Pontiac

c. 1720 – 20 April 1769

Pontiac (c. 1720-1769) was an Odawa (Ottawa) war leader who became the namesake of Pontiac's War (1763-1766), a broad Native American uprising against British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War. He led the siege of Fort Detroit in 1763 and later negotiated peace with the British before being assassinated in 1769.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Pontiac.

Life events

Born in the Great Lakes region
c. 1720

Pontiac was born into the Odawa people, probably along the Detroit or Maumee River; the exact date and place are not recorded.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Rose to prominence as an Odawa war leader
c. 1755

By the 1750s Pontiac had become a respected war chief among the Odawa allied with the French during the French and Indian War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Held war council on the Ecorse River
27 April 1763

Pontiac convened a large council of Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Huron leaders, urging an uprising against the British.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Other ✓
Began the siege of Fort Detroit
9 May 1763 – 31 October 1763

After a failed attempt to take the fort by surprise, Pontiac laid siege to Fort Detroit, the opening act of Pontiac's War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Won the Battle of Bloody Run
31 July 1763

Pontiac's warriors defeated a British sortie from Fort Detroit led by Captain James Dalyell at Parent's Creek.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Lifted the siege and withdrew to the Maumee River country
31 October 1763

With French support not forthcoming, Pontiac ended the siege of Detroit and moved to the Maumee River region, where he continued to encourage resistance.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Made formal peace with the British at Fort Ontario
25 July 1766

Pontiac signed a peace treaty with British Indian Superintendent Sir William Johnson at Oswego, New York, ending his part in the war.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Assassinated at Cahokia
20 April 1769

Pontiac was killed by a Peoria warrior in the village of Cahokia in the Illinois Country; the motive remains uncertain.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