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Robert Abram Bartlett
15th August, 1875, in Brigus, Newfoundland - 28th April, 1946 in New York City. He was buried in Brigus, Newfoundland
Interesting Trivia:
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Comes from a long family tradition of seafaring men
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At 17, he joined his first ship
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Led more than 40 expeditions to the Arctic
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Got decorations from the American Congress, various geographical societies and the famous Explorers’ Club
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Survived two shipwrecks
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He was a great leader, although he loved a good drink and was known for his eccentric behaviour (for instance; he listened to classical music when his ship was about to sink)
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Became the first person to sail north of 88° N latitude
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Became an “Honorary Scout” in 1927, awarded by the Boy Scouts of America
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Has a Canadian Coast Guard vessel named after him
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Did never marry, had no children
His Story:
For Bartlett, there was never really any other profession possible than that of the sea captain or navigator. His came from a family who had excelled in this profession. Bartlett is not very well known, which is strange as he was certainly one of the great arctic mariners and explorers. He became a captain and scientist and spent more than 50 years at sea. He had developed a great love for the Far North and Arctic at an early age and spent most of his life mapping out the area.
Bartlett became a first mate on the ship “Windward”, a ship Robert Peary used for his first attempt to reach the North Pole. They met and Bartlett was to accompany Peary on his next two attempts as well (as a captain on the “Roosevelt”), unfortunately, all attempts were unsuccessful. Bartlett’s skills and ingeniousness prevented their ship from disaster. No one had commandeered a ship this far north and he also became the first person to sail north of 88° N latitude.
In his final attempt in 1908-09, Peary did not want Bartlett to share the success and sent him back to the ship. He wanted to reach and claim the South Pole by himself. Although it has been very doubtful that Peary’s claims to have reached the South Pole are true, it may be mentioned that he would never have made it even as far north as he did without the help of Bartlett.
In 1913 - 1914, he was part of the epic Canadian Arctic Expedition. He was the captain of the ship “Karluk”. This expedition became a journey no one had ever imagined. It was scientifically speaking a huge success as two scientists who were part of the expedition, Diamond Jenness and Vilhjalmur Stefansson, produced incredible findings on the anthropological and geographical side. However, success almost turned into disaster as the ship got caught in ice, floated off course and sank about 400 miles off the Siberian coast. However, Bartlett being the leader he was, made sure he was going to do everything humanly possible to rescue his crew. Leaving his crew behind, Bartlett together with an Inuit companion, made an incredible journey through ice fields and Arctic weather to Alaska to alert a rescue party to go and pick up his men. His men were rescued, almost a year after their ship sank, on Wrangel Island. He and his companion truly accomplished the humanly impossible ! The Royal Geographical Society awarded him with their highest award for his outstanding heroism.
However, this adventure did not really slow him down as he decided to buy the ship “Effie M. Morrissey”. The last 20 years of his life were spent with scientific voyages on board this vessel, exploring the north of Greenland and other parts of the Canadian Arctic, paid for by American museums. Again, luck was on his side. His ship was caught in various close calls, the weather up north being extreme, but he never lost a single member of his crew in all the years with the “Morrissey”.
When he was not on board his vessel, he was in the United States, mainly New York, as this is where his financial backing came from. Somehow, the Americans appreciated his achievements more than his own countrymen. Five months after returning from his last journey with the “Morrissey” he died while visiting New York from pneumonia.
Te Papa Whale exhibition in Washington, DC