Ernest de Koven Leffingwell (January 13, 1875January 27, 1971) was an arctic explorer, geologist and Spanish–American War veteran. During the period from 1906 to 1914, Leffingwell spent nine summers and six winters on the Arctic coast of Alaska, making 31 trips by dog sled or small boats. He created the first accurate map of a large part of the Alaskan arctic coastline. He was the first to scientifically describe

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

and to pose theories about permafrost which have largely proven true. He accurately identified the oil potential of the North Slope region of Alaska.

Biography

Ernest de Koven Leffingwell was born January 13, 1875, in

Knoxville, Illinois Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,911 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Description Knoxville is located just southeast of the City of Galesburg. Ther ...

, to

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and Elizabeth (née Francis) Leffingwell. He attended the grammar school at

Racine College Racine College was an Episcopal preparatory school and college in Racine, Wisconsin, that operated between 1852 and 1933. Located south of the city along Lake Michigan, the campus has been maintained and is today known as the DeKoven Center ...

, then attended

Trinity College, Hartford Trinity College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coed ...

, Connecticut, where he was captain of the track team his senior year, graduated with the AB degree in 1895 and was awarded a MA in 1900. He studied physics and geology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

1896 to 1898 and 1900 to 1906. He played on the

Chicago Maroons football The Chicago Maroons football team represents the University of Chicago in college football. The Maroons, which play in NCAA Division III, have been a football-only member of the Midwest Conference since 2017. The University of Chicago was a found ...

team. Leffingwell had passed his preliminary examination and was a doctoral candidate when he left for Alaska in 1906 but apparently did not complete the degree. He taught science at St Alban's school in Knoxville, Illinois, in 1895–96 and 1903–04, in the latter period also serving as Superintendent. During 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 = (clock ...

he served as a Seaman on the US battleship ''Oregon'' during its celebrated dash around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

and in the Battle of Santiago."Ernest DeKoven Leffingwell"
''One thousand American men of mark today'' American Men of Mark, New York, 1916"Obituaries" "Ernest deKoven Leffingwell" ''

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 was ...

16'' (101) pp. 282–83, 1971Phi Upsilon Fraternity (1917
''The twelfth general Catalogue of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity''
p642Ernest deKoven Leffingwell Alumni Folder, Trinity College Archives, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.''The University Record (University of Chicago) v11'
p 40
1907"Events and Comment" "'Leff', Polar Bearer"
''University of Chicago Magazine 7'' (3) January 1915. p 69. He led the science staff in the 1901 Baldwin-Ziegler North Pole Expedition, which failed in its attempt to reach 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 ...

from

Franz Josef Land , native_name = , image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg , image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land , image_size = , map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg , map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...

. On this expedition, he became friends with Danish explorer

Ejnar Mikkelsen Ejnar Mikkelsen (December 23, 1880 – May 1, 1971) was a Danish polar explorer and author. He is most known for his expeditions to Greenland. Biography Mikkelsen was born in Vester Brønderslev, Jutland. He served in the Georg Carl Amdrup ex ...

. Subsequently, the two raised funds for their own expedition. Leffingwell's father, who had become wealthy from his ownership of a fruit ranch in California, contributed $5000, and Mikkelsen raised a comparable amount in England and New York. Their venture became the Anglo-American Polar Expedition of 1906–1908 which aimed to explore the

Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea (; french: Mer de Beaufort, Iñupiaq: ''Taġiuq'') is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, and west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after Sir Fr ...

. At that time, many experts believed than an undiscovered land mass lay in this region, since such a mass could account for observed patterns of arctic currents and tides.Mills, William James (2003
"Mikkelsen, Ejnar (1880–1971)"
''Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia, Volume 1'' pp 426 ff, ABC-CLIO , Leffingwell 1915a The underfunded expedition fared badly but achieved some positive results. No new land was discovered, but they delineated part of the continental shelf and Leffingwell began his mapping efforts. Their ship, the ''Duchess of Bedford'', was locked in pack ice and destroyed, but they salvaged the wood to build a cabin which Leffingwell used intermittently through 1914. Mikkelsen returned to the US in 1907, but Leffingwell remained on the arctic coast for another year. He returned to the North Slope 1909–1912 and 1913–1914, working with one assistant to map 250 km of the arctic coast, and the

Canning River The Canning River (Djarlgarra in Nyungar) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Source and ...

valley .

