Thomas Henry Manning
Encyclopedia
Thomas Henry Manning, OC
(1911-1998) was a British-Canadian Arctic
explorer, biologist
, geographer
, zoologist
, and author. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada
, Manning held the positions of Vice-Chairman and Executive Director of the Arctic Institute of North America
. Nicknamed the Lone Wolf of the Arctic, he was known for traveling alone with dog sled and canoe.
, England. He was educated at Harrow School
and Cambridge University.
In the summer of 1931, he traveled in Iceland
and the Faroe Islands
. The following year, he hiked from France to Norway, then hiked and rode reindeer through Sweden and Finland. After arriving in the former U.S.S.R, he was arrested and imprisoned, before being deported.
's Southampton Island
. Here, he surveyed and conducted geographical research for the Royal Geographical Society, and studied birds for the British Museum
. Three years later, he led the British-Canadian Arctic Expedition, serving as the expedition's surveyor and zoologist.
In 1941, Manning was commissioned as a lieutenant with the Royal Canadian Navy
. He worked as a cipher
officer and developed arctic clothing. In 1942, he was seconded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consult on the construction of an airfield on Southhampton Island, and in 1944, he was seconded to the Geodetic Service of Canada for photo surveys. He retired from military service as a lieutenant commander in 1945.
After the war, Manning worked for the Canadian Geodetic Survey, Defence Research Board, National Museum of Canada, and the Canadian Wildlife Service
. He led several expeditions during this time. Manning was director of the Arctic Institute of North America in 1955-1956.
He was mentor to and lifelong friend of the zoologist, Andrew Hall Macpherson. For several years, the wildlife artist Brenda Carter worked as Manning's research assistant.
, she received his proposal in April 1938. Three months later, "Jackie" arrived in Cape Dorset, and they were married. They honeymooned for a year and a half while mapping Baffin Island
, and gathering bird specimens. They traveled in Manning's small boat, the Polecat, stocked with flour, butter, jam, milk, tobacco, pemmican, 800 litres of fuel, seven dogs, four puppies, and a sled. Years later, Ella published two books with accounts of their travels, Igloo for the night (1946), and A summer on Hudson Bay. (1949). They separated amicably in the late 1960s, but did not divorce.
In his later years, Manning donated his collection of several thousand books to the Baffin Island
Inuit
community in Iqaluit; the Thomas Manning collection is housed at its Centennial Library. Before his death, he donated $645,000 to the Scott Polar Research Institute
at Cambridge University's Shackleton
Memorial Library where the Thomas H. Manning Polar Archives are named in his honor.
Manning died 8 November 1998 at a hospital in Smiths Falls, Ontario
near his farm at Merrickville
, Canada. Through his estate, a $25,000 bequest was made to the Merrickville Historical Society to assist in archives conservation.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(1911-1998) was a British-Canadian Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
explorer, biologist
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, geographer
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, and author. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, Manning held the positions of Vice-Chairman and Executive Director of the Arctic Institute of North America
Arctic Institute of North America
The Arctic Institute of North America is mandated to study the North American and circumpolar Arctic in the areas of natural science, social science, arts and the humanities. In addition, it acquires, preserves and disseminates information on environmental, physical, and social conditions in the...
. Nicknamed the Lone Wolf of the Arctic, he was known for traveling alone with dog sled and canoe.
Early years
Manning, son of a well-to-do farmer and a well-known cricketer, was born 11 December, 1911 in Dalling, NorthamptonNorthampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, England. He was educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Cambridge University.
In the summer of 1931, he traveled in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. The following year, he hiked from France to Norway, then hiked and rode reindeer through Sweden and Finland. After arriving in the former U.S.S.R, he was arrested and imprisoned, before being deported.
Career
In 1933, Manning travelled to Hudson BayHudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
's Southampton Island
Southampton Island
Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...
. Here, he surveyed and conducted geographical research for the Royal Geographical Society, and studied birds for the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. Three years later, he led the British-Canadian Arctic Expedition, serving as the expedition's surveyor and zoologist.
In 1941, Manning was commissioned as a lieutenant with the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
. He worked as a cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
officer and developed arctic clothing. In 1942, he was seconded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consult on the construction of an airfield on Southhampton Island, and in 1944, he was seconded to the Geodetic Service of Canada for photo surveys. He retired from military service as a lieutenant commander in 1945.
After the war, Manning worked for the Canadian Geodetic Survey, Defence Research Board, National Museum of Canada, and the Canadian Wildlife Service
Canadian Wildlife Service
The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS is a branch of the Department of the Environment, also known as Environment Canada, a department of the Government of Canada....
