Israel, Edward

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ISRAEL, EDWARD

ISRAEL, EDWARD (1859–1884), U.S. astronomer and explorer. Israel was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and studied astronomy at the University of Michigan before volunteering to serve in the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition to Arctic Greenland under the command of A.W. Greely (1882–1884). When relief ships failed to get through to the party in the summers of 1882 and 1883, it sought to return on foot in what became a nightmarish trial of cold, hunger, and reported cannibalism that was survived by only 6 out of 25 men. Israel died and was buried on the way, eulogized for his "unswerving integrity during these months of agony."

bibliography:

A.L. Todd, Abandoned: The Story of the Greely Arctic Expedition, 188184 (1961).

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