Ross, Sir John National Historic Person
Taloyoak - Spence Bay, Nunavut
Captain John Ross
© Library and Archives Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, no d'acc 1984-118-1
Address :
Taloyoak - Spence Bay, Nunavut
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1972-10-19
Life Date:
1777 to 1856
Other Name(s):
-
Ross, Sir John
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Arctic explorer, led Northwest Passage trips (1818, 1829-33), Franklin search (1850)
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: Taloyoak - Spence Bay, Nunavut
When, in 1818, the Admiralty resumed the search for the North West Passage Captain John Ross was given command of the first expedition to Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound. After the exploits of his one time lieutenant, Edward Parry, eclipsed his own endeavour in that quarter, Ross led a second attempt sponsored by a London brewer, Felix Booth, in 1829-33. Sailing in the VICTORY, the first steamship in the Canadian Arctic, he explored the Boothia Peninsula, named after his patron. In 1850 Sir John Ross, then aged 73, led another expedition to Lancaster Sound to search for Sir John Franklin.