From activists and politicians to pioneers and businesspeople, Colorado has been home to plenty of influential historic figures who helped to form the state (and country) known today.

Here’s a look at some historic figures that made a big impact on Colorado:

1. William Bent

Born in St. Louis, William Bent moved to Colorado to join his brother Charles in the fur trade. Bent developed a relationship with the Cheyenne, who advised him to build a fort along the Arkansas River and the Santa Fe, later known as Bent’s Old Fort. According to the National Park Service, the fort “became a melting pot of different cultures and languages brought together by the prospect of trade.”

2. Chief Ouray

According to the Colorado Encyclopedia, Ouray was a leader of the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) band of Ute Indians in Colorado during the late nineteenth century. The U.S. government assigned him as Chief of all Utes in Colorado and the primary contact for treaty negotiations. Ouray’s experiences are displayed at the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose.

3. Molly Brown

Molly Brown was born in Missouri in 1867. In 1883, Brown moved to Leadville with her brother Daniel, took a job at a department store, and became involved at a local Catholic church. She was dubbed “Unsinkable Molly Brown” after surviving the sinking of the Titanic and was known as the “Heroine of the Titanic” for her service to survivors. She then worked in activism and philanthropy through educational programs, exhibits, and stewardship. You can learn more about Molly Brown at her former Denver mansion, now the Molly Brown House Museum.

4. Horace Tabor

Horace Tabor became one of the wealthiest men in Colorado due to luck in Leadville’s silver mines, nicknamed the “Silver King.” Tabor was born in Vermont and moved to Colorado with his wife Augusta Pierce, starting mining in Leadville. He then moved to Denver, starting several mining companies and donating money to open the Tabor Grand Opera. Augusta and Horace divorced in 1883, and Horace married Elizabeth “Baby Doe’ McCourt. After the silver market crashed when the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 was repealed in 1893, Tabor was forced to sell many of his belongings and returned to the mines as a laborer to work off debt. He died in 1899 shortly after being appointed postmaster of Denver.

5. Emily Griffith

Emily Griffith was born in Ohio and moved to Denver with her family in 1894, working as a teacher with Denver Public Schools. After working as a teacher, the Deputy Superintendent of Schools, and the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, Griffith founded the Opportunity School in Denver in 1916, later renamed the Emily Griffith Technical College in her honor. Today, the school still offers job training and education “For All Those Who Wish To Learn.” The Emily Griffith High School was founded in 1985 to allow those who dropped out of high school a chance to get diplomas as adults.

6. William Jackson Palmer

After fighting for the Union Army during the Civil War, William Jackson Palmer moved west and worked as a civil engineer and philanthropist. He played a crucial role in Colorado’s development, playing a key role in establishing Colorado Springs. He founded the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, encouraging economic growth and the expansion of transportation in the west. He also helped found the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and other institutions.

7. Helen Hunt Jackson

As a poet, author, and activist, Helen Hunt Jackson’s legacy lasts through her literary and poetic works, and her work to improve the welfare of Native Americans. Jackson moved to Colorado Springs around 1874 while battling with illness – either tuberculosis or diphtheria. In 1879, she attended a reception for the Ponca Native American tribe in Boston where Chief Standing Bear spoke about the forced relocation of the Ponca to the Quapaw Reservation in Oklahoma. After that, Jackson developed a “deep-seated and passionate concern” for the struggles of Native Americans and spent the rest of her life fighting for them.

8. Adolph Coors

Adolph Coors founded the successful Coors Brewing Company after moving to Colorado in 1872. According to History Colorado, “his success through hard work and ingenuity is a good example of the American Dream.” Although Coors beer was only sold west of the Mississippi River, it was well known, and some people reportedly drove across the country to buy it. History Colorado also says that the Coors Brewery continues as one of the most successful in the country, producing more than 17 million barrels of beer each year.

9. Chin Lin Sou

Chin Lin Sou was one of the first Chinese immigrants to come to Colorado and became a successful businessman. He worked on the Denver Pacific Railroad and settled in Colorado in the early 1870s. According to the Denver Public Library, Sou is credited with starting what might have been the first Chinese settlement in Colorado. Sou discovered and sold two profitable mines, and opened a successful trade company. Some of his descendants still live in Denver, and there is a stained-glass portrait that honors Sou at the Colorado State Capitol.

10. Charles Boettcher

Charles Boettcher was born in Germany and moved to Colorado in 1871, becoming a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. According to Colorado Encyclopedia and History Colorado, he is most well known for founding the Great Western Sugar Company and the Boettcher Foundation. He built his wealth through investments in hardware, mining, sugar beet processing, meatpacking, cement production, hotels, and more. Today, the Boettcher Foundation continues to provide millions of dollars in grants and scholarships across Colorado.