Henry Walton Grinnell (November 19, 1843 – September 2, 1920), known as Walton Grinnell, was a naval veteran of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

. He became a rear admiral and Inspector-General in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

and served at the battle of the Yalu River in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. He was discharged as an admiral at the end of the war. Walton Grinnell's elder sister Sylvia (born 1838) married William Fitzherbert Ruxton (born 1830) who became an admiral in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Henry Grinnell Henry Grinnell (February 18, 1799 – June 30, 1874) was an American merchant and philanthropist. Early life Grinnell was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on February 18, 1799. He was the son of Cornelius Grinnell (1758–1850) and Sylvia ( ...

, father of Sylvia and Walton, was a partner in

Grinnell, Minturn & Co Grinnell, Minturn & Co. was one of the leading transatlantic shipping companies in the middle 19th century. It is probably best known today as being the owner and operator of the '' Flying Cloud'', arguably the greatest of the clipper ships. His ...

., owners of the Swallowtail shipping line which included '' Flying Cloud'', in 1851 the fastest clipper ship in the world. He financed an expedition to discover the fate of

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

who was lost while searching for the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

, and the

Grinnell Peninsula Grinnell Peninsula is a peninsula in northwestern Devon Island in Nunavut, Canada. It was discovered by the First Grinnell Expedition and named "Grinnell Land", after Henry Grinnell Henry Grinnell (February 18, 1799 – June 30, 1874) was an Amer ...

on Devon Island is named after him.

References

* ''The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration from Franklin to Scott'', E C Coleman, 2006 (Tempus Publishing) 1843 births 1920 deaths American expatriates in Japan American businesspeople in shipping Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan Winthrop family {{US-business-bio-1840s-stub 19th-century American businesspeople

See also

References