Millionaire Banker, Business Leader, and Developer John Vollmer [otd 01/25]
John P. Vollmer, ca. 1875.Vollmer Family Archives.Wealthy developer John P. Vollmer was born on January 25, 1847, in Wurtemburg, Germany. The family emigrated to the U.S. when John was about four years...
View ArticleRancher, Canal Manager, and Ada County Sheriff James Bennett [otd 01/26]
Sheriff Bennett.Ada County Sheriff’s Office.Ada County Sheriff James A. Bennett was born January 26, 1865 in Leavenworth, Kansas. The family moved to farm country 40-50 southwest of St. Louis, Missouri...
View ArticleEducator, Attorney, and Supreme Court Justice John Rice [otd 01/27]
Judge Rice.John Campbell Rice Foundation photo.January 27, 1864, Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Campbell Rice was born on a farm in Cass County, Illinois, about thirty miles west of Springfield....
View ArticleWilliam A. Foster, Boise Fireman and Long-Time Fire Chief [otd 01/28]
Chief Foster.Boise Fire Department.Boise Fire Chief William A. Foster was born on January 28, 1870, in Grinnell, Iowa. The family relocated to the high plains of northwestern Kansas when William was...
View ArticleEntrepreneur, Fur Trader, and Fort Hall Founder Nathaniel Wyeth [otd 01/29]
Nathaniel Wyeth, 1840.Illustration for Harper's Magazine, 1892.Entrepreneur Nathaniel J. Wyeth was born January 29, 1802, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Despite strong ties to Harvard on both sides of...
View ArticleFrontier Missionary and Peacemaker Father Pierre-Jean de Smet [otd 01/30]
Father De Smet, 1860-65.Library of Congress,Brady-Handy Photograph Collection.Roman Catholic priest Pierre-Jean de Smet was born in Belgium on January 30, 1801. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1821 and...
View ArticleAttorney and Teton Valley Developer Benjamin Driggs [otd 01/31]
Benjamin, Senior.Driggs Family Archives.Teton Valley pioneer and attorney Benjamin W. Driggs, Jr., was born January 31, 1858 in Pleasant Grove, Utah, about ten miles north of Provo. His father had been...
View ArticleRight Reverend Alphonsus Glorieux, Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise...
Bishop Glorieux. H. T. French photo.The first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise, the Right Reverend Alphonsus Joseph Glorieux was born February 1, 1844, in Belgium. After college, he went...
View ArticleAttorney, Montpelier Mayor, and U. S. Congressman Thomas Glenn [otd 02/02]
Congressman Glenn.H. T. French photo.U. S. Congressman Thomas L. Glenn was born February 2, 1847 near Bardwell, Kentucky, in the extreme southwest corner of the state. His father died two years later....
View ArticleAvalanche Cluster Brings Tragedy to Coeur d’Alene Area, Six Killed at Custer...
At suppertime on Monday, February 3, 1890, a dozen miners who worked at the Custer Mine sat eating after a long day. The mine, high above Nine Mile Creek about six miles northeast of Wallace, had been...
View ArticleTwo Sheepmen Shot to Death, Could Spark Range War [otd 02/04]
On the morning of February 4, 1896, two riders guided their horses along a rough track through the scrub-covered foothills of south-central Idaho. James E. Bower, a superintendent for the...
View ArticleCongress Approves Appropriation for Planning the Mullan Military Road [otd...
Governor Stevens. Library of Congress.On February 5, 1855, Congress approved a $30,000 appropriation to plan the construction of a military road from Fort Walla Walla, Washington to Fort Benton,...
View ArticleWorld War I Hero Army Lieutenant John Regan, D.S.C. [otd 02/06]
Timothy Regan. J. H. Hawley photo.U. S. Army Lieutenant John M. Regan, D.S.C., was born February 6, 1886, in Silver City, Idaho. John’s father Timothy, with ample capital from his hotel and other...
View ArticleGovernor Bottolfsen Signs Junior College District Bill into Law [otd 02/07]
Governor Bottolfsen.University of Idaho archives.On February 7, 1939, Governor Clarence A. Bottolfsen signed a bill that authorized the formation of local junior college districts in the state of...
View ArticleLandowner, Sheep Rancher, and Supreme Court Justice Charles O. Stockslager...
Judge Stockslager.Illustrated History photo.Idaho Supreme Court Justice Charles O. Stockslager was born on February 8, 1847, in Indiana, about ten miles west of Louisville, Kentucky. He attended a...
View ArticleAttorney and Legal Scholar Colonel Edwin G. Davis, D.S.M. [otd 02/09]
Colonel Davis. H. T. French photo.Colonel Edwin G. Davis was born on February 9, 1873, at Samaria, Idaho, near Malad City. An early interest in teaching led him to a year as school principal in Utah,...
View ArticleArthur Pence: Stockman, Legislator, and Hot Springs Owner [otd 02/10]
Senator Pence. H. T. French photo.Idaho rancher Arthur Lee Pence was born February 10, 1847, near Des Moines, Iowa. He chose to make his own way at an early age. In 1864, his brother-in-law and sister...
View ArticleInventor, Atomic Bomb Witness, and University Professor Larry Johnston [otd...
Larry Johnston, ca 1945. U. S. Army.Physicist Lawrence Harding “Larry” Johnston was born February 11, 1918, in Shantung (Shandong) Province, China. His parents were missionaries, who returned to the U....
View ArticlePioneer Camas Prairie Physician John W. Turner, M. D. [otd 02/12]
Camas Prairie and Cottonwood, Idaho physician John Wesley Turner was born February 12, 1861, while his parents were visiting relatives and friends in Indiana. Afterwards, the family returned to their...
View ArticleMining and Irrigation Developer, and Boise Founder John A. O’Farrell [otd 02/13]
John O'Farrell. H. T. French photo.World traveler and Boise pioneer John Andrew O'Farrell was born February 13, 1823, in Ulster, Ireland. He went to sea after two years in a naval school: The round...
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