- A-10758
- Item
- Sept. 1975
Head and shoulders image of Graham W. Rowley, Arctic explorer; likely taken at the time of the presentation of an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by the University of Saskatchewan.
Bio/Historical Note: Graham Westbrook Rowley was born in 1912 in Manchester, England. He attended Clare College, Cambridge, and received his BA from the University of Cambridge in 1934 and his MA from the same institution in 1936. From 1936-1939, Rowley engaged in an archaeological excavation in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. During this time, he discovered new islands in Fox Basin, carried out the original exploration of the Baffin Island coast, crossed Baffin Island by a new route, and excavated the first major site in Dorset culture. Because of his work with the Inuit and Dorset peoples, Rowley had a large island and river in the Arctic named after him. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Rowley was awarded the Society's prestigious Massey Medal in 1963 for his geographical work. As a scientist with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the early 1970s, he created a training program for Northern scientists and developed ground and air support services for scientific groups working in the Arctic. He was made an honourary member of the American Polar Society in 1985, due to his countless advancements and discoveries in the field. Rowley died in Ottawa in 2003.