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==Early life== ==Early life==
Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at ], Canada, in 1879. His parents had emigrated from ] to Manitoba two years earlier. After losing two children during a period of devastating flooding, the family moved to Dakota Territory in 1880 and homesteaded a mile southwest of the village of ] in ] Township of ]. Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at ], Canada, in 1879. His parents had emigrated from ] to Manitoba two years earlier. After losing two children during a period of devastating flooding, the family moved to Dakota Territory in 1880 and homesteaded a mile southwest of the village of ] in ] of ].


He was educated at the universities ] and ] (], 1903). During his college years, in 1899, he changed his name to Vilhjalmur Stefansson{{why?}}. He studied ] at the graduate school of ], where for two years he was an instructor. He was educated at the universities ] and ] (], 1903). During his college years, in 1899, he changed his name, for unknown reasons, to Vilhjalmur Stefansson. He studied ] at the graduate school of ], where for two years he was an instructor.


==Early explorations== ==Early explorations==
In 1904 and 1905, Stefansson did ] in ]. Recruited by ] and ] for their Anglo-American ], he lived with the ] of the ] during the winter of 1906–1907, returning alone across country via the ] and ] Rivers. In 1904 and 1905, Stefansson did ] in Iceland. Recruited by ] and ] for their Anglo-American Polar Expedition, he lived with the ] of the ] during the winter of 1906–1907, returning alone across country via the ] and ] rivers.


Under the auspices of the ], ], he and Dr. ] undertook the ethnological ] of the ] coasts of the shores of ] from 1908 to 1912. Under the auspices of the ] in ], he and Dr. ] undertook the ethnological ] of the ] coasts of the shores of North America from 1908 to 1912.


In 1908, Stefansson made a decision that would affect the rest of his time in Alaska: he hired the ] guide ], who would remain with him as his primary ] for the rest of his Alaska expeditions.<ref>, ''Arctic'' magazine, Vol. 45, No. 1 (March 1992), pp. 90–92.</ref> At the time he met Natkusiak, the Inuk guide was working for Capt. ], a ] ] captain and friend of Stefansson's who sometimes brought him replenishments of supplies from the American Museum of Natural History.<ref>, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Reissued by Kessinger Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|1-4179-2395-4}}</ref> In 1908, Stefansson made a decision that would affect the rest of his time in Alaska: he hired Natkusiak, an ] guide, who would remain with him as his primary guide for the rest of his Alaska expeditions.<ref>, ''Arctic'' magazine, Vol. 45, No. 1 (March 1992), pp. 90–92.</ref> At the time he met Natkusiak, the Inuk guide was working for Capt. ], a ] ] captain and friend of Stefansson's who sometimes brought him replenishments of supplies from the American Museum of Natural History.<ref>, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Reissued by Kessinger Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|1-4179-2395-4}}</ref>


] is first credited to have introduced the term "]" to Stefansson just before Stefansson's visit to the Inuit inhabiting southwestern ], Canada, in 1910. Stefansson, though, preferred the term “Copper Inuit“ (although there was already a ]) .<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1525/aa.1922.24.2.02a00140 | volume=24 | issue=2 | title=Further Discussion of the "Blond" Eskimo | year=1922 | journal=American Anthropologist | pages=228–232 | last1 = Noice | first1 = H. H.| doi-access=free }}</ref> ] in 1912 first compiled the sightings recorded in earlier literature of fair-haired Arctic natives and in 1912 published them in the '']'' entitled "The Origin of Stefansson's Blonde Eskimo". Newspapers subsequently popularised the term "Blonde Eskimo", which caught more readers' attention despite Stefansson's preference for “Copper Inuit”. Stefansson later referenced Greely's work in his writings and the term "Blonde Eskimo" became applied to sightings of fair-haired ] from as early as the 17th century.<ref>''My Life with the Eskimo'', 1922, p. 199 (reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, 2004).</ref> ] is first credited to have introduced the term "]" to Stefansson just before Stefansson's visit to the Inuit inhabiting southwestern ], Canada, in 1910. Stefansson, though, preferred the term “Copper Inuit“ (although there was already a ]) .<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1525/aa.1922.24.2.02a00140 | volume=24 | issue=2 | title=Further Discussion of the "Blond" Eskimo | year=1922 | journal=American Anthropologist | pages=228–232 | last1 = Noice | first1 = H. H.| doi-access=free }}</ref> ] in 1912 first compiled the sightings recorded in earlier literature of fair-haired Arctic natives and in 1912 published them in the '']'' entitled "The Origin of Stefansson's Blonde Eskimo". Newspapers subsequently popularised the term "Blonde Eskimo", which caught more readers' attention despite Stefansson's preference for “Copper Inuit”. Stefansson later referenced Greely's work in his writings and the term "Blonde Eskimo" became applied to sightings of fair-haired ] from as early as the 17th century.<ref>''My Life with the Eskimo'', 1922, p. 199 (reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, 2004).</ref>


