Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer. Pikes Peak in Colorado is named after him. As a U.S. Army officer, President Thomas Jefferson asked him to lead two journeys through the new Louisiana Purchase territory. The first was in 1805-06 to explore the upper northern parts of the Mississippi River. The second journey was in 1806-07 to explore the Southwest to the edges of the northern Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. Pike's journeys happened at the same time as other journeys that happened while Thomas Jefferson was president. This include the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) and the Thomas Freeman and Peter Custis expedition up the Red River (1806).