Warburton Mayer Pike (1861-1915) was an English explorer of British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic. Pike was born in

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles (13 km) southwest of Poole. Situation and geography The town is bu ...

. He was named after his grandmother's and mother's maiden names. His father (John William Pike) a ball clay merchant died in 1869, making Warburton and his siblings orphans. His mother was Mary Mayer (1827–1866), daughter of Thomas Mayer of Longport Pottery. His Grandmother was the daughter of Jacob Warbuton of New Hall Pottery. Warburton attended

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and then

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, where he became a close friend of

Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

, the future Field Marshal and First

Earl Haig Earl Haig is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. During the First World War, he served as commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France and Bel ...

. Pike inherited a fortune as a young man. He was often not the first European to visit an area but was often the first to write about the areas that he traveled. Pike's prose travelogues of the places he visited were widely read. Pike committed suicide in the sea at Bournemouth in 1915, after being refused entry into the army due to ill health. There is a mountain named for him on

Saturna Island Saturna Island is a mountainous island, about in size, in the Southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated approximately midway between the Lower Mainland of B.C. and Vancouver Island, and is the most easterly of the ...

near

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

. There is a memorial to him at

Dease Lake Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake ...

near Cassiar on the British Columbian mainland. His grave is under a plain little stone cross in a Bournemouth (UK) public cemetery. There is also an historically important portage between

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...

and Artillery Lake in Northwest Territories, Pike's Portage, named after him.

References

British Columbia Geographical Names: Mount Warburton PikeUniversity of Calgary Arctic Profiles: Warburton PikeABC Book World Magazine: Bio of Warburton Pike
* ttps://books.google.com/books?id=JBdKVxBtQYQC&q=home+from+the+hill+murray : Home from the Hill by Peter Murray

External links

* * 1861 births 1915 deaths English explorers Translators of Dante Alighieri Suicides by drowning in England 1915 suicides {{UK-explorer-stub