Frederick Ross Gowans (born 1936) is an American historian working as a Professor Emeritus at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) in Provo, Utah.

Career

Gowans specializes in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. He has written several books on subjects such as

Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. It became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, C ...

and the

Rocky Mountain Rendezvous The Rocky Mountain Rendezvous was an annual rendezvous, held between 1825 to 1840 at various locations, organized by a fur trading company at which trappers and mountain men sold their furs and hides and replenished their supplies. The fur compan ...

. He has authored manuscripts and articles researching the fur trade, mountain men, and the rendezvous system for over forty years, making him the pre-eminent expert on fur trade history. Gowans has presented special programs and historical treks to numerous universities, educational institutions, and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. He also served as a consultant on numerous films and documentaries about the history of the West and has been accorded several prestigious awards in film and academia. From 1973 to 2001, Gowans was the Native American studies coordinator at BYU. He was also involved in compiling BYU's overland trails database.

References

1936 births Brigham Young University alumni Living people {{LDS-bio-stub Brigham Young University faculty