Sir John Ross, CB, (24 June, 1777 – 30 August, 1856) was a Scottish rear admiral and Arctic explorer.
Ross was the son of the Rev. Andrew Ross, minister of Inch, near Stranraer in Scotland. In 1786, aged only nine, he joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice. He served in the Mediterranean until 1789 and then in the English Channel. In 1808, he acted as a captain of the Swedish Navy and in 1812 became a Commander.
Six years later, in 1818, he recei...
more
Sir John Ross, CB, (24 June, 1777 – 30 August, 1856) was a Scottish rear admiral and Arctic explorer.
Ross was the son of the Rev. Andrew Ross, minister of Inch, near Stranraer in Scotland. In 1786, aged only nine, he joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice. He served in the Mediterranean until 1789 and then in the English Channel. In 1808, he acted as a captain of the Swedish Navy and in 1812 became a Commander.
Six years later, in 1818, he received the command of an Arctic expedition organised by the Admiralty, the first of a new series of attempts to solve the question of a Northwest Passage. This entailed going around the extreme northeast coast of America and sailing to the Bering Strait. He was also to note the currents, tides, the state of ice and magnetism and to collect specimens he found on the way. In April of that year, Ross left London with two ships, the Isabella and Alexander, and in August reached Lancaster Sound, in Canada.
There he re-examined the observations William...
less
