Back

Back, Sir George, the great Arctic explorer, was born at Stockport in 1796, and entered the Royal Navy in 1808. Captured by the French, he remained a prisoner of war for five years. In 1818 he volunteered to join Sir John Franklin in his Polar Expedition, and his courage and endurance met with high commendation. In 1833 he took charge of the party sent in search of Sir John Ross, and in 1836 commanded the Terror in a dangerous but fruitless voyage. Knighted in 1837, and made Rear-Admiral in l859, he took an active interest in the Royal Geographical Society, and in more recent explorations. He died in 1878, leaving a sum of money to be devoted to researches in the Polar Seas.