Editing Frederick George Jackson

{{Short description|English Arctic explorer}}
{{other people||Frederick Jackson (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Frederick George Jackson portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|Jackson in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', September 1898]]
'''Frederick George Jackson''' (6 March 1860 &ndash; 13 March 1938) was an English [[Arctic]] explorer remembered for his expedition to [[Franz Josef Land]], when he located the missing Norwegian explorer [[Fridtjof Nansen]].

== Biography ==

=== Early life ===
Jackson was born the son of George Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Jackson at Alcester Lodge, [[Alcester]], Warwickshire, England and educated at [[Denstone College]] in [[Staffordshire]] and [[Edinburgh University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldsams.info/dutch/link_jacksonbio_NL.html|title=Frederick George Jackson (1860-1938), short biography|accessdate=13 August 2013}}</ref>

=== Career ===
His first voyage in Arctic waters was on a whaling cruise in 1886–1887, and in 1893 he made a sledge-journey of 3000 miles across the frozen [[tundra]] of [[Siberia]] lying between the [[Ob River|Ob]] and the [[Pechora River|Pechora]]. His narrative of this journey was published under the title of ''The Great Frozen Land'' (1895).<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Jackson, Frederick George |volume=15 |page=110 |inline=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first= Frederick George| last= Jackson| year= 1895| title= The Great Frozen Land| url= https://archive.org/details/cu31924030983427|publisher= Macmillan & Co| location= London }}</ref>

==== Jackson–Harmsworth expedition ====
[[File:No-nb bldsa 1c009.jpg|thumb|upright|In winter gear, 1896]]
On his return, he was given the command of the [[Jackson–Harmsworth expedition]] of 1894.<ref name=EB1911/> Sponsored by the [[Royal Geographical Society]], this expedition was to conduct general exploration of [[Franz Josef Land]]. Whilst leading this expedition, Jackson and his men met by chance on 17 June 1896 the Norwegian arctic explorer [[Fridtjof Nansen]] and his companion [[Hjalmar Johansen]], who had not been heard of for three years and were presumed dead, but were in fact trying to reach [[Spitsbergen]] by kayak. Jackson informed him that they were in fact on Franz Josef Land, and with Jackson's help, Nansen and Johansen returned home aboard the expedition's supply ship ''Windward'' on 7 August. Jackson and his party wintered at their camp according to plan.<ref>{{cite book| first= Fridtjof| last= Nansen| year= 1897| title= Farthest North| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0EITAAAAYAAJ|volume = 2| pages = 522–577| publisher= Harper & Brothers| location= New York }}</ref>

The Jackson–Harmsworth expedition proved that Franz Josef Land is nothing more than an archipelago of small islands.

In recognition of his services he received a [[knighthood]] of the first class of the Norwegian Royal Order of St Olaf in 1898, and was awarded the gold medal of the Paris Geographical Society in 1899. His account of the expedition was published under the title of ''A Thousand Days in the Arctic''&nbsp;(1899).<ref name=EB1911/><ref>{{cite book| first= Frederick George| last= Jackson| year= 1899| title= A Thousand Days in the Arctic| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gtoBAAAAYAAJ|volume = 2|publisher= Harper & Brothers| location= New York }}</ref>

=== Later career ===
Jackson was commissioned as an officer in the [[3rd (6th Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, Manchester Regiment|5th (Militia) Battalion, Manchester Regiment]] as a [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 5 March 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27175 |page=1883 |date=20 March 1900}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=JACKSON, Capt. Frederick George|magazine=Who's Who|year=1907|volume= 59|pages=917–918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA918}}</ref> He saw active service in [[South Africa]] during the [[Second Boer War]], and following the end of the war, he stayed on as a militia officer in the battalion.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27465 |date=15 August 1902|page=5335|supp=}}</ref> He transferred to the 4th Battalion, [[East Surrey Regiment]] in 1905, serving in the [[First World War]] and reaching the rank of [[Major (rank)|Major]]. He resigned his commission in 1917. After being invalided home he commanded Southwark Recruiting District for two years, followed by commands of a number of prisoner of war camps in Germany.

His travels also include a journey across the [[Deserts of Australia|Australian deserts]].<ref name=EB1911/>

He is buried in the churchyard of [[St Michael and St Mary Magdalene]] at [[Easthampstead]] in [[Berkshire]], and there is a memorial plaque on the wall of the church near the front.

One of the headlands discovered on the expedition was named St Chad's Head (Denstone College was originally called St Chad's College), and the sledge used was presented to Denstone College.<ref>''The Denstonian'', March 1927</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Frederick George Jackson |sopt=t}}
* [http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/personalities/p003.html Frederick George Jackson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003042501/http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/personalities/p003.html |date=3 October 2008 }}, Brief bio from homepage of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055836/http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb015-frederickjackson Frederick George Jackson], Entry in Archives Hub

{{Polar exploration}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Frederick George}}
[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1938 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:Burials in Berkshire]]
[[Category:People from Alcester]]
[[Category:People educated at Denstone College]]
[[Category:Lancashire Militia officers]]
[[Category:Manchester Regiment officers]]
[[Category:East Surrey Regiment officers]]
[[Category:English explorers]]
[[Category:British explorers of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Franz Josef Land]]
[[Category:People from Bracknell]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:English polar explorers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Warwickshire]]