George Rogers Clark (1751-1818)  was a frontiersman and military 
leader. Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, he was only twenty  when
he started surveying and clearing land for settlers in the Ohio Valley, 
and in 1774 he was sent out to Kentucky as a scout to protect settlers 
from Indian raids. He saw the value of Kentucky as a central buffer 
state and fought hard during the Revolutionary War to protect it, 
thereby safegaurding the security of the eastern states and frontiers. 
His victiories against both the British and Indians in the 
Revolutionary War and after it, particularly in Kentucky and Illinois, 
helped secure the newly opened territories and break the hold of the 
western Indians. In recognition of his exploits, he was honored with 
the title "Father of the Northwest Territory."