Explorer; born in
Chester county, Pa., March 5, 1832; graduated in medicine at the
University of
Pennsylvania in 1853.
He was surgeon of the second
Grinnell expedition to the polar seas under
Dr. Elisha Kent Kane (q. v.) Satisfied of the existence of an open polar sea, he wrote and lectured on the subject on his return.
He excited such interest in the subject that, with the aid of subscriptions in
Europe and the
United States, he was enabled to fit out the steamer
United States, of 133 tons, in which he sailed from
Boston, July 9, 1860, with thirteen other persons, for the
Arctic regions.
They anchored, after a perilous voyage, in Port Foulke, on the west coast of
Greenland, in lat. 78° 17′, on Sept. 9, where they wintered.
In April, 1861, with twelve men and fourteen dogs, he pushed northward over the ice in a boat; but finally the vessel was sent back, and
Dr. Hayes, with three companions and two dog-sledges, pressed on to land in lat. 81° 37′, beyond which they discovered open water.
The expedition returned to
Boston in October.
Dr. Hayes found his country in civil war, and he served in it as a surgeon.
In 1867 he published an account of his expedition, under the title of
The open polar sea; and the Royal Geographical Society of
London and the Geographical Society of
Paris each presented to him a gold medal.
In 1869 he
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sailed in the steamer
Panther, in company with the artist
William Bradford (q. v.), and explored the southern coasts of
Greenland.
After his return he published
The land of desolation.
He died in New York City, Dec. 17, 1881.
