George Washington Carmack was an American prospector in the Yukon. He was originally credited with registering Discovery Claim, the discovery of gold that set off the Klondike Gold Rush on August 16, 1896. Today, historians usually give the credit to his Tagish brother-in-law, Skookum Jim Mason.
Carmack c. 1900
Image: George W Carmack, one of the discoverers of gold in the Klondike (CURTIS 1187)
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain. It has been immortalized in films, literature, and photographs.
Prospectors ascending Chilkoot Pass, 1898
Klondikers buying miner's licences at the Custom House in Victoria, BC, on February 12, 1898
SS Islander leaving Vancouver, bound for Skagway, 1897
The S/S Excelsior leaves San Francisco on July 28, 1897, for the Klondike.