SIR JAMES CLARK ROSS (1800-1862) Sir James Clark Ross was a British naval officer who carried out important magnetic surveys in the Arctic and Antarctic and who discovered the Ross Sea and the Victoria Land region of Antarctica. Early Life and Arctic Voyages Ross joined the navy at age 11…

Nobu Shirase (1861-1946) Nobu Shirase was inspired by the tales of Franklin's search for the Northwest Passage and had a life-long passion for polar exploration. He hoped to be first to the North Pole, but his plans were de-railed by Cook's and Peary's announcements in 1909, causing him, like Amundsen,…

HARALD ULRIK SVERDRUP (1888-1957) Harald Sverdrup was a Norwegian oceanographer, meteorologist and arctic explorer. He is widely recognized as the founder of the modern school of physical oceanography; was the chief scientist on Amundsen’s 1918-25 Arctic Expedition; and was the first head of the Norwegian Polar Institute. Early Life and…

Dr. Charles Swithinbank (1926-2014) Dr Charles Swithinbank was an extraordinary man and a great mentor to ALE. Born in Burma (Myanmar) and raised by an adventurous mother who admonished him not to 'get stuck in a desk job', he first traveled to Antarctica as assistant glaciologist with the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic…

Edward Adrian Wilson ('Uncle Bill') (1872 – 1912) Edward A. Wilson was an English physician, polar explorer, natural historian, painter and ornithologist, who accompanied Captain Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole in 1911, and died with him on the return journey. Early Years and Education Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson…