John Rae, Arctic Explorer

Born in Orkney, John Rae (1813–1893) trained as a surgeon and was an employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company until the age of 44. Travelling in small groups, and using Inuit techniques, he explored substantial sections of the north coast of North America. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Rae was awarded the Founder’s Gold Medal for his explorations and received several honorary degrees. William Barr is Professor Emeritus of Geography, University of Saskatchewan, and a research associate with the Arctic Institute of North America. He has researched the history of exploration of the polar regions for over 40 years. He has published 23 books, including edited translations from French, German, and Russian. He lives in Calgary, Alberta. He is a Senior Research Associate with the Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary.

"The autobiography breaks off mid-way through his last expedition and in mid-sentence at the bottom of a page.... William Barr edits with self-effacing thoroughness, interpolating passages of correspondence to fill lacunae in the narrative, adding copious notes, and appending mini-biographies of the people who travelled with Rae. Notwithstanding its truncation, the torso of autobiography that remains is an impressive one." Times Literary Supplement, June 14, 2019

• 1 ORKNEY CHILDHOOD 2 VOYAGE TO HUDSON BAY AND WINTER ON CHARLTON ISLAND 3 MOOSE FACTORY: LIFE, PEOPLE, HUNTING, SHOOTING, AND TRAPPING 4 MOOSE FACTORY–FORT GARRY–TORONTO–YORK FACTORY 5 1846–1847 ARCTIC EXPEDITION 6 SEARCHING FOR FRANKLIN WITH SIR JOHN RICHARDSON, 1848 7 WINTER AT FORT CONFIDENCE, 1848 –1849 8 BOURGEOIS AT FORT SIMPSON 9 NORTH AGAIN—AND ANOTHER WINTER AT FORT CONFIDENCE 10 SLEDGE EXPEDITION TO VICTORIA I SLAND, SPRING 1851 1 1 BOAT EXPEDITION, SUMMER 1851 12 FROM FORT CHIPEWYAN TO FORT GARRY TO ENGLAND 13 BACK TO THE ARCTIC, 1853 : FROM ENGLAND TO CHURCHILL 14 FROM CHURCHILL TO REPULSE BAY 15 A SECOND WINTER AT REPULSE BAY, 1853–1854 16 NORTH AGAIN—TO CLOSE THE LAST GAP 17 THE SECOND HALF OF HIS LIFE