Adolphus Washington Greely (1844-1935), American soldier, Arctic explorer, and writer, is remembered for his ill-fated expedition to the Arctic in 1881-1884.

Born in Newburyport, Mass., on March 24, 1844, Adolphus Greely enlisted in the Civil War in 1861, serving valorously. Afterward he joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and he directed the erection of military telegraph lines from Texas to California and from the Dakotas to Washington Territory.

A serious student of meteorology, and influenced by a fellow officer's promotion of polar exploration, Greely devoured the literature of the Arctic and determined to lead an expedition there. When Congress, in 1881, authorized American participation in the International Polar Year project to establish numerous circumpolar observation stations, Greely, by virtue of his experience, scientific background, and interest, was chosen to command the U.S. mission.

Greely's party of 25 landed in northern Grinnell Land in August 1881 and established Ft. Conger, sending their ship...