Langford, Nathaniel Pitt

Langford, Nathaniel Pitt

(1832–1911) explorer, conservationist; born in Westmoreland, N.Y. He moved to Minnesota (1854) and then to Bannack, Mont. (1862) where he led a group of Mormon vigilantes, described in Vigilante Days and Ways (1890). He explored the Yellowstone area (1870) and after playing an influential role in having it designated a national park (1872), he served, without pay, as the first superintendent of Yellowstone Park (1872–76).