American polar explorer and army general (1844–1935)
Adolphus Greely
Greely in 1890
Birth name
Adolphus Washington Greely
Born
(1844-03-27)March 27, 1844 Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died
October 20, 1935(1935-10-20) (aged 91) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance
United States
Branch
United States Army
Service years
1861–1908
Rank
Major General
Commands held
Lady Franklin Bay Expedition Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army Pacific Division Northern Division Department of the Columbia Department of Dakota
Battles/wars
American Civil War American Indian Wars Spanish–American War Philippine–American War
Awards
Medal of Honor
Spouse(s)
Henrietta Nesmith (m. 1878-1918, her death)
Children
7 (including Rose Greely)
Signature
Adolphus Washington GreelyFRSGS (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and an 1860 graduate of Brown High School (now Newburyport High School), in 1861 he enlisted in the Union Army for the American Civil War. He received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1863 and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1864 and captain in 1865. At the end of the war he received a brevet promotion to major in recognition of his wartime accomplishments.
After the war, Greely accepted a second lieutenant's commission in the regular army. In 1881, he was appointed to command the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, a 25-man expedition organized to carry out Arctic explorations. The expedition ran short of food and several resupply and rescue missions were unsuccessful, and by the time Greely and his men were rescued in 1884, there were only six survivors.
In March 1887, Greely was serving as a captain when President Grover Cleveland appointed him as the Army's Chief Signal Officer with the rank of brigadier general. As Signal chief, he was responsible for creating and maintaining the worldwide communications networks required during and after the Spanish–American War and during the Philippine–American War. Greely was promoted to major general in February 1906. In April 1906, he was assigned to command relief efforts following the San Francisco earthquake. Greely left the Army in 1908 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64.
In retirement, Greely authored numerous magazine articles and books on his Arctic experiences. In March 1935, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of "his life of splendid public service." Greely died in Washington, D.C., on October 20, 1935. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Adolphus Washington Greely FRSGS (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major...
the season. It is named in honor of Major General AdolphusGreely. There was an earlier Fort Greely on Kodiak Island. The camp was established in 1942...
Greely may refer to: AdolphusGreely (1844–1935), American polar explorer and United States Army officer Ann F. Jarvis Greely (1831-1914), American women's...
1881–1884 (a.k.a. the Greely Expedition) to Lady Franklin Bay on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic was led by Lieutenant AdolphusGreely, and was promoted...
command of LT AdolphusGreely was to write another grueling chapter of suffering and extinction in the history of the Arctic. Greely's Signal Corps volunteers...
work of exploration by every means in its power. Joining Walsh were AdolphusGreely, Donaldson Smith, Carl Lumholtz, Marshall Saville, Frederick Dellenbaugh...
Weather Bureau, which at the time was managed by Brigadier General AdolphusGreely. The indications officer (forecaster), Lieutenant Thomas Mayhew Woodruff...
Franklin Bay Expedition, led by U.S. Army First Lieutenant AdolphusGreely. The fort was named by Greely after U.S. Senator Omar D. Conger, who had supported...
Gakkel Matvei Gedenschtrom Adrien de Gerlache Johann Georg Gmelin AdolphusGreely Pen Hadow Charles Francis Hall Helmer Hanssen Bernhard Hantzsch Sverre...
of the city. Under the command of Funston's superior, Major General AdolphusGreely, Commanding Officer of the Pacific Division, over 4,000 federal troops...
in 1910. Stefansson, however, preferred the term "Copper Inuit". AdolphusGreely first compiled the sightings recorded in earlier literature of blonde...
2011 Inside Narrator 1 episode 2011 The American Experience Voice of AdolphusGreely 1 episode 2009 White Collar Uncle Gary 1 episode 2007 Grey's Anatomy...
American Arctic explorer AdolphusGreely. Greely Island's area is 127 km2 (49 sq mi) and it is almost completely glacierized. Greely Island is part of the...
Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, US Army Signal Corps expedition led by AdolphusGreely 1882–1883: The Danish Dijmphna expedition travels to the territory...
Hammond (representing the President of the United States) Major General AdolphusGreely of the United States Army Vice-Admiral Fauques de Jonquieres (representing...
Mountains were first seen by European explorers in 1882 by the explorer AdolphusGreely from Lake Hazen.[citation needed] The Innuitian Mountains' present...
Fellows may use the post-nominal designation FRSGS after their names. AdolphusGreely (1890) Adrien de Gerlache (1900) Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1891)...
Winfield Scott Jewell Members of the Greely Expedition International Polar Expedition, Adolphus Washington Greely, Report on the Proceedings of the United...
Flying Cross for the same transatlantic flight. Major General (Retired) AdolphusGreely was awarded the medal in 1935, on his 91st birthday, "for his life...
later for a second expedition to the Arctic. That mission to rescue AdolphusGreely and the survivors of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition was a success...
led by AdolphusGreely in 1881 crossed the island from east to west,: 631 establishing Fort Conger in the northern part of the island. The Greely expedition...
resisted freezing over. The Thule were ancestors of the Inuit. In 1882, AdolphusGreely was the first European to discover the lake during his 1881–1883 expedition...
Canada and Greenland, was named after then Secretary of War Lincoln on AdolphusGreely's 1881–1884 Arctic expedition. Lincoln's last surviving descendant,...
Schley, who led the four-ship Greely Relief Expedition in 1884 that located and rescued U.S. Army First Lieutenant AdolphusGreely and the six other survivors...
re-supply and relief missions repeatedly failed to reach Lieutenant AdolphusGreely's Lady Franklin Bay Expedition in the Arctic, Schley was appointed in...
County, Pennsylvania, is named the Admiral Peary Highway Major General AdolphusGreely, leader of the ill-fated Lady Franklin Bay Expedition from 1881 to...
Global Information
United States
United States Army