Colorful Coloradans Biographies

Biographies of important Coloradans featuring digitized sources from the Western History collection to provide young researchers with high quality, primary source material for their history projects. Ideal for 4th grade and up.

Chin Lin Sou (1836 - 1894)

Chin Lin Sou was among the earliest Chinese immigrants to Colorado. He became a successful businessman and supporter of the Chinese community. Some of his descendants still live in Denver.

Studio portrait of Silas S. Soule. He wears a military uniform from the Civil War era.

Silas Soule (1838 - 1865)

Captain Silas Soule of the Colorado Cavalry refused to participate in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, where one hundred and fifty unarmed Cheyenne and Arapaho women and children were murdered. His letters and testimony about the events of that day are the reason the truth of Sand Creek is known as a massacre rather than a glorious battle.  

Portrait of Richard Tallbull

Richard Tallbull (1918 - 2002)

Richard Tallbull was a member of the Southern Cheyenne who worked to preserve Native cultures as Native Americans began relocating into the city.

Arie Parks Taylor

Arie Parks Taylor (1927 - 2003)

Businesswoman, Colorado state congresswoman, and activist. 

Studio portrait of Alice Ivers "Poker Alice" Tubbs. She smokes a cigar and wears a sweater.

"Poker" Alice Tubbs (1851-1930)

Poker Alice was a strong, independent woman at a time when women had few options in life.

Belle Turnbull

Belle Turnbull (1881-1970)

Poet, known for her poetry on the Colorado Mining Age and on the landscape of Colorado.

Studio portrait of Davis Hanson Waite, Governor of Colorado and Populist Party member in probably Denver, Colorado. Davis Waite has a beard and moustache and wears a dark suit, bow tie, and oval shaped wire spectacles.

Davis Hanson Waite (1825-1901)

A populist governor of the state of Colorado.

Muriel Sibell Wolle

Muriel Sibell Wolle (1898 - 1977)

Muriel Sibell Wolle was an artist and author who documented the history of Colorado ghost towns.