==Loss of the ''Karluk'' and rescue of survivors== ==Loss of the ''Karluk'' and rescue of survivors==
{{Further|Voyage of the Karluk}} {{Further|Last voyage of the Karluk}}
Stefansson organized and directed the ] to explore the regions west of ] for the ]. Three ships, the '']'', the ''Mary Sachs'', and the ''Alaska'' were employed. Stefansson organized and directed the ] to explore the regions west of ] for the ]. Three ships, the '']'', the ''Mary Sachs'', and the ''Alaska'' were employed.


Stefansson left the main ship, the ''Karluk'', when it became ] in the ice in August/September 1913. Stefansson's explanation was that he and five other expedition members left to go hunting to provide fresh meat for the crew. However, ] and others who were left on the ship suspected Stefansson left deliberately, anticipating that the ship would be carried off by ], as indeed happened. The ship, with Captain ] of ] and 24 other expedition members aboard, drifted westward with the ice and was eventually crushed. It ] on January 11, 1914. Four of the survivors made their way to ] but eventually died there, possibly from ], before they could be rescued. Four others, including ] who had been part of Sir ]'s ], tried reaching ] on their own but perished. The remaining members of the expedition, under command of Captain Bartlett, made their way to Wrangel Island where three of them died. Bartlett and his Inuk hunter ] made their way across ] to Siberia to get help. Remaining survivors were picked up by the American fishing ] ] and the ] ] {{USRC|Bear}}{{when?}}.<ref>Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Maritime History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 242, Superior Publishing, Seattle, Washington, 1966.</ref> Stefansson left the main ship, the ''Karluk'', when it became ] in the ice in August/September 1913. Stefansson's explanation was that he and five other expedition members left to go hunting to provide fresh meat for the crew. However, William Laird McKinley and others who were left on the ship suspected Stefansson left deliberately, anticipating that the ship would be carried off by ], as indeed happened. The ship, with Captain ] of ] and 24 other expedition members aboard, drifted westward with the ice and was eventually crushed. It sank on January 11, 1914. Four of the survivors made their way to ] but eventually died there, possibly from ], before they could be rescued. Four others, including ] who had been part of the ] (British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09), led by Sir ], tried reaching ] on their own but perished. The remaining members of the expedition, under command of Captain Bartlett, made their way to Wrangel Island where three of them died. Bartlett and the Inuk hunter Kataktovik made their way across ] to Siberia to get help. The remaining survivors were picked up by the ], an American fishing ] and the ], a ] of the ] in September 1914.<ref>Newell, Gordon R., ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Maritime History of the Pacific Northwest'', at 242, Superior Publishing, Seattle, Washington, 1966.</ref>


Stefansson resumed his explorations by ] over the ] (known locally as the ]), leaving ], ] in April, 1914. A supporting sledge turned back {{convert|75|mi|abbr=on}} offshore, but he and two men continued onward on one sledge, living largely by his rifle on polar game for 96 days until his party reached the ''Mary Sachs'' in the autumn. Stefansson continued exploring until 1918. Stefansson resumed his explorations by ] over the ] (known locally as the ]), leaving ollinson Point, ] in April, 1914. A supporting sledge turned back {{convert|75|mi|abbr=on}} offshore, but he and two men continued onward on one sledge, living largely by his rifle on polar game for 96 days until his party reached the ''Mary Sachs'' in the autumn. Stefansson continued exploring until 1918.


==Wrangel Island fiasco== ==Wrangel Island fiasco==
In 1921, he encouraged and planned an expedition for four young men to colonise ] north of ], where the eleven survivors of the 22 men on the ''Karluk'' had lived from March to September 1914. Stefansson had designs for forming an ] company that would be geared towards individuals interested in touring the Arctic island. In 1921, he encouraged and planned an expedition for four young men to colonise ] north of ], where the eleven survivors of the 22 men on the ''Karluk'' had lived from March to September 1914. Stefansson had designs for forming an exploration company that would be geared towards individuals interested in touring the Arctic island.


