Long, Stephen Harriman (1784–1864)

US soldier, explorer, and engineer. In 1817 he established Fort Smith, now a city in Arkansas. He then began to lead expeditions for the army: In 1820 he led an exploration party into the Rocky Mountains (discovering the peak outside Denver, Colorado, named after him), and in 1823 he explored the sources of the Minnesota River and helped survey the border between the USA and Canada. Long was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. A Dartmouth College graduate, he entered the army in 1814. After 1827, as a consulting engineer for railroads, he surveyed railroad routes, including that of the Baltimore & Ohio, drew up a manual with curves and gradients, and built railroad bridges. In 1861 he joined the Federal government as chief of the topographical engineers.