Yuma, Arizona - On Thursday, November 21st, Bill Heidner, Museum Curator of the Yuma Proving Ground Heritage Center, will present “William Emory, the Most Significant Explorer You Never Knew” at 3:30 p.m. at the Main Library. The founding of the American West was possible largely to a group of Army officers who belonged to the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Among the most influential was Lt. William Emory.
Learn more about this great explorer who gave early American pioneers so much knowledge of the Southwest. There is no charge to attend.
William Heidner (retired Army Sgt. 1st Class) is the Museum Curator for the Museum Activity and Heritage Center of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, a position he has held for many years. In 2014, he was selected as the U.S. Army Garrison-Yuma Employee of the Year.
Heidner was recently published in the findings for the 9th International Conference on Military Geosciences. His paper, “Preparing for War in the Desert Southwest: From the Desert Training Center to the Yuma Test Station (and Beyond)” is Chapter 3 of the book published by Springer Scientific titled Military Geosciences and Desert Warfare – Past Lessons and Modern Challenges (Editors McDonald, Eric V. & Bullard, Thomas).
The Main Library is located at 2951 S 21st Drive. For more information, call (928) 782-1871.