31 Facts About Adolphus Greely

Adolphus Washington Greely was a United States Army officer and polar explorer.

Adolphus Greely attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Adolphus Greely received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1863 and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1864 and captain in 1865.

In March 1887, Adolphus Greely was serving as a captain when President Grover Cleveland appointed him as the Army's Chief Signal Officer with the rank of brigadier general.

Adolphus Greely left the Army in 1908 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64.

In retirement, Adolphus Greely authored numerous magazine articles and books on his Arctic experiences.

Adolphus Greely was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on March 27,1844, the son of John Balch Greeley and Frances Dunn Cobb Adolphus Greely.

Adolphus Greely was educated in Newburyport and was an 1860 graduate of Brown High School.

Adolphus Greely was promoted to first lieutenant on 26 April 1864 and to captain on 4 April 1865.

Adolphus Greely was mustered out of the Volunteer Army on 22 March 1867.

From 1865 to 1867, Adolphus Greely took part in the post-war occupation of New Orleans.

Adolphus Greely was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 36th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army on 7 March 1867 and was reassigned to the 5th Cavalry Regiment on 14 July 1869 after the 36th Infantry was disbanded.

Adolphus Greely was detailed for service with the Signal Corps from 1871 to 1880, and he was promoted to first lieutenant on 27 May 1873.

Adolphus Greely's efforts helped establish the floodplains of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, which facilitated Corps of Engineers flood control projects.

In 1881, First Lieutenant Adolphus Greely was named to command the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition.

Adolphus Greely was without previous Arctic experience, but he and his party succeeded in discovering and exploring many much of the coast of northwest Greenland.

In 1882, Adolphus Greely sighted a mountain range during a dog sledding exploration to the interior of northern Ellesmere Island and named it the Conger Range.

Adolphus Greely's party ran into difficulty when two supply parties failed to reach Adolphus Greely's encampment at Fort Conger on Ellesmere Island in 1882 and 1883.

Adolphus Greely's team reached Cape Sabine expecting to find food and equipment left by the supply ships, but these had not been provided.

An exhibition on the Adolphus Greely expedition was part of the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and was captured on stereoscopic images.

Adolphus Greely represented the United States at the 1903 International Telegraph Congress in London and the 1903 International Wireless Telegraph Congress in Berlin.

In 1908, Adolphus Greely reached the mandatory retirement age of 64.

In 1890, Adolphus Greely was a founding member of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and was elected vice president.

Adolphus Greely was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Adolphus Greely was a member of the General Society of the War of 1812 and Grand Army of the Republic.

Fort Adolphus Greely, located 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, was named for Adolphus Greely in 1942.

An earlier Fort Greely, named for Adolphus Greely, was located on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

In 1878, Adolphus Greely married Henrietta Nesmith, and they remained married until her death in 1918.

Henrietta Adolphus Greely was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and one of the founding vice presidents general of the Children of the American Revolution.

Adolphus Greely was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Founder's Medal in 1886.

In 1886, Adolphus Greely received the Roquette Medal of the Societe de Geographie.