Walter E. Wellman
(November 3, 1858 – January 31, 1934) was an American journalist, explorer, and aëronaut.
Biographical background
Walter Wellman was born in Mentor, Ohio, in 1858. He was the sixth son of Alonzo Wellman and the fourth by his second wife Minerva Sibilla (Graves) Wellman. Walter's father, Alonzo, served three years in 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 th ...
while Walter was young. He was initially with Company D of the
105th Ohio Infantry before becoming a ship-carpenter with the
Mississippi River Squadron
The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and w ...
. When he returned from the war, he took his family west from Ohio to become pioneer settlers of
York County, Nebraska
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 13,665. Its county seat is York.
In the Nebraska license plate system, York County is represented by the prefix 17 (it had the sevent ...
.
At age 14 Walter established a weekly newspaper in
Sutton, Nebraska. At age 21 Walter returned to Ohio to establish the
Cincinnati ''Evening Post'' and married Laura McCann in
Canton, Ohio
Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
on 24 December 1879. They had five daughters. In 1884 he became political and Washington DC correspondent for the Chicago ''Herald'' and ''Record-Herald''.
Early exploration
San Salvador
For a news story, Wellman was asked by the ''Chicago Herald'' to visit and assess various candidates for the initial landing place of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
in the Americas. He marked the presumed location on
San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island (known as Watling's Island from the 1680s until 1925) is an island and district of The Bahamas. It is widely believed that during Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World, this island was the first land h ...
in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
with a monument in 1892.
Svalbard
In 1894, Wellman led a polar expedition. He chartered the Norwegian ice steamer ''Ragnvald Jarl'' from
Ålesund
Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...
and assembled a team of 14 expedition members, mostly from the US and Norway. After an easy passage to the north of
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
, the ship reached the ice pack at
Waldenøya
Waldenøya (anglicized as Walden Island) is a small, rocky island just north of Nordkapp, Nordaustlandet on Svalbard. It is the westernmost part of Sjuøyane in the Svaldbard archipelago.
The island is named after John Walden, who was a midshi ...
. With sledges and aluminium boats, the expedition made their way to
Martensøya
Martensøya (anglicized as Martens Island) is the easternmost island of Sjuøyane, which lies north of Nordaustlandet, part of the Svalbard archipelago in Arctic Norway. The island is named after the German physician Friderich Martens, who visite ...
from where they intended to continue to the pole when the ''Ragnwald Jarl'' lying at Waldenøya was pierced by ice and sank. Wellman gave up his polar ambitions and instead explored the northeast of Svalbard, reaching a latitude of 81° N.
The exploring party and the ship's crew then retreated to
Lågøya
Lågøya ( en, Low Island) is an island in Svalbard, Norway. It is situated north west of Nordaustlandet. The area is 103.5 km2. The island has rarely been visited.
Lågøya was first marked on the Muscovy Company's map (1625) as ''Purcha ...
, where they were found by the Norwegian seal-hunting ship ''Berntine''. Wellman offered the captain 800 $ for taking the whole expedition back immediately.
Franz Josef Land
Wellman made another attempt on the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
in 1898. was his second-in-command. Two more Americans and five Norwegians, among them Paul Bjørvig and , completed the expedition.
They sailed from
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
in the chartered ice steamer ''Frithjof''. After arriving at
Cape Flora
Northbrook Island (russian: остров Нортбрук) is an island located in the southern edge of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia. Its highest point is 344 m above sea level.
Northbrook Island is one of the most accessible locations i ...
, they gathered supplies left by the
Jackson-Harmsworth expedition, before sailing east, in an attempt to find a navigable path northward. Due to the extent of the ice, Wellman was finally forced to erect his base camp, "Harmsworth House", at Cape Tegetthoff on
Hall Island. The ship then left the expedition, without Wellman having made any arrangements for a relief ship to bring them home again. He left that to his agent Andreas Aagaard in Tromsø.
On 5 August, he sent Baldwin and three Norwegians to establish an advance camp further north, preferably at
Cape Fligely
Cape Fligely (; ''Mys Fligeli''), is located on the northern shores of Rudolf Island and Franz Josef Land in the Russian Federation, and is the northernmost point of Russia, Europe, and Eurasia as a whole. It is south from the North Pole.
Histo ...
. With inadequate equipment and untrained dogs, the party made very slow progress, hauling and rowing much of the equipment by hand. They eventually reached Cape Heller on
Wilczek Land
Wilczek Land (russian: Земля Вильчека; , german: Wilczek-Land), is an island in the Arctic Ocean at . It is the second-largest island in Franz Josef Land, in Arctic Russia.
This island should not be confused with the small Wilczek I ...
where Baldwin had the Norwegians construct a hut he named "Fort McKinley". On 22 October Baldwin left Bjørvig and Bentsen for the winter to guard their northern outpost with minimal supplies. They were left with no medicine, were to use no fuel for heating and consume no food other than walrus and polar bears. Bentsen soon fell ill and became delirious. He died on 2 January 1899. Bjørvig continued to share his sleeping bag with Bentsen's corpse throughout the winter so as not to attract polar bears.
The other expedition members had been wintering in relative comfort at Harmsworth House. Wellman, who had fallen out with Baldwin over the bad leadership of the sledge expedition, made his way to Fort McKinley in February 1899 with the remaining three Norwegians. Together they buried Bentsen, before continuing north with their sledges. This effort was cut short when Wellman broke his leg after slipping on the ice on 21 March at 81°40' N. The next day, a storm broke up the piece of ice they were camping on. As a result, the expedition lost 14 dogs and nearly all of their provisions and equipment. The Norwegians managed to drag Wellman back to the safety of Harmsworth House on a sledge.
