Henry Grinnell

Henry Grinnell (* 1799 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, † June 30, 1874 in New York) was an American shipowner and merchant.

Grinnell moved in 1828 from Massachusetts to New York, where he arrived as the shipowner and merchant to great wealth and prestige.

Grinnell was known primarily for his bountiful support for polar research. He took a lively interest in scientific endeavors and sought to promote them by force. So he equipped at his own expense from the ship, the 1850 Edwin De Haven's command to search expedition for the lost Arctic explorer John Franklin went out (so-called first Grinnell expedition ). In large part, he also financed the expedition started for the same reason Elisha Kent Kane in the years 1853 to 1855 (so-called second Grinnell expedition ). In addition, he was a major financial backer of the Arctic enterprises of the two American polar explorer Isaac Israel Hayes in 1860 and the " Polaris " Expedition in 1871 by Charles Francis Hall.

Grinnell was a founding member and from 1852 to 1853 president of the American Geographical Society and the Vice - President from 1854 to 1872.

Today, geographical names as the Grinnell Peninsula (lat. 75 ° 24 ' 21 " ) for the northwestern part of the Devon Island and Grinnell Land for the central part of Ellesmere Island remember him.