John Blair Smith Todd
1814-1872

John Blair Smith Todd had a varied career as an army officer, sutler, trader, speculator, politician, and attorney. A West Point graduate, Todd came to Dakota with the Harney Expedition and stayed to launch the Territory of Dakota.

Besides lobbying for the creation of Dakota Territory, Todd founded Yankton and successfully promoted it for territorial capital. He was Dakota's first delegate to Congress. In 1867, he was elected to the territorial legislature, becoming Speaker of the House.

The first territorial legislature honored Todd by naming a county after him.

A more detailed profile is printed in Volume 18 Number 4 of South Dakota History, the journal of the South Dakota State Historical Society.