Stefansson originally wanted to claim Wrangel Island for the Canadian government. However, due to the dangerous outcome of his initial trip to the island, the government refused to assist with the expedition. He then wanted to claim the land for ] but the British government rejected the claim when it was made by the young men of the expedition. The raising of the ] on Wrangel Island, an acknowledged ]n territory, caused an ]. Stefansson originally wanted to claim Wrangel Island for the Canadian government. However, due to the dangerous outcome of his initial trip to the island, the government refused to assist with the expedition. He then wanted to claim the land for ] but the British government rejected the claim when it was made by the young men of the expedition. The raising of the ] on Wrangel Island, an acknowledged ]n territory, caused an ].


The four young men Stefansson recruited, Americans ], ], and ], and Canadian ], were inadequately experienced and ill-equipped for the expedition. All perished on the island or in an attempt to get help from ] across the frozen ]. The only survivor was ], an Inuk woman the men had hired in ] as a seamstress and taken with them as a cook, and the expedition's cat, ]. Ada Blackjack had taught herself survival skills and cared for the last man on the island, E. Lorne Knight, until he died of ]. Blackjack was not rescued until 1923, having spent a total of two years on Wrangel Island. Stefansson drew the ire of the public and the families of the men who perished for having sent such ill-equipped young explorers to Wrangel. His reputation was severely tainted by this disaster, along with that of the ''Karluk''. The four young men Stefansson recruited, Americans, Frederick Maurer, E. Lorne Knight, and Milton Galle, and Canadian Allan Crawford, were inadequately experienced and ill-equipped for the expedition. All perished on the island or in an attempt to get help from Siberia across the frozen ]. The only survivor was ], an ] woman the men had hired in ] as a seamstress and taken with them as a cook, and the expedition's cat, Vic. Ada Blackjack had taught herself survival skills and cared for the last man on the island, E. Lorne Knight, until he died of ]. Blackjack was not rescued until 1923, having spent a total of two years on Wrangel Island. Stefansson drew the ire of the public and the families of the men who perished for having sent such ill-equipped young explorers to Wrangel. His reputation was severely tainted by this disaster, along with that of the ''Karluk''.


==Discoveries== ==Discoveries==
Stefansson's discoveries included new land (such as ], ], ], ], and ]s)<ref name=Stefansson>{{cite book Stefansson produced the first written records of several places, such as ], ], ], ], and ]s<ref name=Stefansson>{{cite book
| last = Stefansson | last = Stefansson
| first = Vilhjalmur | first = Vilhjalmur
Line 75: Line 75:
| year = 1922 | year = 1922
| location = New York | location = New York
| url =https://archive.org/details/friendlyarctics01stefgoog}}</ref> and the edge of the ]. His journeys and successes are among the marvels of ]{{how?}}. He extended the discoveries of ]. From April 1914 to June 1915 he lived on the ]. Stefansson continued his explorations leaving from ] on August 23, 1915. | url =https://archive.org/details/friendlyarctics01stefgoog}}</ref> and the edge of the ]. He extended the works of ]. From April 1914 to June 1915 he lived on the ]. Stefansson continued his explorations leaving from ] on August 23, 1915.


On January 30, 1920, '']'' reported that Stefansson discovered a lost cache from the ] on ]. Clothing and food from the cache was in excellent condition despite the harsh arctic conditions.{{sfn|''The Pioche Record'', January 30,|1920|p=3}} On January 30, 1920, ''The Pioche Record'' reported that Stefansson discovered a lost cache from the ] on ]. Clothing and food from the cache was in excellent condition despite the harsh Arctic conditions.{{sfn|''The Pioche Record'', January 30,|1920|p=3}}


In 1921, he was awarded the ] of the ] for his explorations of the Arctic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/C5962519-882A-4C67-803D-0037308C756D/0/GoldMedallists18322011.pdf| title=List of Past Gold Medal Winners|publisher= Royal Geographical Society|access-date = 24 August 2015}}</ref> In 1921, he was awarded the ] of the ] for his explorations of the Arctic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/C5962519-882A-4C67-803D-0037308C756D/0/GoldMedallists18322011.pdf| title=List of Past Gold Medal Winners|publisher= Royal Geographical Society|access-date = 24 August 2015}}</ref>


==Later career== ==Later career==
Stefansson remained a well-known explorer for the rest of his life. Late in life, through his affiliation with ] (he was Director of ]), he became a major figure in the establishment of the ]'s ] (CRREL) in ], ]. CRREL-supported research, often conducted in winter on the forbidding summit of ], was key to developing ] and doctrine to support alpine conflict. Stefansson remained a well-known explorer for the rest of his life. Late in life, through his affiliation with ] (he was Director of Polar Studies), he became a major figure in the establishment of the ]'s ] (CRREL) in ], ]. CRREL-supported research, often conducted in winter on the forbidding summit of ], was key to developing ] and doctrine to support alpine conflict.


