Research Catalog

Scott's forgotten surgeon : Dr. Reginald Koettlitz, polar explorer / Aubrey A. Jones.

Title: Scott's forgotten surgeon : Dr. Reginald Koettlitz, polar explorer / Aubrey A. Jones.
Author: Jones, Aubrey A.
Publication: Dunbeath, Scotland : Whittles Publishing, 2011.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	G585.K64 A83 2011	Off-site

Details

Description

xiv, 209 p. : ill., maps; 24 cm.

Summary

"As senior surgeon on board Discovery, Dr. Reginald Koettlitz played a vital role in the heroic period of polar exploration when Nansen, Amundsen, Shackleton and Scott dominated the headlines. He was awarded a medal by the Royal Geographical Society for his role in the Discovery Expedition, 1901-04. During the earlier successful three-year Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition to Franz Josef Land, Koettlitz fine-tuned his measures to prevent scurvy, became an experienced ski runner, dog and pony handler and expert in polar survival. These skills were available when Koettlitz was appointed senior surgeon on the Discovery Expedition led by Scott, but due to personal reasons and the inability to acknowledge Koettlitz's polar experience, both Scott's expeditions were beset by major life-threatening issues that Koettlitz had faced and resolved on Franz Josef Land. On the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition Scott and his four companions died on their failed attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole. In addition, Koettlitz travelled across north-east Africa from Berbera to Cairo on foot, mule and camel, crossing the Blue Nile to Khartoum shortly after the Battle of Omdurman. Before leaving for South Africa he assisted Shackleton in planning the Nimrod Expedition which almost resulted in the South Pole being reached. This well-researched account is enriched with previously unseen archive material such as correspondence with Nansen and photographs relating to polar history during the period 1890-1916."--Publisher description.

Subject

Genre/Form

Biography
Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references.

Processing Action (note)

committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Discovering Koettlitz -- Acknowledgements -- Part 1. Origins of the man -- 1. From Prussia to Dover -- 2. A practice in Durham -- 3. Frederick George Jackson -- Part 2. Early expeditions -- 4. Franz Josef Land and the Eira -- 5. The expedition sets out -- 6. The first winter at Cape Flora -- 7. Spring sledging operations commence -- 8. Russian roulette and heading west -- 9. Death nears the Mary Harmsworth -- 10. The second winter at Cape Flora -- 11. Jackson heads north once more -- 12. An historic moment -- 13. The final year at Cape Flora -- 14. The geology of Franz Josef Land -- Part 3. Through Africa and South America -- 15. Weld Blundell Expedition to Africa -- 16. For England and St. George -- 17. Homeward bound -- 18. Planning for the Antarctic -- 19. Liverpool to Manaos -- 20. The Antarctic beckons -- Part 4. Antarctica -- 21. To the South -- 22. Through the Southern Ocean -- 23. The first winter on Antarctica -- 24. Sledging season 1902-1903 -- 25. Shackleton's departure -- 26. The mystery of colour photography -- 27. The second winter and surgery -- 28. The release of the discovery -- Part 5. Return to Africa -- 29. Final days in England -- 30. The rural doctor and farmer -- 31. Death of an explorer -- Appendices -- Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition to Franz Josef Land 1894-1897 -- Herbert Weld Blundell Expedition to North East Africa 1898-1899 -- National Antarctic Expedition 1901-1904 -- First colour photographs of the Antarctic continent by Dr. Reginald Koettlitz 1902-1904 -- Index.

ISBN

1849950385
9781849950381

OCLC

728840658
SCSB-13266520

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library