George Montague Wheeler (October 9, 1842 - May 3, 1905) was a surveyor and cartographer best known for leading the U.S. Government's geographical surveys west of the 100th meridian, better known as the Wheeler Survey. Born in Massachusetts, Wheeler attended West Point and graduated near the top of his class in 1866. He joined the Army Corps of Engineers and was dispatched to the American West, before being chosen to lead the ambitious survey that came to be associated with his name, which lasted from 1872 to 1879.