
Walter Wellman, standing on deck of airship
'Walter Wellman' (
1858–
1934) was an
American journalist, explorer, and aëronaut, born at
Mentor, Ohio, and educated in the public schools.
In 1879 he founded the
Cincinnati ''Evening Post'', and after 1884 was the
Washington correspondent successively of the
Chicago ''Herald'' and then the ''Times-Herald''.
His itchy feet got the best of him in the 1890s. He traveled to the
Bahamas in 1892, seeking the landfall of
Columbus. In 1894, he traveled north of
Spitzbergen, reaching the latitude of 81°N.
In 1898-1899, he led another expedition to the
Arctic regions. He made a dash for the
North pole in 1899, but failed due to an accident. From 1906 he employed balloons in several attempts to explore the Arctic regions. In 1910, with five companions, he made a daring attempt to cross the
Atlantic in the
airship ''America''. The attempt failed and the men were plucked from the ocean about 375 miles (603 km) from
Cape Hatteras by a passing steamship.
Publications
★ Michael Robinson, The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2006)
External links
★
Attempt to North Pole by airship (1906)