ENAbout
Wrangel never supported an Indigenous human population, but it was a refuge for polar explorers awaiting rescue. Others attempting to settle the Island died, undone by their naiveté and Anglo-American hubris. The correspondence, manuscript drafts, photographs, contracts, and diaries from the Stefansson Collection related to Wrangel’s history provide a rich backstory to elucidate current political, social, economic, and environmental factors that shape our understanding of the Arctic regions.
Learn more about this project by going to the digital collection Collating Wrangel Island: Inhabiting the ‘Uninhabitable,’ 1900-1930. There you can view photographs of the expedition, and read Ada Blackjack's Diary.
This collection contains content that may be offensive and difficult to read and transcribe. Please view Dartmouth Library's Statement on Potentially Harmful Content.
Works
The Lorne Knight Diary, vol. 1
E. Lorne Knight (1893-1923) was a member of the failed Stefansson Arctic Exploration and Development Company expedition to Wrangel Island in 1921. Knight kept this diary during the expedition. The diary spans two volumes: volume 1 is dated Sept. 14, 1921–Dec. 31, 1922, and volume 2 spans Jan. 1,...
Collaboration is restricted.
The Lorne Knight Diary, vol. 2
Volume 2 of the diary is available only as a photostat copy. This is because after the diary’s recovery, some of its pages were censored and/or removed. Efforts were made by both the Fogg Art Museum and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discover ways to read material on the damaged pages of...
Collaboration is restricted.