John Rae, Arctic Explorer - Hamilton, ON
Posted by: 
stinger503
N 43° 15.293 W 079° 52.516
17T E 591295 N 4789733
Historic plaque dedicated to explorer John Rae
Waymark Code: WMY70G
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 05/03/2018
Views: 1
The plaque is located near an apartment building on the corner of Bay and Hunter in Hamilton, Ontario. The plaque commemorates arctic explorer John Rae.
PLAQUE TEXT:
"JOHN RAE, ARCTIC EXPLORER
This plaque marks the site where the residence of Dr. John Rae, MD, LL. D, FRS, FRCS. used to stand.
Rae was born in the Orkney Islands on 30 September, 1813. Graduating in medicine from Edinburgh, he joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1833 and spent ten years at Moose Factory.
From 1846 to 1854 he led, or was second in command of, four Arctic expeditions. He traveled in small boats and on foot over 13,000 miles, averaging over 25 miles a day, and charted 1,700 miles of unknown coastlines between the Mackenzie River and Hudson's Bay, Rae adopted many Inuit and Indian techniques for travel and survival. In 1854 he was the first European to bring back information about the fare of the Franklin Expedition.
Dr. Rae lived here from 1857 to 1860. He was a founding member and first Vice-President of the Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art. In the winter of 1859 he is said to have showshoed from Hamilton to Toronto in seven hours for a dinner engagement.
Rae died in London, England on 22 July, 1893, and is buried in Kirkwall, Orkney.
Erected with the assistance of the Ontario Heritage Foundation."
Group that erected the marker: City of Hamilton
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Corner of Bay and Hunter
Hamilton, ON Canada
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed
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