Frederick Jackson English polar explorer and geographer, explorer of Africa and Australia Date of Birth: 06.03.1860 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Frederick Jackson

Frederick Jackson was an English polar explorer, geographer, and explorer of Africa and Australia. He was also a professional military officer and a correspondent member of the geographical societies of the United States and Italy. Jackson is most well-known for evacuating Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen from the Arctic after their unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole in 1895-1896.
Early Life and Career

Jackson was born in the provincial town of Olchester, where his grandfather served as the dean of the cathedral. After completing school, he traveled to Australia where he attempted to raise sheep in Queensland but failed and ended up bankrupt. During his three-year stay in Australia, he embarked on a journey across the Simpson Desert and eventually returned to Great Britain. Jackson was awarded the Bronze Medal from the Royal Humane Society in 1885 for rescuing a girl who had fallen into a pond at Linlithgow Lake. He graduated from Denstone College and the University of Edinburgh.
Arctic Explorations

Jackson's first Arctic experience was during the 1886-1887 season aboard the whaling ship "Erik." Around 1890, he applied to join Nansen's expedition to the North Pole but was rejected because the expedition was intended for Norwegian nationals. In 1893, he sailed along the northern coast of Siberia on the yacht "Blencathra," surveying over 3000 miles of tundra between the Ob and Pechora Rivers. His book about this expedition, "The Great Frozen Land," was published in 1895. From 1894 to 1897, Jackson led the Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition based at the Elmwood station on Cape Flora, Northbrook Island (Franz Josef Land). Financed by the Royal Geographical Society, the expedition aimed to comprehensively explore the polar archipelago, which was largely unknown at the time. Jackson's maps significantly improved understanding of the polar regions. Fossils from the Jurassic period were also found at Cape Flora, indicating that a subtropical climate once existed in the Arctic. In June 1896, Jackson accidentally discovered Nansen and Johansen who had been isolated from civilization since March 1895. He sent them back to their homeland on the expedition ship "Windward" (later used by Robert Peary). Jackson covered a total of 1140 miles on Franz Josef Land, of which about 500 miles were accurately mapped. He documented his discoveries in the book "A Thousand Days in the Arctic" published in 1899. An island where Nansen and Johansen had wintered was named after Jackson (although he himself fell 35 nautical miles short of reaching it in March 1896).
Later Life and Military Service

Upon his return, Jackson was knighted with the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and awarded the Gold Medal by the Paris Geographical Society in 1899. During the Anglo-Boer War, he served in South Africa as part of the 5th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, where he rose to the rank of captain. In 1905, he transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Surrey Regiment and served in France during World War I. Due to injuries sustained by the entire officer corps, Jackson temporarily assumed command of the battalion. He retired as a major in 1917 but returned to service in 1918 as the commandant of a camp for German prisoners of war. Jackson was awarded the 1914 Star, the Victory Medal, and the British War Medal for his military service. After the war, he undertook several expeditions in Africa, including participating in the Trans-African Expedition along the Mashonaland parallel, Northern Rhodesia, and Rwanda-Urundi. He visited the source of the Nile, Zambezi, and Congo rivers, as well as explored the watershed between the Lualaba River and Lake Kivu. Jackson also served in the League of Nations and was appointed to investigate slave trade activities in Liberia. At the age of 69, he married for the second time and shocked his contemporaries by living in a floating house on the River Thames. Jackson passed away at the age of 78 and was buried in Berkshire. A memorial plaque in his honor was installed in St. Paul's Cathedral.