Greely, Adolphus Washington

Greely, Adolphus Washington

(1844–1935) soldier, explorer; born in Newburyport, Mass. He served as a volunteer in the Civil War and in the regular army (1865–1908). He led an expedition to Smith Sound in the Arctic (1881–84) to set up a meteorological station; only 6 men out of 25 survived this so-called Proteus expedition, and although originally blamed for the disaster, Greely was later recognized as having prevented a worse one. He directed the U.S. Weather Service (1887–91) and was the U.S. Army's chief signal officer (1887–1906).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.