Zebulon Montgomery Pike was born in
1779 in
Trenton, NJ. In
1793 he entered the army and became a second lieutenant in
1799. The year following his expedition to the
Mississippi headwaters, he was assigned another expedition in the newly acquired
Louisiana Territory. During the expedition, he was captured by the
Spanish and later released.
During the War of 1812, as a brigadier general, he was killed by the accidental explosion of a powder magazine. He was only 34 years old when he died.
Zebulon also discovered and named Pike's Peak.