Leffingwell dwelling and sheds circa 1910

After spending a year and a half writing up his results at the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

in Washington, Leffingwell retired to Whittier, California, listing his occupation in 1917 as citriculturist. He moved to

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and municipal corporation, incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its n ...

, about 20 years later. When he died in 1971, fourteen days after his 96th birthday, he was believed to have been the oldest surviving polar explorer.

Leffingwell camp site

The

Leffingwell Camp Site The Leffingwell Camp Site, on Flaxman Island, west of Barter Island on the Arctic Coast of Alaska, was used by polar explorer and geologist Ernest de Koven Leffingwell on his pioneering Anglo-American Polar Expedition of 1906–1908, which aimed ...

located on a remote barrier island off Alaska, was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1978. and

Honors

Leffingwell was awarded the

Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...

by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and the

Charles P. Daly Medal The Charles P. Daly Medal is awarded to individuals by the American Geographical Society (AGS) "for valuable or distinguished geographical services or labors." The medal was established in 1902. This medal was originally designed by Victor D. Bren ...

by the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

, both in 1922. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Trinity College in 1923. Leffingwell Fork, a stream on Alaska's North Slope, Leffingwell Ridge (

Brooks Range The Brooks Range ( Gwich'in: ''Gwazhał'') is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of on Mount Isto, the range is believ ...

) in the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife ...

, Leffingwell Glacier in the

Romanzof Mountains The Brooks Range ( Gwich'in: ''Gwazhał'') is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of on Mount Isto, the range is belie ...

of the Brooks Range, Leffingwell Crags in Canada's

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, and Leffingwell Nunatak in Greenland are named for him.

Publications

* SR Capps and EDK Leffingwell (1904
"Pleistocene Geology of the Sawatch Range near Leadville Colo"
''The Journal of Geology 12'', Nov–Dec pp 698–706. * Ernest de Koven Leffingwell (1908
"Flaxman Island a glacial remnant"
''Journal of Geology 16'' (1) pp. 56–63 * Ernest de Koven Leffingwell (1915a
"A communication from Leffingwell"
''University of Chicago Magazine 7'' (3) January 1915, pp 76–79. Leffingwell's short popular account, written for the alumni magazine. See also page 69. * Ernest de K. Leffingwell (1915b
"Ground-ice wedges, the dominant form of ground-ice on the north coast of Alaska"
''Journal of Geology 23'', pp 635–654. * Ernest de K. Leffingwell (1919
''The Canning River Region, Northern Alaska''
Professional paper 109, United States Geological Survey, Govt. print. off., Washington (also at Hathi Trus

* Ernest de Koven Leffingwell (1961) "My Polar Explorations, 1901–1914", ''Explorers Journal 39'', 2–14

Notes

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110511094041/http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF19/1945.html "Ernest Leffingwell: Scientist with a fan club"Alaska Science Forum, Article #1945, February 4, 2009, by Ned Rozell. * Andrew Burk
Ernest de Koven Leffingwell in the Arctic
andrewburke.ca, posted 2010-11-12. Burke is Leffingwell's great-grandson; this blog post has, among other things, some family information about Leffingwell's Navy service and his life in California, including a picture of him working on a hot rod at age 83.

finding aid * Ernest de Koven Leffingwell papers at the US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA; catalog entry (particularly naval service). Link ip-184-168-105-185.ip.secureserver.net/archivegrid/record.php?id=793425002 not presently clickable, copy to address bar. * Ernest de Koven Leffingwell photographs at USGS https://library.usgs.gov/photo/#/ search Leffingwell
The Papers of Ernest de Koven Leffingwell
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Leffingwell, Ernest de Koven 1875 births 1971 deaths American geographers American geologists American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Chicago Maroons football players Explorers of the Arctic People of the Alaska Territory People from Knoxville, Illinois People from North Slope Borough, Alaska People from Whittier, California Racine College alumni Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni Writers from Illinois People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California