Daniel Boone Day

Today is Daniel Boone Day! Daniel Boone was a famous US frontiersman and the first American to discover present day Kentucky. He also created a path to open up the frontier for future American settlers.

In 1769, Boone led an expedition through the Cumberland Gap, which he later transformed into the Wilderness Road, to provide others access to the western frontier. In 1773, Boone moved his family to this newly found settlement in present day Kentucky. He faced great opposition from Native Americans and British Soldiers in his newly-founded settlement. The Shawnee, a Native American tribe, captured Boone in 1778, but he escaped to protect his settlement. In the end, Boone moved further west (present day Missouri) and spent the rest of his life peacefully living off of the land until he died at age 85.

Daniel Boone discovered and developed one of the most important gateways for early American settlers to reach the Trans-Appalachian West. Today, Boone is still a symbol of the Western pioneering spirit. Celebrate Daniel Boone Day by learning more about American history or researching other important Americans of the frontier era. Happy Daniel Boone Day!