Title: ADMIRAL SIR GEORGE BACK: "…day stormy with hard gales from the sw – eat a gun cover and a pair of shoes - for our meal – at this time I had scarcely enough strength to get on my legs - “ He was a member of five Arctic Expeditions and commander of two, Admiral Sir George Back belonged to an elite group of Royal Navy officers who put a large part of the North American Arctic on the map. He has been called 'the first Arctic artist' because of his beautiful watercolors and sketches illustrating his expeditions. He participated in the Arctic exploration from 1818 until 1837 that included the following expeditions: 1. 1818: voyage to the Spitzbergen seas under commanders John Ross and David Buchan where Back met Lieutenant John Franklin who recognized his artistic talents and usefulness in recording the northern landscape and its people. 2. 1819-22: Back joined John Franklin's first overland expedition whose objective was to chart the north coast of America from the mouth of the Coppermine River to Repulse Bay. 3. 1825-27: Back participated in John Franklin's second overland expedition to explore the Arctic coast to the east and west of the mouth of the Mackenzie River. The expedition commenced in New York State and headed to its winter base at Fort Franklin on the Great Bear Lake. 4. 1833-35: Back lead a search party down the Great Fish River in search of Captain John Ross who had sailed to Prince Regent Inlet in 1829 and had not yet returned. He commenced his voyage from the Ottawa River to the Great Fish River (later renamed the Back River). Upon learning in 1834 that Ross had returned to England, Back chose to continue exploring the Great Fish River along its northern coastline to Turnagain Point. 5. 1836: Back led an expedition by sea in HMS Terror to trace the coast of the Polar Sea between Repulse Bay and Turnagain Point, the farthest point reached by Franklin on his first overland expedition. The Terror was severely damaged. Later repaired in Ireland the ship was part of James Clark Ross’ expedition to the Antarctic Poor health caused Back to retire from active service. He was knighted on March 18, 1839, and maintained an interest in Arctic exploration for the rest of his life. He served as an advisor to the Admiralty during the search for John Franklin's lost expedition, and as vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1863 and admiral in 1876. In spite of the high regard in which he was held in England and the many honors he received, Back had a history of being disliked and distrusted by many of the people he worked with in the Arctic, including Franklin. He was variously criticized for being rude, a weak leader, selfish, sycophantish, and quarrelsome. Later in life he gained a reputation for being a dandy and a womanizer. Being a fine artist and spending his life in a navy uniform must have been a personal contradiction.
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