Stefansson joined ] in 1908, four years after its founding. He later served as Club President twice: 1919–1922 and 1937–1939. In the all-male Club, the Board drew attention under Stefansson's reign when it put forth an amendment to its ] in 1938 that read: "A Woman's Roll of Honor shall be instituted to which the Board of Directors may name women of the United States and Canada in recognition of the noteworthy achievements and writings in the field of the Club's interests, primarily exploration."<ref name="Minutes 1938">Minutes, Explorer's Club, 4 January 1938.</ref> Perhaps to comfort fellow members, the article added, "This Woman's Roll of Honor shall be quite outside the Club's organisation but shall correspond in dignity to the Honorary Class of (male) members within it."<ref name="Minutes 1938" /> His continued support of women in anthropology is demonstrated in his 1939–1941 mentorship of ] as she undertook research on diet and ] for his two-volume ''Lives of the Hunters'', from which she began a dissertation on the topic of ]. Stefansson joined ] in 1908, four years after its founding. He later served as Club President twice: 1919–1922 and 1937–1939. In the all-male Club, the Board drew attention under Stefansson's reign when it put forth an amendment to its by-laws in 1938 that read: "A Woman's Roll of Honor shall be instituted to which the Board of Directors may name women of the United States and Canada in recognition of the noteworthy achievements and writings in the field of the Club's interests, primarily exploration."<ref name="Minutes 1938">Minutes, Explorer's Club, 4 January 1938.</ref> Perhaps to comfort fellow members, the article added, "This Woman's Roll of Honor shall be quite outside the Club's organisation but shall correspond in dignity to the Honorary Class of (male) members within it."<ref name="Minutes 1938" /> His continued support of women in anthropology is demonstrated in his 1939–1941 mentorship of ] as she undertook research on diet and subsistence for his two-volume ''Lives of the Hunters'', from which she began a dissertation on the topic of ].


While living in ], Stefansson was one of the regulars at ]'s ]<ref name="Biography">Robert Shulman. '']: The Queen of ]'' (pp. 93, 110–112). ]: Butler Books, 2006. {{ISBN|1-884532-74-8}}</ref> During the years when he and novelist ] were having an affair,<ref name="Palsson">Pálsson, Gísli. ''Travelling Passions: The Hidden Life Of Vilhjalmur Stefansson'' (pp. 187, 190, 251–252). ]: ], 2005. {{ISBN|1-58465-510-0}}</ref> they met there when he was in town. In 1940, at the age of 62, he met 28-year-old Evelyn Schwartz at Romany Marie's;<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="Palsson"/> she became his secretary and they married soon after.<ref name="Milestones">{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,931998,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080610045105/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,931998,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= June 10, 2008 |title= Milestones |work= ] |date= December 22, 1941 |quote= Marriage revealed: Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, 62; and Mrs. Evelyn Schwartz Baird, 28, his secretary; in Wellsville, Tennessee}}</ref> While living in ], Stefansson was one of the regulars at ]'s ]<ref name="Biography">Robert Shulman. '']: The Queen of ]'' (pp. 93, 110–112). ]: Butler Books, 2006. {{ISBN|1-884532-74-8}}</ref> During the years when he and novelist ] were having an affair,<ref name="Palsson">Pálsson, Gísli. ''Travelling Passions: The Hidden Life Of Vilhjalmur Stefansson'' (pp. 187, 190, 251–252). ]: ], 2005. {{ISBN|1-58465-510-0}}</ref> they met there when he was in town. In 1940, at the age of 62, he met 28-year-old Evelyn Schwartz at Romany Marie's;<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="Palsson"/> she became his secretary and they married soon after.<ref name="Milestones">{{cite news |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,931998,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080610045105/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,931998,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= June 10, 2008 |title= Milestones |work= ] |date= December 22, 1941 |quote= Marriage revealed: Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, 62; and Mrs. Evelyn Schwartz Baird, 28, his secretary; in Wellsville, Tennessee}}</ref>
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==Political affiliations== ==Political affiliations==
In the 1930s, pro-] movements were created in the US that aimed primarily to provide support for the Soviet project to establish a ] ] in the ] region in the ]. One of the organizations prominent in this campaign was the ] (or Ambijan) formed in 1934. A tireless proponent of settlement in Birobidzhan, Stefansson appeared at countless Ambijan meetings, dinners, and rallies, and proved an invaluable resource for the group. Ambijan produced a 50-page ] at the end of 1936, full of testimonials and letters of support. Among these was one from Stefansson, who was now also listed as a member of Ambijan's Board of Directors and Governors: "The Birobidjan project seems to me to offer a most statesmanlike contribution to the problem of the rehabilitation{{what?}} of ]," he wrote. In the 1930s, pro-] movements were created in the US that aimed primarily to provide support for the Soviet project to establish a Jewish ] in the ] region in the ]. One of the organizations prominent in this campaign was the ] (or Ambijan) formed in 1934. A tireless proponent of settlement in Birobidzhan, Stefansson appeared at countless Ambijan meetings, dinners, and rallies, and proved an invaluable resource for the group. Ambijan produced a 50-page ] at the end of 1936, full of testimonials and letters of support. Among these was one from Stefansson, who was now also listed as a member of Ambijan's Board of Directors and Governors: "The Birobidjan project seems to me to offer a most statesmanlike contribution to the problem of the rehabilitation of ]," he wrote.


