Giacomo Costantino Beltrami
Giacomo Costantino Beltrami (1779 – January 6, 1855) was an Italian jurist, author, and explorer, known for claiming to have discovered the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1823 while on a trip through much of the United States (later expeditions determined a different source). In Minnesota, Beltrami (in Polk County) and Beltrami County are named for him. He had an extensive network of notable figures for friends and acquaintances, including members of the powerful Medici family. Early life Beltrami was born in the city of Bergamo in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, the 16th of 17 children. His exact birth date is unknown because a fire destroyed baptismal records in 1793. He apparently had a fair amount of schooling in literature, law, and other subjects before leaving to become a soldier for the Cisalpine Republic in 1797. The republic was then an extension of France, and Beltrami worked his way into the Napoleonic government after becoming a Mason. Years la ...
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