Mackay, Alister Forbes, 1878-1914

Alister Forbes Mackay was born in Argyllshire, Scotland in 1877. He served as a trooper in the South African War before joining the Royal Navy as surgeon. In 1907, he was selected for the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909 (leader Ernest Henry Shackleton), as surgeon. In March 1908, Mackay was a member of the party making the first ascent of Mount Erebus (3794 metres). Shackleton decided that one of the major journeys during the coming months should be to the South Magnetic Pole, and in October 1908, a party consisting of Mackay, Edgeworth David and Douglas Mawson, set out westward across McMurdo Sound in an attempt to reach it. On 16 January 1909, the three men reached the near vicinity of the Magnetic Pole, taking possession of Victoria Land for Britain.

Mackay joined the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-1918 (leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson), as surgeon in Karluk . The vessel was originally attached to the Northern Division of this expedition, and assigned the role of establishing a base for Stefansson and the scientists on the north-western fringe of the Canadian Arctic archipelago. However, after transporting Stefansson to Alaska, Karluk became beset in the ice and sank. Led by the ship's captain Bob Bartlett, a camp was established on the ice at the site of the wreck. In February 1914, Mackay left with three companions in an attempt to reach land, and was last seen approaching Herald Island.

From the guide to the Alister Forbes Mackay collection, 1909, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)