Ambijan's national conference in New York on November 25–26, 1944 pledged to raise $1 million to support ] in ] and Birobidzhan. Prominent guests and speakers included New York Representative ], Senator ] of ], and Soviet Ambassador ]. A public dinner, attended by the delegates and their guests, was hosted by Vilhjalmur and his wife, Evelyn Stefansson. Vilhjalmur was selected as one of two vice-presidents of the organization. Ambijan's national conference in New York on November 25–26, 1944 pledged to raise $1 million to support refugees in ] and Birobidzhan. Prominent guests and speakers included New York Representative ], Senator ] of ], and Soviet Ambassador ]. A public dinner, attended by the delegates and their guests, was hosted by Vilhjalmur and his wife, Evelyn Stefansson. Vilhjalmur was selected as one of two vice-presidents of the organization.


However, with the growing ] in the country after ], "exposés" of Stefansson began to appear in the press. In August 1951, he was denounced as a ] before a ] by ], a Communist-turned-Catholic. Stefansson himself may have by then had some second thoughts about Ambijan since his ] autobiography conspicuously made no mention of his work on its behalf. The same is true of his otherwise very-complete obituary in '']'' of August 27, 1962.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Srebrnik | first1 = Henry | year = 1998 | title = The Radical 'Second Life' of Vilhjalmur Stefansson | journal = Arctic | volume = 51 | issue = 1| pages = 58–60 | doi=10.14430/arctic1046}}</ref> However, with the growing ] in the country after ], "exposés" of Stefansson began to appear in the press. In August 1951, he was denounced as a ] before a ] by ], a Communist-turned-Catholic. Stefansson himself may have by then had some second thoughts about Ambijan since his ] autobiography conspicuously made no mention of his work on its behalf. The same is true of his otherwise very-complete obituary in '']'' of August 27, 1962.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Srebrnik | first1 = Henry | year = 1998 | title = The Radical 'Second Life' of Vilhjalmur Stefansson | journal = Arctic | volume = 51 | issue = 1| pages = 58–60 | doi=10.14430/arctic1046}}</ref>

Revision as of 04:53, 22 March 2022

Canadian explorer
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
B&W picture of a man in a suitStefansson, circa 1915
Born(1879-11-03)November 3, 1879
Manitoba, Canada
DiedAugust 26, 1962(1962-08-26) (aged 82)
Alma materHarvard University
University of Iowa
University of North Dakota
Occupation(s)Harvard University Professor
Arctic explorer
OrganizationPresident of the History of Science Society from 1945–46
Known forExploring the Arctic

Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Template:Lang-is) (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada, and died at the age of 82.

Early life

Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had emigrated from Iceland to Manitoba two years earlier. After losing two children during a period of devastating flooding, the family moved to Dakota Territory in 1880 and homesteaded a mile southwest of the village of Mountain in Thingvalla Township of Pembina County.

He was educated at the universities of North Dakota and of Iowa (A.B., 1903). During his college years, in 1899, he changed his name, for unknown reasons, to Vilhjalmur Stefansson. He studied anthropology at the graduate school of Harvard University, where for two years he was an instructor.

