Benoist Troost

Dr. Benoist Troost (born Benedictus Troost; also Benoît Troost, Benoit Troost; November 17, 1786 – February 8, 1859) was an Americanized Dutch geologist, physician, and pioneer, who was one of the founders of the Town of Kansas.

Early life and geology
Benoist Troot was born to Catholics Everardus Josephus Troost and Anna Cornelia van Heeck on November 17, 1786 in 's-Hertogenbosch. He was the younger brother of Gerard Troost.

From July 1807 to March 1810, he was employed by Napoleon III to oversee his mineral collection. While working for Napoleon, he lived in Paris and was a scholar of the National Museum of Natural History.

In 1813, Troost married Rachel Tage, the sister of his brother’s wife, Margaret.

In 1816, Troost went to New Jersey on a geological trip organized by William Maclure. Troost stayed in the United States, and in the mid-1820s, with his older brother, Gerard, they mapped the geology of Philadelphia and the land of the American frontier.

Kansas City
Troost moved to the Town of Kansas and became the first resident physician. In 1846, he married Mary Ann Troost, the niece of Troost's friend and Kansas City pioneer William Gillis. He was listed as a trustee when the Town of Kansas incorporated in 1850, then again when the Missouri General Assembly reincorporated the town as Kansas City, Missouri. He was the city's first resident physician. In 1854, he founded the Kansas City Enterprise newspaper. In 1857, he incorporated the city's first Chamber of Commerce. He died on February 8, 1859 in William Gillis' mansion in Kansas City, Missouri.

Legacy
Troost is the namesake for Troost Avenue in Kansas City. In 2022, the street was proposed to be renamed to "Truth Avenue" because Troost owned slaves.