William Gladstone Steel

William Gladstone Steel (September 7, 1854 – October 21, 1934) was an American journalist who was known for campaigning for 17 years for the United States Congress to designate Crater Lake as a National Park. Steel was from Ohio, and worked in the newspaper business before becoming a mail carrier.

Early life William Steel was born on September 7, 1854, in Stafford, Ohio, to Elizabeth Lawrie and William Steel, Scottish-born abolitionists who were active in the Underground Railroad. While a schoolboy in Kansas, in May 1870, Steel read an article, in the newspaper wrapping his lunch, about the discovery of Crater Lake.

Steel was a member of the Portland Alpine Club, the first alpine club in the West, and then helped found Mazamas after the Portland Alpine Club folded.