Captain Robert Bartlett was the greatest ice navigator and Arctic explorer of the past two centuries. Born in Brigus , Newfoundland on August 15, 1875, heir to a family tradition of seafaring men, Bartlett spent over 50 years of his life mapping and exploring the waters of the Far North and led over 40 expeditions to the Arctic, more than anyone before or since.

Bartlett was captain of the Roosevelt and the unsung hero of Commander Robert Peary’s attempts to reach the North Pole. Bartlett was awarded the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society for breaking the trail through the frozen Arctic wastes to within 130 miles of the pole; yet he was excluded from the final exploring party because Peary wanted to be the only white man to reach the pole.

In 1914, Bartlett’s leadership in the doomed Karluk Expedition helped save the lives of most of its stranded participants after leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson abandoned the expedition. After being stranded on Wrangel Island for several months, Captain Bartlett walked 700 miles over the ice from Wrangel Island to Siberia across the Bering Strait to Alaska to summon help; he received the highest award from the Royal Geographical Society for his outstanding heroism.

From 1925-1945, at the command of his own schooner, the Effie M. Morrissey , Bartlett led many important scientific expeditions to the Arctic, sponsored by American museums, the Explorers Club and the National Geographic Society, and also helped to survey the Arctic for the United States Government during World War II.

Robert Bartlett died on April 28, 1946 in a New York hospital. Bartlett was struck by pneumonia and could not recover. He is buried in Brigus , Newfoundland.

External links

• The Ice Master Jennifer Niven's non-fiction book on the Karluk Expedition
• Robert Bartlett Government of Canada
• Robert Bartlett Arctic Museum