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Portrait of Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, circa 1860’s, from the Office of History,Henry Abbot Collection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Index map for Lieutenant Wheeler’s United States Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, showing atlas maps
Wheeler was promoted to captain in 1879. In 1881 he represented the United States at the Third International Geographical Congress and
Exhibition in Venice, Italy. He entered semi-retirement in 1883 due to deteriorating health, but continued to write scientific reports until
his full retirement from the army in 1888 at the rank of major. His wife Lucy Wheeler died in Manhattan on February 3, 1902, at the age
of 49. George Montague Wheeler died there on May 4, 1905.

Wheeler Peak in the Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada, Wheeler Peak in New Mexico and the scenic Wheeler Geologic Area in
southern Colorado are all named for George Wheeler.

A large collection of Lieutenant Wheeler’s field notes from his 100 Meridian survey are housed at the Special Collections Library,
th
University of Nevada, Reno.
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