Alistair Forbes Mackay (22 February 1878 – ) was a Scottish physician, biologist, and
polar explorer
This list is for recognised pioneering explorers of the polar regions. It does not include subsequent travelers and expeditions.
Polar explorers
* Jameson Adams
* Stian Aker
* Valerian Albanov
* Roald Amundsen
* Salomon August Andrée
* Piotr F ...
known for being the first, along with Australians
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...
and
Edgeworth David
Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934) was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter V ...
, to reach the
South Magnetic Pole on 16 January 1909, during the
British Antarctic Expedition of 1907–1909.
Polar exploration
British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–1909
Mackay joined the
British Antarctic Expedition of 1907–1909—led by
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...
—as an expedition doctor. They arrived on the at
Cape Royds
Cape Royds is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. It was discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901–1904) and named for Lieutenant Charles Royds, Royal Navy, who acted as meteor ...
in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
in February 1908, and set up camp in a small expedition hut that would house the 15-man party through the winter. In March, along with
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...
and
Edgeworth David
Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934) was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter V ...
, Mackay made up the party who undertook the first ascent of
Mount Erebus
Mount Erebus () is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley), the highest active volcano in Antarctica, and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is the sixth-highest ultra mountain on the continent.
With a summ ...
.
The following spring when Shackelton set off to attempt to reach the
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
, he despatched Mackay, Mawson and David northward to reach the
South Magnetic Pole, which lay approximately north-north-west of
Ross Island
Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound. Ross Island lies within the boundaries of Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica claimed by New ...
. The trek commenced on 5 October, with the men hauling their own sleds and relaying the loads which meant that every kilometre gained by the sledges involved them travelling by foot.
For ten weeks, the men followed the coast north supplementing their stores with a diet of seals and penguins. They then crossed the
Drygalski Ice Tongue
The Drygalski Ice Tongue, Drygalski Barrier, or Drygalski Glacier Tongue is a glacier in Antarctica, on the Scott Coast, in the northern McMurdo Sound of Ross Dependency, north of Ross Island. The Drygalski Ice Tongue is stable by the standar ...
and turned inland. They still faced a return journey and established a depot to enable them to transfer their load to one overladen sled and to remove the need to relay. On 16 January 1909, they arrived at the South Magnetic Pole, took possession of the region for the British Crown. Mackay suggested three cheers for the King.
David had been appointed leader of the expedition by Shackleton, but by end January, with all three of the party experiencing severe physical deterioration, David was increasingly unable to contribute. On 31 January, with Mawson out of earshot, Mackay exerted his authority as the party's doctor and threatened to declare the professor insane unless he gave written authority of leadership to Mawson. Mawson reluctantly took command but by 30 February, he acknowledged in his diary that "the Prof was now certainly partly demented". That day the party reached the coast line with perfect timing as within 24 hours they were collected by the for the return trip to Cape Royds.
The trio had covered a distance of , which stood as the longest unsupported sled journey until the mid-1980s.
Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1914
Mackay was also the ship's doctor on the ill-fated
''Karluk'' expedition in 1913 led by
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada.
Early life
Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had ...
to explore the regions west of
Parry Archipelago for the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
. After the ''Karluk'', captained by
Robert Bartlett, was stranded, crushed, and sunk by
pack ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
, Mackay and three other members of the crew died of exposure while struggling across the Arctic ice to reach
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
or
Herald Island.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Ernest Shackleton and the ''Nimrod ''expeditionat ''Cool Antarctica''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, Alistair
20th-century explorers
20th-century Scottish medical doctors
1878 births
1914 deaths
Alumni of the University of Dundee
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Explorers of Antarctica
Explorers of the Arctic
Naval surgeons
Recipients of the Polar Medal
Royal Navy Medical Service officers
Scottish biologists
Scottish polar explorers
Shipwreck survivors
British Army personnel of the Second Boer War