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Richardson (SIR JOHN a British naturalist)

SIR JOHN, a British naturalist and Arctic traveler; born in Dumfries, Scotland, Nov. 5, 1787. After studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh he entered the royal navy, in 1807, as assistant-surgeon. He served on various stations till 1819, and was surgeon and naturalist to the Arctic expeditions of 1819-1822 and 1825-1827, under Sir John Franklin, exploring on the latter occasion the shores of the Arctic Ocean between the Mackenzie and Coppermine rivers. He wrote " Geognostical Observations" as an appendix to the "Narrative" published by Franklin (1829, London), and edited, along with Kirby and Swainson, the "Fauna Boreali-Americana" (4 vols. 1829-1837). In 1838 he was appointed physician to the fleet, and in 1846 was knighted. In March, 1848, he took charge of an expedition to search for Franklin, and on his return published "The Arctic Searching Expedition" (1851) and "The Polar Regions" (1861).

He died near Grasmere, England, June 5, 1865.