Bartlett, Bob, 1875-1946

Robert "Bob" Abram Bartlett; Explorer; born August 15, 1875, Brigus, Newfoundland; died April 28, 1946, New York City; Newfoundland-born American Arctic explorer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Captain Bob Bartlett, shipmate and comrade of both Robert E. Peary and Donald B. MacMillan, was a steadfast and reliable member of the Arctic expeditions for which he captained the Roosevelt under the command of Peary. Bartlett himself also commanded many successful expeditions on his beloved ship the Effie M. Morrissey. Through these voyages, he contributed immensely to knowledge about the Arctic, since he placed the value of scientific research above that of pure exploration.

Robert Abram Bartlett was born on August 15, 1875 in Brigus, Newfoundland. At the age of fifteen his mother sent Bartlett to a Methodist college to become a minister, but the sea was in his blood. He preferred to work the six long years required to earn the right to captain a ship. After Bartlett was awarded his mariner's papers, his uncle, Captain John Bartlett, asked the new seaman to sign on with him as mate. John Bartlett had been sailing for Robert Peary on his Arctic expeditions since the early 1890s, and in 1898 Robert Bartlett went North for the first time on one of Peary's expeditions. He learned Inuit life and lore, and what is more, he befriended Peary and learned how to survive in the frozen lands.

Bartlett returned very committed to Arctic work. In 1905 Peary asked him to captain his new steamer the S.S. Roosevelt. Bartlett steered the vessel to 82°20', farther north than any ship had gone before under its own steam, but the expedition was nearly a disaster. Peary did not reach the Pole, and the Roosevelt suffered a string of serious mishaps, including terrible storms, fire, dynamite damage, and a broken rudder, that sorely tested Bartlett's ability to bring the expedition members safely back to New York.

1908 saw Bartlett again in charge of the Roosevelt as he accompanied Peary on his final attempt at the Pole. This time, Bartlett commanded the last supporting sledge party to turn back with excess dogs, men, and supplies. His party traveled as far as 87°48', 150 miles from the North Pole despite the fact that Bartlett's face and wrists were frostbitten. In recognition of his strength and determination, which were of great importance to the success of Peary's expedition, Bartlett received the Hubbard Medal, the highest award of the National Geographic Society, in 1909 ...

Robert Abram Bartlett; born 15 Aug 1875, Brigus, Avalon Peninsula Census Division, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; died 28 Apr 1946 (aged 70), Manhattan, New York, New York; gravestone also presents information for his parents: William James Bartlett, 1851-1931, and Mary Leamon Bartlett, 1852-1943