Graham Westbrook Rowley (October 31, 1912 – December 31, 2003) was an
Arctic explorer,
hailed as "one of the last true explorers of North America" (The Telegraph).
Early life and family
Rowley was born on October 31, 1912, in
Manchester, England
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
As the youngest of four, Rowley always had a playful, ambitious edge; which only helped his future highly demanding career.
He met his wife Diana at the Royal Geographical Society in Cambridge, where she was a student editor, and after many failed accounts on asking her to go out on a date with him, she finally gave in and they were inseparable from that day forth.
They married twice, once in 1944 (a civil wedding before he left for the army) and again in 1945 in a Church setting.
Together they had three healthy daughters: Anne, Sue (Susan) and Jane.
Rowley and Diana were married for 69 years, and shared their passions for the Arctic together.
Education
He attended
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...
, and received his B.A. from the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
in 1934 and his M.A. from the same institution in 1936.
From 1936 to 1939, Rowley engaged in an archaeological excavation in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. During this time, he discovered new islands in Fox Basin, carried out the original exploration of the Baffin Island coast, crossed Baffin Island by a new route, and excavated the first major site in Dorset culture. Because of his work with the Inuit and Dorset peoples, Rowley had a large island and river in the Arctic named after him.
He served in the Canadian Army in World War II and received the Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1945.
A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Rowley was awarded the Society's prestigious
Massey Medal in 1963 for his geographical work.
As a scientist with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the early 1970s, he created a training program for Northern scientists and developed ground and air support services for scientific groups working in the Arctic.
He was made an honorary member of the
American Polar Society The American Polar Society was founded in 1934 by August Howard.
Honorary members
Starting in 1936 the following explorers, arctic scientists and geographers have been honored:
* David Legge Brainard (1936). He was the first to receive an honorary ...
in 1985, due to his countless advancements and discoveries in the field.
He died in
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on December 31, 2003, surrounded by his wife, daughters and grandchildren.
Publications
* ''Cold Comfort: My Love Affair with the Arctic'' (1996)
See also
*
John Winter Crowfoot
References
Royal Canadian Geographical Society fellows
American Polar Society honorary members
Massey Medal recipients
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Members of the Order of Canada
1912 births
2003 deaths
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
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