Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820-1857 Variant names Detailed View Revision History Sources Export JSON EAC-CPF XML Hide Profile Activities Biography Elisha Kent Kane was an American naval surgeon and explorer who commanded the second Grinnell Expedition to the Arctic, 1853-1855. From the description of Elisha Kent Kane letter, Philadelphia, Pa., to Bayard Taylor, 1856. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 34242180 Elisha Kent Kane was a physician and explorer. From the description of Papers, 1830s-1860s. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122616028 From the description of Journal, 1853-1855. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122523647 From the description of Letters, 1853-1857. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122578952 From the guide to the Elisha Kent Kane journal, 1853-1855, 1853-1855, (American Philosophical Society) From the guide to the Elisha Kent Kane letters, 1853-1857, (American Philosophical Society) Philadelphia surgeon, naval officer, explorer. From the description of ALS : Philadelphia, to Henry Grinnell, 1853 Jan. 11. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122541861 Physician and Arctic explorer. From the description of Letter, 1856, Sept. 23 : New York, to George William Childs, Philadelphia. (Duke University). WorldCat record id: 35129769 Arctic explorer, surgeon, naval officer, and author. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; educated at the Universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania. He received his doctor of medicine in 1843. Kane travelled abroad extensively, explored the Arctic, and was a member of the Second Grinnell Expedition to the Arctic, 1854-1855. He died in Havana 16 Feburary 1857. From the description of Elisha Kent Kane papers, 1825-1855. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122585595 George Washington Corner worked as an anatomist, endocrinologist, and medical historian. From the guide to the George Washington Corner papers, 1889-1981, 1903-1982, (American Philosophical Society) Explorer, naval surgeon, scientist, and author; member of two Arctic expeditions sent to rescue Sir John Franklin. From the description of Elisha Kent Kane letter to the committee of New London County Association, 1852 Nov. 20. (New London County Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 213362247 Philadelphia surgeon, naval officer, and explorer. From the description of ALS : Philadelphia, to Charles Lanman, 1856 Sept. 27. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 86165785 Whether because of -- or in spite of -- a debilitating childhood bout with rheumatic fever that left him with a delicate constitution, Elisha Kent Kane went on to live an adventurous life and "die in the harness," as his father had wished. Each of the half-dozen brilliant forays that he made into the exotic seems to have been terminated by accident or illness, but from these experiences, Kane carefully built a public image for himself as America's great tragic hero of exploration. Elisha Kent Kane was born in Philadelphia on February 3, 1820, the son of the jurist and Democratic politician John Kintzing Kane and his wife Jane Duval Leiper. Already prominent in Philadelphia and Washington, the Kane family became more so with Elisha's celebrity as an Arctic explorer and his brother, Thomas Leiper Kane's, as a general in the Union army and advocate for the Mormons. Upon first entering college at the University of Virginia, Elisha intended to study geology and civil engineering, but on the advice of family friends, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania to take up medicine, graduating in 1842. With receipt of his degree, however, his concerned family members believed that a medical practice might be too rigorous for the frail young man, and they sought to discourage him from the profession. But unbeknownst to Elisha, his father arranged a surgeon's commission in the navy, and upon graduation, Elisha was directed to report to the Philadelphia Navy Yard to be examined for assignment. Despite his medical history, Kane passed the examination and received his commission in the following year. In his first assignment, Kane joined the diplomat Caleb Cushing on the first American diplomatic mission to China in May 1843. The voyage to the Far East was the first of many adventures for Kane, which included a daring descent into a Philippine volcano, apparently inciting controversy among locals. At the completion of trade negotiations in June 1844, Kane resigned from the Cushing Commission and elected to remain in China for six months, operating a hospital boat with a young English surgeon. Although the venture was successful financially, Kane contracted cholera and was forced to abandon his practice and return home. By the time that he reached Philadelphia in the summer of 1845, he had logged thousands of miles and visited five continents. Despite his stated intentions of settling down and opening a medical practice in the cit...