When I was a child, the big news as "the race to the moon." In the later Victorian era, it was the race to the North Pole. Who would be the first to reach it? Who would survive? Which country would have the honor of claiming to have reached the North Pole? Soon Nansen became the name of the hour, and this section offers a lengthy account of his travels to the Pole. On the opposite side of the globe, the name of the hour was Borchgrevink. Sadly, there were many other names as well, such as Andree and his ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon. Of course, as with reaching the moon, once explorers actually did get to the Poles, there was little to do but turn around and go home...

The Arctic

Scenes in the Arctic Region (Illustrated London Instructor, 1850)

Excerpts from the Ross expedition.

Recent Arctic Discovery (Leisure Hour, 1868)

Establishing the existence of an arctic land-mass that would become known on charts as "Kellet Land."

A Decade of Arctic Exploration (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

The Arctic Expedition: Its Aims and Its Deeds (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1877)

The status of the 1875 polar expedition, along with some history of previous expeditions.

A New Northeast Voyage, by Robert Brown (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1879)

Recent Arctic explorations.

Professor Njordenskold and the Northeast Passage (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880)

Is Arctic Exploration Worth Its Cost? by J.E. Nourse (Century Magazine, 1884B)

Greely at Cape Sabine: Notes by a Member of the Relief Expedition, by Charles Harlow, U.S. Navy Ensign (Century Magazine, 1885B)

The rescue of polar explorer Adolphus Greely's party from Cape Sabine.

Our Autograph Books: Voices from the Ice (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

Autographs of famous Arctic explorers, along with accounts of their exploits.

Towards the North Pole, by Dr. Fridtjof Nanssen (The Strand, 1893B)

Color at the Far North, by Frederick Wilbert Stokes (Century Magazine, 1894B)

An artist's experiences as part of the Peary Relief Expedition in the Arctic.

Mr. Andrée's Balloon Voyage to the North Pole, by Alfred T. Story (The Strand, 1896B)

This article looks at the planning stages of a balloon voyage that occurred the following year, and that resulted in the deaths of all three participants.

A Talk with Dr. Nansen, by J. Arthur Bain (The Strand, 1896B)

A visit with the Arctic explorer.

Mrs. Nansen, by J. Arthur Bain (The Strand, 1896B)

A visit with the wife of the Arctic explorer.

The Arctic Monument Named for Tennyson by Dr. Kane, by Charles W. Shields (Century Magazine, 1898B)

The "monument" was a natural pillar of rock, discovered by Dr. Kane in his search for the Franklin expedition, and named for Tennyson.

How Thirteen Men Went to the North Pole (Home Magazine, 1898)

Hunting Musk-Oxen Near the Pole, by Lt. R.E. Peary (Windsor, 1898A)

When I Stood Face-to-Face with Death, by Gen. A.W. Greely (Ladies Home Journal, 1898)

Peril at a polar station.

With Nansen in the North: A Chat with Lieut. Johansen, by Archibald Cromwell (Windsor, 1898A)

With Nansen in the North, by Lt. Hjalmar Johanssen (Windsor Magazine, 1898B)

"A Record of the Fram Expedition" - a full-length serial account of the polar expedition.

To the Poles by Ice-Breaking Steamer, by Herbert Fyfe (The Strand, 1900A)

An interview with Vice-Admiral Makaroff of the Imperial Russian Navy.

Farther North than Nansen: The Arctic Expedition of the Duke of the Abruzzi, by Dr. Olindo Malagodi (The Strand, 1900B)

How I Hope to Reach the North Pole, by Evelyn Briggs Baldwin (Windsor Magazine, 1902A)

"This article constitutes Mr. Baldwin's only public announcement to the public of the plans and purposes of the Baldwin-Ziegler Polar Expedition, which recently sailed from Tromsoe, Norway." Baldwin was born in Missouri in 1862. He accompanied the Peary expedition as a meteorologist, and hoped to join the ill-fated Andrée balloon expedition, but there was no room. He then accompanied the Wellman Expedition of 1899. (Spoiler alert - the 1902 expedition failed and the crew was stranded in the Arctic for two years before being rescued; all but one crew member survived.)

The Antarctic

Going to the South Pole, by E.J. Webb (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

Borchgrevink and the Antarctic Exploration, by C.E. Borchgrevink (Century Magazine, 1896A)

Antarctic Exploration, by C.E. Borchgrevink (The Strand, 1897A)

An Antarctic Expedition (Home Magazine, 1898)

Borchgrevink's expedition to the South Pole.

Illustrated Interviews: Mr. C.E. Borchgrevink, by William G. FitzGerald (The Strand, 1900B)

The "Southern Cross" Antarctic Expedition, by Sir George Newness, Bart. (The Strand, 1899B)