Tom Crean (explorer)

Thomas Crean was an Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer. He was a member of three major expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His 35-statute-mile solo walk across the Ross Ice Shelf to save the life of Edward Evans led to him receiving the Albert Medal. He died in 1938 at the age of 48, and was buried in Dublin, Ireland.

About Tom Crean (explorer) in brief

Thomas Crean (1877 – 27 July 1938) was an Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer. He enlisted in the Royal Navy at age 15 but lied about his age, as he had to be 16. Crean was a member of three major expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, including Robert Falcon Scott’s 1911–13 Terra Nova Expedition. His 35-statute-mile solo walk across the Ross Ice Shelf to save the life of Edward Evans led to him receiving the Albert Medal. After his experience on the Terra Nova, Crean’s third and final Antarctic venture was as second officer on Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. He died in 1938 at the age of 48, and was buried in Dublin, Ireland. He is buried at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. He was the son of Patrick and Catherine Crean, from Annascaul, County Kerry, Ireland, and brother of Michael Crean. He had 10 siblings, and attended the local Catholic school before leaving to help on the family farm when he was 12. In 1901, while serving on Ringarooma in New Zealand, he volunteered to join Scott’s 1901–04 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica, thus beginning his exploring career. He spent 492 days drifting on the ice before undertaking a journey in the ship’s lifeboats to Elephant Island. During the Antarctic winter of 1902–03, Discovery became locked in the ice and passed its way to 82°17’17’S.

The party of some members of the Efforts failed to free her during the summer of 1902, although some of the members of their party passed the furthest south mark, 78°50’S, until the southern party itself passed it on its way on the way to an eventual 82° 17’17″S. In 1903, he was one of the crew which made a small-boat journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island to seek aid for the stranded party. He also accompanied Lieutenant Michael Barne on three sledging trips across theRoss Ice Barrier, known as the \”Great Ice Barrier\”. These included the main party led by Barne which set out on 30 October 1902 to lay out depots in support of the main journey undertaken by Scott, Shackleton and Edward Wilson. In 1904, he became the first man-hauler to reach the southernmost point of the ice, which was then known as 12° 12’12″S, then 12°12’S’ Shelf. In 1905, he set a new record for the longest time spent in harness by a man-hauler, spending 149 days in harness. In 1907, he helped to set the record for longest time in harness in harness, with 149 days. In 1909, he led the party on a sledging trip from McMurdo Sound to the southern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, where they established a base from which they would launch scientific and exploratory sledging journeys.

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Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Discovery Expedition Australasian Antarctic Expedition Scottish National Antarctic Expedition