During the first half of the nineteenth century British explorers eagerly sought the Northwest Passage, making great advances in exploring and charting polar regions. Polar Pioneers is the story of John Ross and his nephew James Clark Ross, British naval officers who made important contributions to world exploration.

In 1818 John Ross led an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage. He got as far as Baffin Bay, but when he reached the only practicable entrance to the passage he declared it to be no more than a bay enclosed by mountains. In subsequent years he was widely derided for that error and carried the scars of public and professional humiliation for the rest of his life.

In 1829 he mounted a private expedition to search for the passage, during which he became trapped in the Canadian Arctic and survived a four-year ordeal of isolation and hardship. He proved that whatever his shortcomings as an explorer, he could never be accused of lacking courage.

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James Clark Ross was one of the most experienced and respected explorers of his day. He led or took part in eight expeditions to the Arctic, including John Ross's 1818 and 1829 expeditions and three with the great explorer William Edward Parry. He also led a highly successful scientific expedition to the Antarctic in 1839-43.

His many important discoveries included locating the North Magnetic Pole, and he ensured the presence of the Ross family name throughout both polar regions: Ross Island, Ross Ice Shelf, and Ross Sea in the Antarctic; James Ross Strait, Ross Bay, Ross Point, and Rossoya in the Arctic.