John Munro Longyear
By Michael S. Nyquist
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John Munro Longyear was a many-faceted man. He was a landlooker who went on many expeditions across the forest expanses of the upper peninsula of Michigan. Through his knowledge of the Michigan forests and mineral lands, and business connections, he became a wealthy landowner. He became a capitalist and a banker, with interests in many endeavors, including starting a coal mining company in far off Spitsbergen, and, in the process, establishing the present town of Longyearbyen.