With Wellman himself out of action, he instructed Baldwin to return with the four Norwegians to the fairly unexplored Wilczek Land, in the hopes of finding some new geographical features. The discovery of
Graham Bell Island
Graham Bell Island (russian: Остров Греэм-Белл, ''Ostrov Greem-Bell'') is an island in the Franz Josef Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and is administratively part of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.
Geography
Graham Bell Island is ...
proved to be the expedition's greatest success. Wellman named the island after
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
, the inventor and president of the
National Geographical Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
which had sponsored the expedition. He also named many bays, islets and other geographical features after prominent American figures.
The expedition was taken home on 27 July 1899 by the sealing ship ''Capella''.
Airships
On December 31, 1905, Wellman announced he would make an attempt to reach the North Pole, but this time with an airship.
[Cailliez, Jean-Claude]
Première tentative d’atteindre le Pôle nord en dirigeable : l’expédition W.Wellman (1906-09)
2006-10-12. (French) His newspaper provided funds of US$250,000,
[ and he had an airship built in ]Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
for the Wellman Chicago Record-Herald Polar Expedition. Wellman established expedition headquarters on Dane's Island, Svalbard, in the summer of 1906. The hangar was not completed until August 1906, and the airship's engines self-destructed when tested. Wellman rebuilt the airship in Paris that winter and attempted an aerial voyage to the North Pole in September, 1907. He made a second attempt without financial assistance in 1909, but mechanical failures forced him to turn back 60 miles (100 km.) north of Svalbard.
In the northern autumn of 1910, Wellman expanded his airship ''America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
'' to 345,000 cubic feet (9,760 cubic metres) and launched from Atlantic City, New Jersey on 15 October 1910. The engineer Melvin Vaniman
Chester Melvin Vaniman (October 30, 1866 – July 2, 1912) was an American aviator and photographer who specialized in panoramic images. He shot images from gas balloons, ships masts, tall buildings and even a home-made pole. He scaled bui ...
sent one of the first aerial radio transmissions when he urged the launch boat to "come and get this goddam cat!" - the cat Kiddo who was (at first) not happy about being airborne. After 38 hours the engine failed and the airship drifted until they were rescued by the Royal Mail steamship ''Trent
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California, ...
'' not far from Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
. A second airship, the ''Akron
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
'', was built the next year. It exploded during its first test flight. Killed were the crew of five, including its captain, the same Melvin Vaniman who was a survivor of the ''America''. Almost a century later its submerged remains were located. These fragments, along with the airship's lifeboat, which Goodyear Tire and Rubber
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...
had stored since 1912, were then donated to the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
.
Legacy
In 1902, Wellman wrote ''A Tragedy of the Far North'' published in ''The White World''. Wellman's book ''The Aerial Age: A Thousand Miles by Airship over the Atlantic Ocean'' was published in 1911. ''The German Republic'' was published in 1916. ''The Force Supreme'' was published in 1918.
He spent his final years in New York City, where he died of liver cancer in 1934. The Liberty ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...
''Walter Wellman'' was launched 29 September 1944 from Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation of Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
See also
*R33-class airship
The R.33 class of British rigid airships were built for the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, but were not completed until after the end of hostilities, by which time the RNAS had become part of the Royal Air Force. The lead ...
References
Publications
*
* P.J. Capelotti, Herman Van Dyk & Jean-Claude Cailliez. 2007. “Strange interlude at Virgohamna, Danskøya, Svalbard, 1906: the ''merkelig mann'', the engineer and the spy,” ''Polar Research'' 26 (2007): 64–75.
* Cailliez, Jean-Claude
Première tentative d’atteindre le Pôle nord en dirigeable : l’expédition W.Wellman (1906-09)
2006-10-12. (French)
* P.J. Capelotti. 2006. “E.B. Baldwin and the American-Norwegian discovery and exploration of Graham Bell Island, 1899,” ''Polar Research'' 25 (2): 155–171.
* P.J. Capelotti. ''By Airship to the North Pole: An Archaeology of Human Exploration'' (Rutgers University Press, 1999)
* P.J. Capelotti. 1997. "The Wellman Polar Airship Expeditions at Virgohamna, Danskøya, Svalbard." Oslo, Norway: Norsk Polarinstitutt, Meddelelser No. 145.
* P.J. Capelotti. ''A Conceptual Model for Aerospace Archaeology: A Case Study from the Wellman Site, Virgohamna, Danskøya, Svalbard.'' (Ph.D. Dissertation, Rutgers University, 1996). University Microfilms #9633681.
* P.J. Capelotti. 1994. “A Preliminary Archæological Survey of Camp Wellman at Virgohamn, Danskøya, Svalbard,” ''Polar Record
''Polar Record'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of Arctic and Antarctic exploration and research. It is managed by the Scott Polar Research Institute and published by Cambridge University Press. The journal w ...
'' 30 (175).
* Michael Robinson, ''The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture'' (University of Chicago Press, 2006)
External links
*
Attempt to North Pole by airship (1906)
(French)
* Bjørn Fossli Johansen
Virgohamna Norsk Polarinstitutt
February 2007 (Norwegian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellman, Walter E.
1858 births
1934 deaths
Airship aviators
American explorers
American male journalists
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
People from Mentor, Ohio
American newspaper founders
Journalists from Ohio
People from Sutton, Nebraska