Set of 4: 1986 22c Explorers

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USA22 POLE, 28 1986 Adolphus W. Greely 99705 NORTH POL USA22 28 1986 Vilhjalmur Stefansson 99705 POL USA22 28 1986 Robert E. Peary, Matthew Henson 99705 NORTH tand POLE USA22 28 1986 Elisha Kent Kane 99705 NORTH

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ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON GREELY First Day of Issue: May 28, 1986 First Issue Location: North Pole, Alaska In 1881, Congress authorized American participation in the International Polar Year project, which would estab- lish numerous circumpolar observation stations. A retired Civil War Soldier named Adolphus Washington Greely, was unanimously chosen to command the U.S. mission. Greely and his party of twenty-five men landed on north- ern Grinnell Land in the Arctic Sea in August 1881. Within a few months Greely's expedition had charted the outlines of Grinnell Land, and obtained meteorolog- ical and magnetic data, while three men from the party reached 83°24'N, setting a new record for the farthest northern exploration. After relief ships failed to return in 1882, Greely followed his original orders and began a hazardous 200-mile trek to Cape Sabine. The party win- tered at the Cape until rescue ships arrived in June 1884. After returning to New York, Greely's party was hailed as heroic Arctic explorers. In 1935, Greely received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his contributions to polar exploration. No. 86-58 ©1986 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by Tom McNeely. VILHJALMUR STEFANSSON First Day of Issue: May 28, 1986 First Issue Location: North Pole, Alaska In 1906, Vilhjalmur Stefansson began his polar explora- tions as an ethnologist on an expedition to the Canadian Arctic. Although the journey northward was forced back when the expedition ship was unable to penetrate the thick Arctic ice, Stefansson chose to remain behind for a year and live with the Eskimos. After learning their way of life, Stefansson was convinced that modern man could live like the Eskimos in the frozen north. When he returned in 1913, Stefansson was appointed comman- der of the Canadian Arctic Expedition. This party re- mained in the frozen Arctic for over five years, longer than any other polar explorers before them. Upon his return to the States, Stefansson began lecturing about life in the Arctic, and although retired from exploration, he began serving in an advisory capacity with the different organizations concerned with the Arctic. Stefansson made no spectacular geographical discoveries, although he proved that man can survive and live on the frozen lands of the Arctic regions. No. 86-59 ©1986 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by Tom McNeely. ROBERT E. PEARY & MATTHEW A. HENSON First Day of Issue: May 28, 1986 First Issue Location: North Pole, Alaska Robert Peary's interest in exploration was first sparked when he came upon a paper describing the inland ice of Greenland. The vast interior of Greenland was still unexplored, and Peary became fired with ambition to cross the treacherous inland ice. In June 1891, Peary and his trusted assistant, Matthew Henson, made their first expedition. After hiking an incredible 1,300 miles into the isolated regions of northeastern Greenland, the party returned to New York. Peary and Henson's plans for the next expedition were to reach the North Pole. They departed from New York in July 1898, and by January 1899, had only reached 84°17'N, and the brave explorers were forced to retreat. After years of unsuccess- ful attempts, Peary and Henson embarked on their final expedition north. With twenty-four men, nineteen sledges, and 133 dogs, the party headed for the Pole. After reaching the 88th parallel, Peary and Henson realized their ultimate goal on April 6 when they reached the 90th parallel — the North Pole was conquered. No. 86-60 1986 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by Tom McNeely. ELISHA KENT KANE First Day of Issue: May 28, 1986 First Issue Location: North Pole, Alaska Born in 1820, Elisha Kent Kane became a naval officer, physician, explorer and pioneer of the American route to the North Pole. He entered college in 1842, and graduated from medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. Kane passed his medical examinations and in 1850 enlisted as an assistant surgeon with the United States Coast Survey — a government expedition searching the Arctic for Sir John Franklin, who had been missing since 1842. After returning unsuccessfully to New York in 1851, Kane immediately launched plans for a new expedition. Two years later, a second expe- dition left New York with Kane in command. After pas- sing through the northern portals of Smith Sound, the ship entered the unknown waters of what is now called Kane Basin. The way north was icebound, and the expe- dition wintered at Rensselaer Bay until the spring thaw. No trace of Franklin's party was ever found ... but Elisha Kent Kane led the way in chartering Kane Basin and discovered the famed Kennedy Entrance. No. 86-57 1986 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by Tom McNeely.