Talk:John Wesley Powell

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I have added a sample of the 3D images taken by John Wesley Powell's 1872 Expedition. The image was painstakingly restored. Adverse conditions on the river, or maybe just time alone has shifted the emulsion brightness, causing drastic reduction in the quality of these old 3D images. Many appear on the USGS site, under Grand Canyon. This is the only one that has been restored to some degree of density balance. It looks quite good with the Red-Cyan glasses.3dnatureguy 06:36, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

I expanded the caption for the image of Powell to include the name of Tau-gu a Paiute who is the second person with Powell in the image. I added a reference for this edit.--Dakota ~ ° 02:58, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

A question & a possible entry ...

In the first paragraph, "Morgan served as second director ...". Shouldn't that be "Powell" instead?

The film "Ten Who Dared", released 1 November 1960, by Walt Disney Productions is based on the journal of Major Powell.

J. R. Madden (talk) 20:42, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

References

importance

i made importance=mid, class=C, would be B but for belief section. Accotink2 (talk) 14:31, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Left or right

(Copied from WP:EAR)

Hello, The article on John Westly Powell says he lost part of an arm in the Battle of Shiloh (1862). The photo of Mr. Powell taken in 1871-1872 shows him using his left arm. However, the photo dated 1897 shows him without the left arm. Is this just the way one of the photos was reversed when reprinted? Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.181.136.205 (talk) 03:30, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

John Wesley Powell (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Well spotted - yes, it looks as if one of those photos has been reversed. The one online source doesn't say which arm was injured, but perhaps one of the book sources might clear it up. I am copying this thread to the article talk page. -- John of Reading (talk) 06:54, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I found a reference in the dedication of a book that specified it was his right hand that he lost. I noted it in the article. --Wazeez (talk) 18:23, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

Should the photo be flipped then? Or is it wikimedia's policy to preserve the original orientation of the print? (Is it the original orientation?) Hoof Hearted (talk) 19:05, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Thank you Leaflet! Hoof Hearted (talk) 18:29, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

When did the 1st journey ended?

Was it on August 13, 1869 or was it on August 30, 1869, as we are told after just five lines? אביהו (talk) 18:40, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

On August 13, the Powell party left the Little Colorado River confluence with the Colorado at the head of the Grand Canyon. On the 30th they were at the mouth of the Virgin River. The Major left the boats here on Sept 1 but some of the party continued down the Colorado. I changed it to the 30th. RRFWTommartin (talk) 21:03, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River, was named in his honor.

The quote Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River, was named in his honor may not be entirely accurate. Powell would certainly not be honored to have that lake named after him, he would have fought against the creation of Glenn Canyon Dam and the destruction of the township of Hite and the flooding of literally thousands of Indian sites which had not yet been cataloged by anthropologists. I'm not sure whether it was an honor or not, certainly the naming of the resulting lake was something of an insult. I suppose it's pointless to suggest changing that text. :) Probably. Damotclese (talk) 03:44, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Seems it was named after or for him, however the "honor" bit was overdone and as you say a bit dubious - so reworded and chopped some unneeded detail. Vsmith (talk) 13:31, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

The second Grand Canyon trip, maps, murder and the Report

Have added that the second Colorado River cruise of 1871-1872 ended at Kanab Creek, with 60 river miles of Grand Canyon yet remaining to be run. Those missing river miles include Separation Rapid, where the 1869 trip split up. I also added note that at least one historian noted the resulting maps were "impressionistic rather than precise." Also added writings exaggerations, recounting the 1869 events included that were 1870-1871 events, and lifejacket info. Also added additional murder info with ref's. RRFWTommartin (talk) 19:30, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

How does the life jacket info carry any substantial importance? It seems quite rational. Is this implying some kind of moral that he wore it while others did not? I suggest to either clarify the implied meaning of it, or just remove this detail, as insignificant. Otherwise why stop at the life jacket as one particular piece of clothing equipment, go ahead and elaborate on the rest like who wore socks, or underwear and who didn't.

Just my two cents.

176.63.176.112 (talk) 00:17, 5 January 2017 (UTC).

