Henry Gannett

Henry Gannett (August 24, 1846 - November 5, 1914) was an American geographer who is described as the "Father of the Quadrangle" which is the basis for topographical maps in the United States. He was born in Bath, Maine August 24, 1846, graduated with a B.S. at Harvard University in 1869 and at the Hooper Mining School in 1870 also at Harvard. In 1871 he was almost simultaneously offered positions with Charles Francis Hall on what would become the ill-fated Polaris Expedition or going with Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden to survey Yellowstone National Park. He chose the Hayden adventure and would map the western portion of the Hayden's division until 1879. On July 26, 1872, while climbing the then unnamed highest mountain in the Gallatin Mountains, he and his party experienced electric shocks following a lightning event near the summit. He was to name the mountain Electric Peak. He married Mary E. Chase on November 24, 1874.