James Clark Ross (1800-1862)

Abstract

James Ross took part in more arctic voyages than any other officer of the period. He is less celebrated than some because the only northern expedition he commanded - a fruitless search for John Franklin - was unjustly damaging to his reputation. He was, nevertheless, a trusted officer on all the W.E. Parry expeditions to the Arctic. Under John Ross, he discovered the North Magnetic Pole and helped transform the seagoing polar traveller into an amphibian by using the Eskimo sledge for long land journey. He is remembered chiefly for his voyage to the Antarctic (1839-1843). ... Five of his six arctic voyages were made in a subordinate rank. His only published book concerns his Antarctic journey. Unlike his uncle, Ross was not given to self-advertisement or to wrangling with his critics. His services to Canadian geography are many, however, and not the least is his employment in the arctic service of the man destined to unravel the Franklin mystery, Leopold McClintock.