author
Sir John Ross
1777–1856
A hard-driving Arctic explorer and Royal Navy officer, he became one of the best-known figures in the long search for the Northwest Passage. His voyages mixed bold leadership, controversy, and sheer endurance in some of the harshest conditions on earth.
2 Audiobooks
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez, Vol. I
by Sir John Ross
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez. Vol II
by Sir John Ross
About the author
Born in Scotland in 1777, Sir John Ross entered the Royal Navy as a boy and built his career through wartime service before turning to polar exploration. He is best remembered for leading Arctic expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage, a route that fascinated Britain in the early 19th century.
His 1818 voyage brought him fame but also criticism after he turned back when he believed mountains blocked the way ahead. Ross returned to the Arctic in 1829 on a privately backed expedition in the steamship Victory, and that journey became the defining adventure of his life: the expedition was trapped in the ice for years before Ross and his men were eventually rescued. The voyage also added important geographic knowledge of the Canadian Arctic.
Ross later wrote about his travels, helping shape the public image of Arctic exploration as a mix of science, hardship, and stubborn courage. He was also the uncle of Sir James Clark Ross, another major polar explorer, which makes him part of one of the most notable exploration families of the period.