In 1843 in Keeseville, New York a baby boy was born. His parents named him William Henry Jackson.

Later in his life during 1858 William worked for a photographer as a retoucher.  William Jackson enlisted in the Union army in 1860. Although he was in the army for three years during the civil war he never fought once.

Soon this man headed west in 1866. In Omaha, Nebraska Jackson opened a photography studio. The year was 1868. During his life in Omaha Jackson met a man named Ferdinand Hayden. Hayden asked Jackson if he would join him on an expedition to Yellowstone. Jackson traveled to Yellowstone and took the first photographs of Yellowstone. These photographs helped convince Congress to make Yellowstone a national park in 1872.

In 1873 Hayden and Jackson went to Colorado. On the 24th of May the two partners headed off for the mountains. August 23 the mules gave up so the men carried the equipment on their own. They climbed high mountains to take photographs. It was hard work, but Jackson was determined to get his photos. Jackson took the first photograph of the Mount of the Holy Cross. In 1879 he opened a studio in Denver.

William Henry Jackson died at the age of 99 in 1943.

We got our information from:
The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 11
Colorado Chronicles, Vol. 1: Famous Colorado Men
and from this web site