Henry Grinnell
Encyclopedia
Henry Grinnell was an American merchant
and philanthropist
.
mpany, a firm whose operations were greatly expanded by its entry into the general shipping business. This company became one of the strongest mercantile houses in New York City.
Henry Grinnell retired in 1850, around the time that he became very interested in the fate of the lost Franklin Polar Expedition
. For the remainder of his life he corresponded regularly with Lady Jane Franklin and others interested in solving the mystery, as well as promoting and funding several expeditions.
The first of these expeditions
was in 1850, when he purchased and loaned to the United States Navy
the brigs Rescue
and Advance
to search the Arctic under the overall command of Lieutenant Edwin De Haven
. After these vessels returned unsuccessful, he funded a second expedition
with the Advance under Elisha Kent Kane which explored the region named Grinnell Land
off the north-western coast of Greenland
between 1853 and 1855, when the vessel, hopelessly beset in the ice, was abandoned.
In 1856, Grinnell was instrumental in having the recently salvaged HMS Resolute restored at the expense of the United States government, and returned to Great Britain
as a good-will gesture. This was partly in the hope that the vessel would be used for a further search for the Franklin expedition.
On later occasions, Grinnell manifested his unabated interest in polar exploration by contributing to the voyage of Isaac Israel Hayes
in 1860, and the three expeditions of Charles Francis Hall
between 1860 and 1870. He was also a regular correspondent with the writer and unsuccessful explorer William Parker Snow
.
Henry Grinnell was also one of the founders of the American Geographical and Statistical Society
.
made from timbers from the recently demolished HMS Resolute. His son Henry Walton Grinnell
(November 19, 1843 – September 2, 1920) went on to have a distinguished naval career, while a daughter Sylvia (born 1838) married William Fitzherbert Ruxton (born 1830) who became an admiral in the British Royal Navy.
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Career
In 1818, Grinnell moved to New York City where he became a clerk in the commission house of H.D. & E.B. Sewell. He married Sarah Minturn in 1822. In 1825, Henry joined his brother Joseph Grinnell in Fish, Grinnell & Company. A few years later, with the addition of Henry's brother-in-law, this became Grinnell, Minturn & CoGrinnell, Minturn & Co
Grinnell, Minturn & Co. was one of the leading transatlantic shipping companies in the middle 19th century. It is probably best known today as being the owner and operator of the Flying Cloud, arguably the greatest of the clipper ships.-History:...
mpany, a firm whose operations were greatly expanded by its entry into the general shipping business. This company became one of the strongest mercantile houses in New York City.
Henry Grinnell retired in 1850, around the time that he became very interested in the fate of the lost Franklin Polar Expedition
Franklin's lost expedition
Franklin's lost expedition was a doomed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845. A Royal Navy officer and experienced explorer, Franklin had served on three previous Arctic expeditions, the latter two as commanding officer...
. For the remainder of his life he corresponded regularly with Lady Jane Franklin and others interested in solving the mystery, as well as promoting and funding several expeditions.
The first of these expeditions
First Grinnell Expedition
The First Grinnell Expedition of 1850 was the first American effort, financed by Henry Grinnell, to determine the fate of the lost Franklin Polar Expedition. Led by Lieutenant Edwin De Haven, the...
was in 1850, when he purchased and loaned to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
the brigs Rescue
USS Rescue (1850)
The first USS Rescue was a brig in service with the United States Navy.The brigs Rescue and , specially reinforced and fitted out for Arctic service, were offered on loan to the U.S. Government by Henry Grinnell in 1850 for use in a rescue mission tracing the ill-fated expedition which, in May...
and Advance
USS Advance (1850)
The first USS Advance was a brigantine in the United States Navy which participated in an arctic rescue expedition. Advance was built in 1847 as Augusta in New Kent County, Virginia and loaned to the Navy on 7 May 1850 by Mr. Henry Grinnell to participate in the search for Sir John Franklin's...
to search the Arctic under the overall command of Lieutenant Edwin De Haven
Edwin De Haven
Edwin Jesse De Haven was a United States Navy officer and explorer of the first half of the 19th century.He was born in Philadelphia and became a midshipman at the age of 10, serving until 1857...
. After these vessels returned unsuccessful, he funded a second expedition
Second Grinnell Expedition
The Second Grinnell Expedition of 1853 was an American effort, financed by Henry Grinnell, to determine the fate of the Franklin's lost expedition. Led by Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the team explored areas northwest of Greenland, now called Grinnell Land...
with the Advance under Elisha Kent Kane which explored the region named Grinnell Land
Grinnell Land
Grinnell Land is the central section of Ellesmere Island in the northernmost part of Nunavut territory in Canada. It was named for Henry Grinnell, a shipping magnate from New York, who in the 1850s helped finance two expeditions to search for Franklin's lost expedition.The name was given by...
off the north-western coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
between 1853 and 1855, when the vessel, hopelessly beset in the ice, was abandoned.
In 1856, Grinnell was instrumental in having the recently salvaged HMS Resolute restored at the expense of the United States government, and returned to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as a good-will gesture. This was partly in the hope that the vessel would be used for a further search for the Franklin expedition.
On later occasions, Grinnell manifested his unabated interest in polar exploration by contributing to the voyage of Isaac Israel Hayes
Isaac Israel Hayes
Isaac Israel Hayes was an Arctic explorer and physician.Hayes was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania. After completing his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Hayes signed on as ship's surgeon for an 1853-5 expedition led by Elisha Kent Kane to search for John Franklin...
in 1860, and the three expeditions of Charles Francis Hall
Charles Francis Hall
Charles Francis Hall was an American Arctic explorer. Little is known of Hall's early life. He was born in the state of Vermont, but while he was still a child his family moved to Rochester, New Hampshire, where, as a boy, he was apprenticed to a blacksmith. In the 1840s he married and drifted...
between 1860 and 1870. He was also a regular correspondent with the writer and unsuccessful explorer William Parker Snow
William Parker Snow
-Early life:William Parker Snow was born at Poole, England on 27 November 1817, the eldest son of Lieutenant William John Snow , a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812,and Harriet nee Parker...
.
Henry Grinnell was also one of the founders of the American Geographical and Statistical Society
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world...
.
Personal life
He died in 1874. In 1880, the British Government presented his widow with a lady's deskResolute desk
The Resolute desk is a large, nineteenth-century partners' desk often chosen by presidents of the United States for use in the White House Oval Office as the Oval Office desk. It was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 and was built from the timbers of the British...
made from timbers from the recently demolished HMS Resolute. His son Henry Walton Grinnell
Henry Walton Grinnell
Henry Walton Grinnell , known as Walton Grinnell, was a naval veteran of the American Civil War and the Spanish-American war. He became a rear admiral and Inspector-General in the Imperial Japanese Navy and served at the battle of the Yalu River in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95...
(November 19, 1843 – September 2, 1920) went on to have a distinguished naval career, while a daughter Sylvia (born 1838) married William Fitzherbert Ruxton (born 1830) who became an admiral in the British Royal Navy.