1813-1893
 John Rae was a Scottish explorer , Surveyor and a Surgeon who explored the Canadian Arctic .Rae
was born in Stromness , Orkney islands  , in the Clestrain House , on the 30th of September 1813 . John Rae went to school from when he was 15 years old, till he was 21 years of age (1829-1835)  . He went to the University of Edinburgh , there he studied medicine . Rae joined the Hudson Bay Company .There he was a Physician . Between 1846 and 1854 he was involved in 3 expeditions to explore the Canadian Northwest Territories . He  would survey the route across theCanadian Rockies for a telegraph line .Rae also made another linking to Britain with the USA ,Via the  Faroe Islands and then Iceland .Rae had wrote a book about a journey from Fort Churchill to the Gulf of Bottthia .This book is called the “Narrative of an Exploration of the shores of the Arctic Seas”, (1850).Rae had lived also in Moose Fort from 1835 to 1845. Though Rae’s  life,  he had a voyage in which accompanied by a man with the name of  Sir John Richardson, to find the lost Sir John Franklin who had disappeared  together with his crew on an Arctic Expedition . They had looked for him along the Mackenzie River right to the Coppermine River .Rae was also in charged of another voyage in which he chose a route by Great Bear Lake  to Coppermine River tracing unexplored coastline of the Southern shores of Victoria and the wollaston lands,  about 630 miles . Rae also found out  that Wollaston Lands is actually an island  .He had about 3 trips  altogether 1848-1851, 1851 and 1853-1854 tying to find Sir John Franklin and his crew . On the third journey that Rae made, he was determined that  Sir  John Franklin and his expedition had died of starvation and or exposure of in the   Arctic. Eskimos at Pelly’s Bay had  told Rae about Sir John Franklin and his crew ‘s fate .   During these Arctic expedition Rae walked over 23,000 miles or  37,000 km  .  Rae had  found two pieces of wood ,he though it was probably from Sir John Franklin ‘s vessels (ships).On a trip, Rae went to Repulse bay ,while doing so he found a new river which falls into Chesterfield inlet .The
following spring , after travelling 1100 miles, he was the first to discovered the first traces of Sir John
Franklin and his party , he was payed  ££10,000 by the English government .Rae purchased from the
Esquimaux  numerous relies ,among   which were Sir John Franklin’s cross of Knighthood , a gold cap band, several watches, silver spoons and forks and a coin . In 1860 he took charge of a survey for laying out a cable between England and America ,via Faroe ,Iceland and Greenland . In  1864 Rae constructed a telegraph survey from the Pacific coast though the British territory and crossing though the Rocky mountains about a latitude of 53°?. Rae had received the founder’s gold medal of the royal geographical society of London . Rae received the degree of LL.D from the University of Edinburgh and that of M.D. from McGill collage ,Montreal in 1880 . Rae was also a member of the Natural history society of that city and of the other distinguished societies  .Rae later retired at London .Before Rae died ,he left some instructions where he wanted to be buried , he wanted to be buried in St..Magnus’s Cathedral ,Orkney .John Rae died in London in 1893 .
 

*Rae John (online) available at : http://www.Enchantedlearning.com

*Rae John (online) available at:http://www.famousamericans.net/johnrae/

*Rae John (online) available at :http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0840957.html