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Mutiny, murder and cannibalism: Terrence Cole to present free public lecture about A.W. Greely FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2008
Terrence Cole, director of the Office of Public History at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will give a free public presentation on Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in the Westmark Gold Room as part of the International Polar Year lecture series. The illustrated slide show, titled “Mutiny, Murder and Cannibalism: The Tragic Tale of A.W. Greely, the Man Who Connected Nome to the Outside World,” will tell the story of the tragic hero of the Arctic who failed as an explorer, but ultimately built a telegraph that helped to keep Nome alive.
A.W. Greely was the leader of an 1881-1884 Arctic expedition in the first IPY, what was later considered the most disastrous chapter in the history of American exploration of the far north. Nineteen of the 25 men in Greely’s crew died of starvation, and six of the men who survived, including Greely, would be haunted forever by charges of cowardice, cannibalism and murder. Despite all of this, Greely managed to become an esteemed military man, a Major General and head of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, which could boast among its achievements the linking of Nome, AK, which had previously been the most isolated city under the American flag, to the outside world via telegraph.
Cole earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at UAF and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington. He is currently the director of the UAF Office of Pubic History and Professor of History at UAF.
For more information contact Cherie Solie, c.solie@uaf.edu or 907-474-6264 or Jenn Wagaman, jenn@alaska.edu or 907-474-5082.
About IPY
The Polar regions have profound significance for the Earth's climate and environments, ecosystems and human society. IPY is an interdisciplinary and internationally coordinated research campaign, ushering in a new era of polar science. For more information on IPY, visit http://www.ipy.alaska.edu |
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