Explorer; born in
Philadelphia, Feb. 20, 1820; was educated at the universities of
Virginia and
Pennsylvania, taking his medical degree in 1843.
Ill-health led to his entering the navy, and he sailed as physician to the embassy to
China in 1843.
He travelled extensively in
Asia and
Europe, traversed
Greece on foot, explored
western Africa to some extent, was in the war with
Mex-
[
202]
ico, and in May, 1850, sailed as surgeon and naturalist under
Lieut. Edwin J. De Haven, in search of
Sir John Franklin. Sir John, an English navigator, had sailed on a voyage of discovery and exploration with two vessels, in May, 1845.
Years passed by, and no tidings of him or his companions came.
Expeditions were sent from
England in search of him. Public interest in the fate of Sir John was excited in
Europe and the
United States, and in May. 1850,
Henry Grinnell, a merchant of New York, fitted out two ships, the
Advance and
Rescue, and placed them in charge of
Lieutenant De Haven, to assist in the effort.
These vessels returned, after remarkable adventures in the polar seas, in the autumn of 1851, without success.
In connection with the United States government,
Mr. Grinnell fitted out another expedition for the same purpose in 1853. Two vessels, under the command of
Dr. Kane, sailed from New York in May.
Kane and his party made valuable discoveries, among others, of an “open polar sea,” long suspected and sought for by scientific men and navigators.
But they failed to find
Sir John Franklin.
The companies of these two vessels suffered much, and were finally compelled to abandon the ships and make their way in open boats to a Danish settlement in
Greenland.
Their long absence created fears for their safety, and a relief expedition was sent in search of them.
They returned home in the vessels of the latter in the autumn of 1855.
Gold medals were awarded
Dr. Kane by Congress, the legislature of New York, and the Royal Geographical Society of
London; but his own life and those of most of his companions were sacrificed.
His health failed, and he went first to
London and then to
Havana.
Cuba, where he died, Feb. 16, 1857.
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The advance in the ice. |
Kansas, State of
