James Clark Ross 

 South to the Antarctic 



Sir James Clark Ross. 



H.M.S. Fury and Hecia, painted in 1823, 

 the year Parry and James C. Ross 

 discovered tfie Fury and l-iecia Strait. 



When Captain James Cook was murdered by Hawaiian islanders 

 in 1779, he left two major geographical problems unsolved; both 

 were problems associated with the oceans : Was there an Antarctic 

 continent? And was there a Northwest Passage? Although Cook 

 had crossed the Antarctic Circle, he had not in fact touched any part 

 of the continent or the main islands. At the other end of the world, 

 in the north, he had rediscovered Bering's passage from the Pacific 

 into the Arctic Ocean, but he died before he could prove whether 

 there was a navigable route through to the Atlantic. 



During the years that followed, the more urgent problems of 

 war demanded the attention and energy of the nations of Europe. 

 Then in 1805 came Trafalgar, and in 18 15 Waterloo and an end to 

 hostilities. The oceans were free again. The British Navy was then 

 at the height of its power and had a cadre of experienced young 

 officers eager for further adventure. 



One of these veterans, anxious to try his luck in the Arctic was 

 Lieutenant (later Sir) John Ross. For six years he had had serving 

 under him a young midshipman, his nephew James Clark Ross, 

 who was to add as much, and perhaps more, to our knowledge of 

 the polar regions than any other man. 



We know very little of James Ross' early years. His father, 

 George Ross, was a London merchant and it was in London that 

 James was born on April 15,1 800. At the time he volunteered for 

 the navy under his uncle, he was only twelve. 



When Sir John Barrow, Secretary of the Admitalty, revived 

 interest in an expedition to find a Northwest Passage and discover 

 the North Pole, Commander John Ross was among the first to 

 volunteer. In 1818, four small whaling vessels sailed down the 

 Thames. Two of them, the Dorothea and the Trent, were bound for 



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