George Carmack

University of Washington Libraries, Asahel Curtis Collection, A. Curtis 62086.

Quick Facts

Significance:

Discoverer of gold that started the Klondike Gold Rush

Date of Birth:

1860

Date of Death:

1922

George Washington Carmack is said to have started it all on August 17, 1896, when, as legend goes, he discovered gold in the cold waters of the Klondike River near Dawson City, Yukon. There is some controversy as to who was the first person to discover the gold.  Carmack was traveling in a party including his wife Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack), her brother, Keish (Skookum Jim), and Káa Goox (Dawson Charlie). Numerous versions of the discovery story are told, however, in the end the first claim to be filed for Bonanza Creek was under Carmack's name, likely because he was the only EuroAmerican in the group.

George Carmack was born September 24, 1860 in Port Costa, California. After his 21st birthday in February 1882, George enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and sailed to Sitka on board the USS Wachusett. By 1885 George was stricken with gold fever and headed north to Juneau to outfit for a summer of prospecting and eventually taking the Chilkoot Pass into the Yukon. George, by 1887, could speak both Chilkat Tlingit and Tagish dialects, and married a Tagish chief's daughter, named Shaaw Tláa (Kate). The couple later had a daughter named Graphie Gracie. In August of 1896, George had staked a claim on the richest creek in the Yukon.

In July of 1899, George and Kate departed for California By 1900 would George severed his commitment to Kate and married another woman. George worked several more gold claims and dealt in real estate in his later years. He died at age 62 in 1922.