near Wolf Creek that led to quartz-mining frenzy and subsequent...
near Grass Valley, CaliforniaGrass Valley, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
in 1850 - Joaquin MillerJoaquin MillerJoaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet Cincinnatus Heine Miller , nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras".-Early years and family:...
- Joaquin Murietta
- Isaac MurphyIsaac MurphyFor the African-American Hall of Fame jockey see: Isaac Burns MurphyIsaac Murphy was the first Reconstruction Governor of Arkansas. He was the first reconstruction governor to come to power under President Abraham Lincoln's conciliatory policy...
- Joshua Norton, a.k.a.
