John Rae (
1813-
1893) was an Arctic
explorer, a native of
Stromness in the
Orkney Islands. After studying medicine at
Edinburgh and went into the service of the
Hudson Bay Company as a doctor. In
1846 he first ventured on an expedition, and in
1848 joined Sir
John Richardson[?] in searching for the
North West Passage[?]. In 1853, he was involved in exploring King William's Land, and made contact with the
Inuit. In
1860 he worked on the telegraph line to America, visiting
Iceland and
Greenland. In
1864 he made a further telegraph survey in the west of
Canada. He is buried in
St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall[?].