Early explorations

In 1904 and 1905, Stefansson did archaeological research in Iceland. Recruited by Ejnar Mikkelsen and Ernest de Koven Leffingwell for their Anglo-American Polar Expedition, he lived with the Inuit of the Mackenzie River Delta during the winter of 1906–1907, returning alone across country via the Porcupine and Yukon rivers.

Under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, he and Dr. Rudolph Martin Anderson undertook the ethnological survey of the central Arctic coasts of the shores of North America from 1908 to 1912.

In 1908, Stefansson made a decision that would affect the rest of his time in Alaska: he hired Natkusiak, an Inuk guide, who would remain with him as his primary guide for the rest of his Alaska expeditions. At the time he met Natkusiak, the Inuk guide was working for Capt. George B. Leavitt, a Massachusetts whaling ship captain and friend of Stefansson's who sometimes brought him replenishments of supplies from the American Museum of Natural History.

Christian Klengenberg is first credited to have introduced the term "Blonde Eskimo" to Stefansson just before Stefansson's visit to the Inuit inhabiting southwestern Victoria Island, Canada, in 1910. Stefansson, though, preferred the term “Copper Inuit“ (although there was already a group of people known by that name) . Adolphus Greely in 1912 first compiled the sightings recorded in earlier literature of fair-haired Arctic natives and in 1912 published them in the National Geographic Magazine entitled "The Origin of Stefansson's Blonde Eskimo". Newspapers subsequently popularised the term "Blonde Eskimo", which caught more readers' attention despite Stefansson's preference for “Copper Inuit”. Stefansson later referenced Greely's work in his writings and the term "Blonde Eskimo" became applied to sightings of fair-haired Inuit from as early as the 17th century.

Loss of the Karluk and rescue of survivors

Further information: Last voyage of the Karluk

Stefansson organized and directed the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916 to explore the regions west of Parry Archipelago for the Government of Canada. Three ships, the Karluk, the Mary Sachs, and the Alaska were employed.

Stefansson left the main ship, the Karluk, when it became marooned in the ice in August/September 1913. Stefansson's explanation was that he and five other expedition members left to go hunting to provide fresh meat for the crew. However, William Laird McKinley and others who were left on the ship suspected Stefansson left deliberately, anticipating that the ship would be carried off by moving ice, as indeed happened. The ship, with Captain Robert Bartlett of Newfoundland and 24 other expedition members aboard, drifted westward with the ice and was eventually crushed. It sank on January 11, 1914. Four of the survivors made their way to Herald Island but eventually died there, possibly from carbon monoxide poisoning, before they could be rescued. Four others, including Alistair Mackay who had been part of the Nimrod Expedition (British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09), led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, tried reaching Wrangel Island on their own but perished. The remaining members of the expedition, under command of Captain Bartlett, made their way to Wrangel Island where three of them died. Bartlett and the Inuk hunter Kataktovik made their way across sea ice to Siberia to get help. The remaining survivors were picked up by the King & Winge, an American fishing schooner and the USRC Bear, a cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service in September 1914.

Stefansson resumed his explorations by sledge over the Arctic Ocean (known locally as the Beaufort Sea), leaving ollinson Point, Alaska in April, 1914. A supporting sledge turned back 75 mi (121 km) offshore, but he and two men continued onward on one sledge, living largely by his rifle on polar game for 96 days until his party reached the Mary Sachs in the autumn. Stefansson continued exploring until 1918.

Wrangel Island fiasco

In 1921, he encouraged and planned an expedition for four young men to colonise Wrangel Island north of Siberia, where the eleven survivors of the 22 men on the Karluk had lived from March to September 1914. Stefansson had designs for forming an exploration company that would be geared towards individuals interested in touring the Arctic island.

Stefansson originally wanted to claim Wrangel Island for the Canadian government. However, due to the dangerous outcome of his initial trip to the island, the government refused to assist with the expedition. He then wanted to claim the land for Britain but the British government rejected the claim when it was made by the young men of the expedition. The raising of the British flag on Wrangel Island, an acknowledged Russian territory, caused an international incident.

The four young men Stefansson recruited, Americans, Frederick Maurer, E. Lorne Knight, and Milton Galle, and Canadian Allan Crawford, were inadequately experienced and ill-equipped for the expedition. All perished on the island or in an attempt to get help from Siberia across the frozen Chukchi Sea. The only survivor was Ada Blackjack, an Iñupiat woman the men had hired in Nome, Alaska as a seamstress and taken with them as a cook, and the expedition's cat, Vic. Ada Blackjack had taught herself survival skills and cared for the last man on the island, E. Lorne Knight, until he died of scurvy. Blackjack was not rescued until 1923, having spent a total of two years on Wrangel Island. Stefansson drew the ire of the public and the families of the men who perished for having sent such ill-equipped young explorers to Wrangel. His reputation was severely tainted by this disaster, along with that of the Karluk.

