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New Dollar Coin
Has a SLU Connection
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Who's the only person who attended Saint Louis University ever to appear on a U.S. coin?
The answer is Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.
Last month the U.S. Mint released a dollar coin featuring an image of Sacagawea, a teenage Native American guide who helped to lead the Lewis and Clark expedition, and her infant son, Jean Baptiste, who attended Saint Louis University during the early 1820s.
The life of Jean Baptiste is a fascinating one:
He was born during the expedition (Feb. 11, 1805) and was carried by his mother on her back through all types of weather and all types of training.
Following his education at St. Louis College, the forerunner to Saint Louis University, the boy returned to Europe with a German prince, where he received further education and served as a spy of sorts for his adopted father, William Clark.
William Clark, who spent almost his entire post-expedition life in St. Louis, made sure that Jean Baptiste, nicknamed "Pomp" or "Pompey," received an education here.
Jean Baptiste's father was Touissant Charbonneau, the famous translator for the expedition.
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