Marcus Whitman (* 4 September 1802; "† 29 November 1847) was an US-American physician and Missionar, who were active particularly in the Oregon Country. It is famous for the fact that it led a first large Treck across the Oregon Trail and so that undetermined the west of the North American continent made this way to one of the most important settlement distances in of white settlers. Marcus Whitman died in the Whitman massacre.

Life

Whitmans father died, when he was seven years old only. It thereupon of its uncle educated. Its desire it was actually to be become, theologian. However the means for this time-consuming study were missing to it. He dedicated himself instead of its to the medicine study that at that time only two years persisted, applied however after the connection to the study with an Evangelist mission work. 1835 it traveled with the Missionar Samuel Parker to the northwest area of the today's US Federal State Montana and after Idaho, in order to missionieren there under the Indian trunks. Two years later he married Narcissa Prentiss, a teacher for physics and chemistry. Narcissa Prentiss had also wished itself to travel as Missionarin to the west of the country. However it was not so far however in the position to put that into practice.

1836 closed the married couple unite fur dealers as well as other mission arene, under it Henry H. Spalding on, in order to travel after the west. On the way there they created a set of missions and established themselves near the today's Walla Walla. The mission lay thereby in the settlement area of the Cayuse and the Nez Indian. Marcus Whitman dedicated itself to the farm work, while Narcissa Whitman created a school for indianische children. 1843 traveled Whitman eastward and led on the way back a large Treck of covered wagons into the area. With this act, which justified the Oregon Trail, it proved that there was one relatively simply to bereisende route to the west of the North American continent.

In the consequence to arriving settlers brought also a set of diseases also, against which the local Indian peoples was not immune. This led to a maser epidemic disease, which had under the Indian to a large number from deaths to the consequence. The Indians, who made its medicine men and Schamanen responsible in their cultural tradition for the death of the patient, reacted to this epidemic disease with increasing hostilities. The Canadian painter Paul Kane visited years 1847 the mission in the course and noted in its diary the strained situation between the white ones and the settlers. A number of further occurrences led finally to an assault of the Indians on the mission station of the Whitmans, which entered history as Whitman massacre. In this massacre died beside Marcus Whitman and its wife of twelve further white settlers. 54 women and children were taken as hostages. Owing to the negotiation success of the Hudson Bay company employee Paul Skene Ogden these became released finally.

Of the married couple Whitman reminds the Whitman college and the district Whitman County in the US Federal State Washington.

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