Discoveries

Stefansson produced the first written records of several places, such as Brock, Mackenzie King, Borden, Meighen, and Lougheed Islands and the edge of the continental shelf. He extended the works of Francis Leopold McClintock. From April 1914 to June 1915 he lived on the ice pack. Stefansson continued his explorations leaving from Herschel Island on August 23, 1915.

On January 30, 1920, The Pioche Record reported that Stefansson discovered a lost cache from the 1853 McClintock expedition on Melville Island. Clothing and food from the cache was in excellent condition despite the harsh Arctic conditions.

In 1921, he was awarded the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his explorations of the Arctic.

Later career

Stefansson remained a well-known explorer for the rest of his life. Late in life, through his affiliation with Dartmouth College (he was Director of Polar Studies), he became a major figure in the establishment of the United States Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire. CRREL-supported research, often conducted in winter on the forbidding summit of Mount Washington, was key to developing matériel and doctrine to support alpine conflict.

Stefansson joined the Explorers Club in 1908, four years after its founding. He later served as Club President twice: 1919–1922 and 1937–1939. In the all-male Club, the Board drew attention under Stefansson's reign when it put forth an amendment to its by-laws in 1938 that read: "A Woman's Roll of Honor shall be instituted to which the Board of Directors may name women of the United States and Canada in recognition of the noteworthy achievements and writings in the field of the Club's interests, primarily exploration." Perhaps to comfort fellow members, the article added, "This Woman's Roll of Honor shall be quite outside the Club's organisation but shall correspond in dignity to the Honorary Class of (male) members within it." His continued support of women in anthropology is demonstrated in his 1939–1941 mentorship of Gitel Steed as she undertook research on diet and subsistence for his two-volume Lives of the Hunters, from which she began a dissertation on the topic of hunter-gatherer.

While living in New York City, Stefansson was one of the regulars at Romany Marie's Greenwich Village cafés During the years when he and novelist Fannie Hurst were having an affair, they met there when he was in town. In 1940, at the age of 62, he met 28-year-old Evelyn Schwartz at Romany Marie's; she became his secretary and they married soon after.

In 1941, he became the third honorary member of the American Polar Society. He served as president of the History of Science Society from 1945–46.

Legacy

Stefansson's personal papers and collection of Arctic artifacts are maintained and available to the public at the Dartmouth College Library.

Stefansson is frequently quoted as saying that "An adventure is a sign of incompetence..."

Roald Amundsen stated he was "the greatest humbug alive" referring to his mismanagement of the Wrangel Island fiascos.

On May 28, 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a 22 cent postage stamp in his honour.

Political affiliations

In the 1930s, pro-Soviet movements were created in the US that aimed primarily to provide support for the Soviet project to establish a Jewish socialist republic in the Birobidzhan region in the far east of the Soviet Union. One of the organizations prominent in this campaign was the American Committee for the Settlement of Jews in Birobidjan (or Ambijan) formed in 1934. A tireless proponent of settlement in Birobidzhan, Stefansson appeared at countless Ambijan meetings, dinners, and rallies, and proved an invaluable resource for the group. Ambijan produced a 50-page Year Book at the end of 1936, full of testimonials and letters of support. Among these was one from Stefansson, who was now also listed as a member of Ambijan's Board of Directors and Governors: "The Birobidjan project seems to me to offer a most statesmanlike contribution to the problem of the rehabilitation of eastern and central European Jewry," he wrote.

Ambijan's national conference in New York on November 25–26, 1944 pledged to raise $1 million to support refugees in Stalingrad and Birobidzhan. Prominent guests and speakers included New York Representative Emanuel Celler, Senator Elbert D. Thomas of Utah, and Soviet Ambassador Andrei Gromyko. A public dinner, attended by the delegates and their guests, was hosted by Vilhjalmur and his wife, Evelyn Stefansson. Vilhjalmur was selected as one of two vice-presidents of the organization.

