De Long, George Washington, 1844-1881

George W. DeLong of the United States Navy, left San Francisco, July 8, 1879; George Washington De Long; also George W. DeLong; August 22, 1844-October 31, 1881, was a United States Navy officer and explorer. He led the ill-fated Jeannette Expedition in search of the Open Polar Sea. Born August 22, 1844 in New York City; died October 31, 1881 in Siberia, Russia; educated at the United States Naval Academy, and graduated in 1865.

Born in New York City, he was educated at the United States Naval Academy, and graduated in 1865. In 1879, backed by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., owner of the New York Herald newspaper, and under the auspices of the US Navy, Lieutenant Commander De Long sailed from San Francisco, California on the ship USS Jeannette with a plan to find a quick way to the North Pole via the Bering Strait.

As well as collecting scientific data and animal specimens, De Long discovered three islands (the De Long Islands) and claimed them for the United States in the summer of 1881.(The US government did not endorse this claim, and the islands are under Russian jurisdiction.)

The ship became trapped in the ice pack in the Chukchi Sea northeast of Wrangel Island in September 1879. It drifted in the ice pack in a northwesterly direction until it was crushed in the shifting ice and sank on June 12, 1881 in the East Siberian Sea. De Long and his crew then traversed the ice pack to try to reach Siberia pulling three small boats. After reaching open water on September 11 they became separated and one boat, commanded by Executive Officer Charles W. Chipp, was lost; no trace of it was ever found. De Long's own boat reached land, but only two men sent ahead for aid survived. The third boat, under the command of Chief Engineer George W. Melville, reached the Lena delta and its crew were rescued.
The grave of George Washington De Long

De Long died of starvation near Matvay Hut, Yakutia, Siberia. Melville returned a few months later and found the bodies of De Long and his boat crew. Overall, the doomed voyage took the lives of twenty expedition members, as well as additional men lost during the search operations.

De Long and five of his men are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.