. He led several expeditions during this time. Manning was director of the Arctic Institute of North America in 1955-1956.
He was mentor to and lifelong friend of the zoologist, Andrew Hall Macpherson. For several years, the wildlife artist Brenda Carter worked as Manning's research assistant.
Personal life
Manning met Ella Wallace Jackson (1906-2006), a nurse, only once, in 1935. Sent via Morse codeMorse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
, she received his proposal in April 1938. Three months later, "Jackie" arrived in Cape Dorset, and they were married. They honeymooned for a year and a half while mapping Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
, and gathering bird specimens. They traveled in Manning's small boat, the Polecat, stocked with flour, butter, jam, milk, tobacco, pemmican, 800 litres of fuel, seven dogs, four puppies, and a sled. Years later, Ella published two books with accounts of their travels, Igloo for the night (1946), and A summer on Hudson Bay. (1949). They separated amicably in the late 1960s, but did not divorce.
In his later years, Manning donated his collection of several thousand books to the Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
community in Iqaluit; the Thomas Manning collection is housed at its Centennial Library. Before his death, he donated $645,000 to the Scott Polar Research Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge ....
at Cambridge University's Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
Memorial Library where the Thomas H. Manning Polar Archives are named in his honor.
Manning died 8 November 1998 at a hospital in Smiths Falls, Ontario
Smiths Falls, Ontario
Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the census division for Lanark County, but is considered a separated town and does not participate in county government...
near his farm at Merrickville
Merrickville-Wolford, Ontario
Merrickville–Wolford is a village-status municipality in Eastern Ontario, Canada, located in Leeds and Grenville United Counties. It spans both shores of the Rideau River....
, Canada. Through his estate, a $25,000 bequest was made to the Merrickville Historical Society to assist in archives conservation.
Awards
- 1944, Bruce Medal, Royal Scottish Geographical SocietyRoyal Scottish Geographical SocietyThe Royal Scottish Geographical Society is a learned society founded in 1884 and based in Perth. The Society has a membership of 2500 and aims to advance the science of geography worldwide by supporting education, research, expeditions, through its journal , its newsletter and other publications...
and Royal Philosophical Society of EdinburghRoyal Society of EdinburghThe Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland... - 1948, Patron's Medal, Royal Canadian Geographical SocietyRoyal Canadian Geographical SocietyThe Royal Canadian Geographical Society is a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environmental, social and economic challenges.-History:The...
- 1958, Guggenheim Fellowship, Organismic Biology and Ecology
- 1974, Officer, Order of Canada
- 1977, Massey MedalMassey MedalThe Royal Canadian Geographical Society awards the Massey Medal annually to recognize outstanding personal achievement in the exploration, development or description of the geography of Canada. The award was established in 1959, by the Massey Foundation, named for industrialist Hart...
, Royal Canadian Geographical SocietyRoyal Canadian Geographical SocietyThe Royal Canadian Geographical Society is a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environmental, social and economic challenges.-History:The... - 1979, HonoraryHonorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Doctorate of Laws, McMaster UniversityMcMaster UniversityMcMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens... - 1992, Doris Huestis Speirs Award, Society of Canadian Ornithologists
Partial works
- (1939), Western Baffin Island
- (1941), The Foxe Basin coasts of Baffin Island
- (1942), Blue and lesser snow geese on Southhampton and Baffin Islands
- (1942), Notes on some fish of the Eastern Canadian Arctic
- (1943), Notes on the mammals of south and central west Baffin Island
- (1947), Ruins of Eskimo stone houses on the east side of Hudson Bay
- (1950), Report on coastal waters of Hudson Bay in and around Broad River area of Manitoba
- (1951), Eskimo stone houses in Foxe Basin
- (1952), Birds of the west James Bay and southern Hudson Bay coasts.
- (1956), The northern red-backed mouse, Clethrionomys rutilus (Pallas), in Canada.
- (1956), The birds of Banks Island,
- (1958), The mammals of Banks Island
- (1960), The relationship of the Peary and barren ground caribou
- (1961), Notes on Winter Harbour, Bridport Inlet, and Skene BaySkene BaySkene Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located off southern Melville Island, the bay is an arm of Viscount Melville Sound....
- (1964), Age determination in the polar bear Ursus maritimus Phipps,
- (1964), Geographical and sexual variation in the long-tailed jaeger Stercorarius Longicaudus vieillot
- (1971), Geographical variation in the polar bear Ursus maritimus Phipps,
- (1974), Variations in the skull of the bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben)
- (1976), Birds and mammals of the Belcher, Sleeper, Ottawa and King George Islands, and Northwest Territories
- (1981), Birds of the Twin Islands, James Bay, N.W.T., Canada