François Gesseau Chouteau (February 7, 1797 – April 18, 1838) was an American pioneer fur trader, entrepreneur, and community leader known as the "Father of Kansas City".

His French-born parents were prominent fur trader Jean Pierre Chouteau and his second wife Brigitte Saucier.

Her father was the first Lieutenant Governor of Missouri's neighboring state of Illinois, so this marriage united two powerful families.

[3]: 87–88  Seeking an ideal place for a permanent post, they investigated several other locations as far north as Council Bluffs, Iowa.

They called it Chouteau's Landing, located near the north end of what became Grand Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.

[4] Due to a flood in 1826, Chouteau moved his trading post to higher ground near what is now Troost Avenue's proximity to the river.

[7] On April 18, 1838, François Chouteau died at age 41, variously accounted as either a heart attack or a stampeding horse,[2] in West Port (later annexed by Kansas City, Missouri).

[1] Due to the Civil War's areawide violence culminating in the Battle of Westport, she moved for safety back to eastern Missouri, first to Ste.

1801-d. 1888): Osage offspring: François and Bérénice Chouteau are the first permanent pioneers of the wild frontier that became Kansas City, Missouri.

The Martin City Telegraph said: "This early commerce on the western side of Missouri was launched when a newly-married couple took a risk by settling on the edge of the frontier.

The future of fur trading in western Missouri would be directly connected to them, and Kansas City likely wouldn't have developed without the Chouteau’s enterprising spirit.