Hi Two Cents, Thanks for your question. The life jacket info is important in that Powell does not mention he was wearing one. The next trip after his, the ill fated 1889 Stanton-Brown expedition, assumed that life jackets were not needed. Three men lost their lives on that trip, including Brown. Stanton came back in 1890 and everyone had life jackets. I see the mention to the possibility of the Mormon settlements killing the Howlands and Dunn has been removed too. Hmmm... Yours, tom RRFWTommartin (talk) 05:06, 5 January 2017 (UTC)

Added Marston to the Ref List

Added Marston, Otis R., (2014). "From Powell To Power; A Recounting of the First One Hundred River Runners Through the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff, Arizona: Vishnu Temple Press, p. 111-114 ISBN 978-0990527022 to the Reference list. RRFWTommartin (talk) 02:57, 3 March 2015 (UTC)

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john wasley powell was this dude who explored some rivers in this cheeto canyon. He was also a soldier in the american rat war where people at rats and stuff. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:643:8680:526:871:D56C:3337:886C (talk) 19:12, 15 August 2020 (UTC)

This Tamara Pico "Article"

The article is a blog post that doesn't support the sentence that precedes it: "Powell's contribution to anthropology and scientific racism is not well known in the geosciences, however a recent article revisited Powell's legacy in terms of his social and political impact on Native Americans."

The blog post it links to doesn't actually provide evidence of Powell "contributing" to scientific racism. It instead cites the preface to the anthology in which Powell published his first account of the Colorado River exploration. The British editor who penned the preface used language that supports manifest destiny. The post goes on to critique cartography through a post-colonial lens, and since Powell helped make maps...he contributed to scientific racism?

Whether Powell did or did not "contribute" to scientific racism, the blog post does not seem to provide the evidence.

That Powell subscribed to a theory of the advancement of human cultural groups from "Savagery" to "Civilization" seems to be covered in the following section.

The sentence and the link should be removed.

I am new here. I don't know if I should just do that myself. MikeDeliquesced (talk) 15:51, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

The sentence in question has been removed.

Achdell (talk) 15:52, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

Dedicated page for Powell Expeditions

I've notice there is not a lot of space dedicated to the Powell Expeditions on the Major's wiki page. There is especially a need to differentiate the differences between the two different expeditions.

Two similar surveys (Wheeler and Hayden) both have their own dedicated page. A very different expedition that took place in the same general area (Dominguez-Escalante) has its own page.

Thoughts on the need for a dedicated page for the Powell Expeditions? FredFurbukche (talk) 01:51, 17 June 2026 (UTC)

Just found there is a small page for the 1869 expedition. FredFurbukche (talk) 01:52, 17 June 2026 (UTC)

The idea for a dedicated page about the '71-'72 expedition is an interesting one.

According to Donald Worster's biography of Powell, A River Running West, Almon Thompson, who was in charge of the second expedition during Powell's absences, held a lifelong grievance against Powell for under-reporting the second expedition's accomplishments and not mentioning the members of the second expedition by name in the material that Powell wrote for popular consumption (Exploration of the Colorado River and its Tributaries/Canyons of the Colorado).

Of course, there was, in Powell's mind, no "second expedition," and in a sense, he was right. What occurred in 1871-72 was a fragmented but scientifically thorough survey of the Green and Colorado rivers, one that included Powell on site for only a portion of the time. (257)

Should someone decide to create a page for '71-'72 expedition, there are apparently many primary sources available:

Compared to the first river trip, this expedition was as well documented in personal accounts as it was in topographical data. Thompson, Jones, Steward, Bishop, and Clem Powell all kept nearly daily records, some of them starting in Chicago; and the Major wrote a few sentences each day in his own journal. In 1874 Beaman published a seven-part narrative, "The Cañon of the Colorado," in Appleton's Journal. Young Dellenbaugh proved to be the most articulate, comprehensive scribe. On the basis of his own notes and the other's journals, he brought out a detailed, if belated, account of the expedition in his book A Canyon Voyage, published in 1908, with a revised edition appearing in 1926. The last account to appear in print was Jack Hillers's diary, long held in family hands but finally published in 1972. (223)

Achdell (talk) 15:45, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

First sentence

The first sentence of the article currently reads:

John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions.

I propose making the following changes:

John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions.

Powell lectured at Illinois Wesleyan for only a couple years between the Civil War and his journeys west. He left that position for another one at Illinois State Normal University where he taught one course before the first expedition.

Also, while Powell is often characterized as a "geologist," I don't think it's accurate to imply that geology was his profession. While he did make contributions to that field, he did not earn a degree in it nor was he ever employed as a "geologist" in an exclusive sense.

Or, if he was a "geologist," we should also add that he was an "ethnologist" as well.

Achdell (talk) 12:22, 28 June 2026 (UTC)

Who is the author of this paper and when was it written?

I would like to know when this paper was written and by whom. Thank you. ~2026-41436-10 (talk) 17:06, 25 July 2026 (UTC)