Evelyn Briggs Baldwin.
Evelyn B. Baldwin, the well-known arctic explorer, was born in Springfield, Missouri, July 2, 1862. He is the son of Elias Briggs Baldwin, who served with distinction during the Civil war. The subject of this sketch was educated at the public schools in Dupage county, Illinois, and, on graduating from the Northwestern college, Naperville, Illinois, taught in district schools for some time. After an experience as professional pedestrian and bicyclist in Europe, he returned to this country and was appointed principal of high schools and superintendent of city schools in Kansas. Next we hear of him as attached to the United States weather bureau and becoming inspector-at-large of the signal corps of the United States army. In 1883 he was a member of the Peary expedition to North Greenland in the capacity of meteorologist. In 1897 he made a voyage to the Andree balloon station in Spitzbergen, hoping to join that ill-fated scientist, but arrived a few days too late. In 1898 he accompanied Wellman’s polar expedition as meteorologist, and secured valuable data in connection with same. He also organized and commanded the Baldwin-Ziegler polar expedition in 1901. He is the author of several works on arctic exploration and is the member of a number of scientific societies.