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RefNoMS/547/13/5
LevelItem
TitlePrinted copy of letter from Edward Poulton to the Fellows of the Royal Society
Date15 May 1901
DescriptionContains a detailed narrative of the negotiations over the instructions for the scientific director of the Antarctic Expedition, which ended in the resignation of Professor [John Walter] Gregory from the position. It explains the initial plan was to give the scientific director absolute authority over all scientific matters. Gregory was nominated for the position based on his prior experience in East Africa and alpine regions, as well as his geological knowledge, and he accepted on the assumption that this would be the case. Gregory proposed a set of instructions by letter from Melbourne in January 1900, which were acccepted by the expedtion's Executive Committee in June 1900.

However, Sir Clements Markham and the Royal Geographical Society were opposed to this. Gregory was told by Markham and Captain [Robert Falcon] Scott duing negotiations in January 1901 that Scott would be in charge of the whole expedition. Further discussions among the Joint Committee were unable to agree on the remits of each role, and in particular the instructions around wintering the ship in the ice and establishing a landing party under Gregory's control. The final decision was overseen by a newly appointed Committee of Six, and upon seeing the final form of the instructions Professor Gregory resigned from the expedition. Poulton believes that a majority of the Fellowship will feel that the Royal Society had not done enough to support the scientific director's position.
Extent8p
FormatPrinted
AccessStatusOpen
Fellows associated with this archive
CodePersonNameDates
NA6974Poulton; Sir; Edward Bagnall (1856 - 1943); zoologist1856 - 1943
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