Bonneville, << BON uh vihl, >> Benjamin de (1796-1878), was an American soldier, trader, and explorer. He explored the Rocky Mountains and sent an expedition across the Great Basin, a desert region covering much of what are now California, Nevada, and Utah.
Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville was born in Paris on April 14, 1796. He came to the United States in 1803. Bonneville served in the United States Army and became interested in trade with the Indians in the West for furs. In 1831, he obtained private financial backing for a Western trading expedition. The Army granted him a leave to explore the Rocky Mountain country and California. Bonneville’s group set out in May 1832 and returned in August 1835. He was a failure as a trader, but he provided new information about the Great Basin and told the Army of British activities in the Northwest. The Army dismissed Bonneville for overstaying his leave, but Congress reinstated him in 1836 at President Andrew Jackson’s request. Bonneville served throughout the West until he retired in 1865 with the honorary rank of brigadier general. He died on June 12, 1878.