However, with the growing anti-Soviet feeling in the country after World War II, "exposés" of Stefansson began to appear in the press. In August 1951, he was denounced as a communist before a Senate Internal Security subcommittee by Louis F. Budenz, a Communist-turned-Catholic. Stefansson himself may have by then had some second thoughts about Ambijan since his posthumously published autobiography conspicuously made no mention of his work on its behalf. The same is true of his otherwise very-complete obituary in The New York Times of August 27, 1962.

References

  1. Natkusiak (ca. 1885–1947), Arctic magazine, Vol. 45, No. 1 (March 1992), pp. 90–92.
  2. My Life with the Eskimo, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Reissued by Kessinger Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-4179-2395-4
  3. Noice, H. H. (1922). "Further Discussion of the "Blond" Eskimo". American Anthropologist. 24 (2): 228–232. doi:10.1525/aa.1922.24.2.02a00140.
  4. My Life with the Eskimo, 1922, p. 199 (reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, 2004).
  5. Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Maritime History of the Pacific Northwest, at 242, Superior Publishing, Seattle, Washington, 1966.
  6. Stefansson, Vilhjalmur (1922). The Friendly Arctic: The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions. New York: Macmillan.
  7. The Pioche Record, January 30, 1920, p. 3.
  8. "List of Past Gold Medal Winners" (PDF). Royal Geographical Society. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  9. ^ Minutes, Explorer's Club, 4 January 1938.
  10. ^ Robert Shulman. Romany Marie: The Queen of Greenwich Village (pp. 93, 110–112). Louisville: Butler Books, 2006. ISBN 1-884532-74-8
  11. ^ Pálsson, Gísli. Travelling Passions: The Hidden Life Of Vilhjalmur Stefansson (pp. 187, 190, 251–252). Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005. ISBN 1-58465-510-0
  12. "Milestones". Time. December 22, 1941. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Marriage revealed: Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, 62; and Mrs. Evelyn Schwartz Baird, 28, his secretary; in Wellsville, Tennessee
  13. "Stefansson Receives Honor By American Polar Society". Christian Science Monitor. February 5, 1940. Retrieved 2011-11-02. Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson, veteran Arctic explorer and author has been unanimously voted in as the third Honorary Member of the American Polar Society by its executive board. He will be presented with an illuminated scroll emblematic of...
  14. "The Society: Past Presidents of the History of Science Society". The History of Science Society. December 12, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12.
  15. As Told at The Explorers Club: More Than Fifty Gripping Tales Of Adventure
  16. The Luck of the Karluk: Shipwrecked in the Arctic
  17. Scott catalogue #2222.
  18. Srebrnik, Henry (1998). "The Radical 'Second Life' of Vilhjalmur Stefansson". Arctic. 51 (1): 58–60. doi:10.14430/arctic1046.

Literature

Inscription
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. My Life with the Eskimo; The Macmillan Company, New York, 1912.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Stefánsson-Anderson Expedition, 1909–12; Anthropological Papers, AMNH, vol. XIV., New York, 1914.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. The Friendly Arctic; The Macmillan Company, New York, 1921.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. The Standardization of Error; W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1927.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Unsolved Mysteries of the Arctic; The Macmillan Company, New York, 1938.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Not by Bread Alone; The Macmillan Company, New York, 1946.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. The Fat of the Land; The Macmillan Company, New York, 1956.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Discovery – the autobiography of Vilhjalmur Stefansson; McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1964.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Cancer: Disease of civilization? An anthropological and historical study; Hill and Wang, Inc., New York, 1960.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur (ed.). Great Adventures and Explorations; The Dial Press, 1947.
  • Diubaldo, Richard. Stefansson and the Canadian Arctic; McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 1978.
  • Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Lessons in living from the Stone Age.
  • Hunt, William R. Stef: A Biography of Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian Arctic explorer; University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, 1986. ISBN 0-7748-0247-2
  • Jenness, Stuart Edward. The Making of an Explorer: George Hubert Wilkins and the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916; McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP, 2004. ISBN 0-7735-2798-2
  • Niven, Jennifer. The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk, Hyperion Books, 2000.
  • Niven, Jennifer. Ada Blackjack: A True Story Of Survival In The Arctic, Hyperion Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7868-8746-X
  • Pálsson, Gísli. Writing on Ice: The Ethnographic Notebooks of Vilhjalmur Stefansson; Dartmouth College Press, University Press of New England, Hanover, 2001. ISBN 1-58465-119-9
  • Pálsson, Gísli. "The legacy of Vilhjalmur Stefansson", the Stefansson Arctic Institute (and individual authors), 2000.

Further reading

External links

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