Donald Manson (1792–1880) was a renowned ice master and whaling captain in the northern reaches of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

in the 19th century. He served on 42 whaling voyages as of 1854, and was first mate of the ''Sophia'' during the

First Grinnell Expedition The First Grinnell expedition of 1850 was the first American effort, financed by Henry Grinnell, to determine the fate of the lost Franklin's lost expedition, Franklin Northwest Passage expedition. Led by Lieutenant Edwin De Haven, the team ex ...

in 1850. He was hired as ice master for numerous expeditions for his skill of navigating the icy waters of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

and further north, including

Edward Augustus Inglefield Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield (27 March 1820 – 4 September 1894) was a Royal Navy officer who led one of the searches for the missing Arctic explorer John Franklin during the 1850s. In doing so, his expedition charted previously unexpl ...

's 1853 expedition aboard . Manson also captained at least one voyage of Scottish emigrants to

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in 1842, and the pioneers praised him as "humane and gentlemanly." He served as

Harbormaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

from the 1840s until his death. Edward Augustus Inglefield whaling captain

A painting of Captain Manson is on display in the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead.Wright, Christopher, and Catherine Gordon. British and Irish Paintings in Public Collections: an Index of British and Irish Oil Paintings by Artists Born before 1870 in Public and Institutional Collections in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Yale University Press, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manson, Donald 1792 births 1880 deaths Scottish sailors British people in whaling 19th-century Scottish people History of the Arctic