Chouteau, René Auguste

Chouteau, René Auguste

(1749–1829) trader; born in New Orleans. He assisted in the founding of St. Louis, Mo., (1764) and enjoyed a monopoly of trade with the Osage Indians (1794–1802). He became a colonel of the St. Louis militia (1808) and negotiated treaties with the Sioux, Iowa, Sauk, and Fox (1815). He was a financial backer of much of the business and trade of St. Louis.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.