Thomas Henry Manning,
OC (22 December 1911 – 8 November 1998) was a British-Canadian
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
explorer,
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
,
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
,
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
, and author. Appointed an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
, Manning held the positions of vice-chairman and executive director of the
Arctic Institute of North America
The Arctic Institute of North America is a multi-disciplinary research institute and educational organization located in the University of Calgary. It is mandated to study the North American and circumpolar Arctic in the areas of natural science ...
. Nicknamed the ''Lone Wolf of the Arctic'', he was known for travelling alone with dog sled and canoe.
Early years
Manning, son of a well-to-do farmer and a well-known cricketer, was born 22 December 1911 in Dallington,
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, England. He was educated at
Harrow School
Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...
and
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.
In the summer of 1931, he travelled in
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
. The following year, he hiked from France to Norway, then hiked and rode reindeer through Sweden and Finland. After arriving in the former USS.R, he was arrested and imprisoned, before being deported.
Career
In 1933, Manning travelled to
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...
's
Southampton Island
Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of t ...
. Here, he surveyed and conducted geographical research for the Royal Geographical Society, and studied birds for the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. Three years later, he led the British-Canadian Arctic Expedition, serving as the expedition's surveyor and zoologist.
In 1941, Manning was commissioned as a lieutenant with the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
. He worked as a
cipher
In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
officer and developed arctic clothing. In 1942, he was seconded to the
US Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
to consult on the construction of an airfield on Southampton Island, and in 1944, he was seconded to the Geodetic Service of Canada for photo surveys. He retired from military service as a lieutenant commander in 1945.
After the war, Manning worked for the Canadian Geodetic Survey,
Defence Research Board,
National Museum of Canada
The national museums of Canada () are the nine museums in Canada designated under the federal ''Museums Act'' and operated by the Government of Canada. The national museums are responsible for "preserving and promoting the heritage of Canada and al ...
, and the
Canadian Wildlife Service
The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (), is a Branch of the Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada, a department of the Government of Canada. Founded in 1947 as Dominion Wildlife Service, it is Canada's national wildlife agency resp ...
. He led several expeditions during this time. Manning was director of the Arctic Institute of North America in 1955–1956.
He was mentor to and lifelong friend of the zoologist,
Andrew Hall Macpherson.
For several years, the wildlife artist Brenda Carter worked as Manning's research assistant.
Personal life
Manning met
Ella Wallace Jackson (1906–2007), a nurse, only once, in 1935. Sent via
Morse code
Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...
, she received his proposal in April 1938. Three months later, "Jackie" arrived in
Cape Dorset
Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning 'high mountain' or 'where the hills are'; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin Island ...
, and they were married. They honeymooned for a year and a half while mapping
Baffin Island
Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...
,
and gathering bird specimens. They travelled in Manning's small boat, the ''Polecat'', stocked with flour, butter, jam, milk, tobacco, pemmican, 800 litres of fuel, seven dogs, four puppies, and a sled. Years later, Ella published two books with accounts of their travels, ''Igloo for the night'' (1946), and ''A summer on Hudson Bay'' (1949). They separated amicably in the late 1960s, but did not divorce.
In his later years, Manning donated his collection of several thousand books to the
Baffin Island
Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
community in
Iqaluit
Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...
; the Thomas Manning collection is housed at its Centennial Library.
[ ] Before his death, he donated $645,000 to the
Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south ...
at Cambridge University's
Shackleton Memorial Library where the Thomas H. Manning Polar Archives are named in his honour.
Manning died 8 November 1998 at a hospital in
Smiths Falls, Ontario
Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is administratively separated from the county. ...
near his farm at
Merrickville, Canada. Through his estate, a $25,000 bequest was made to the Merrickville Historical Society to assist in archives conservation.
Awards
* 1944,
W. S. Bruce Medal,
Royal Scottish Geographical Society
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...
and
Royal Philosophical Society of Edinburgh
* 1948, Patron's Medal,
Royal Canadian Geographical Society
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...
* 1958, Guggenheim Fellowship, Organismic Biology and Ecology
* 1974, Officer, Order of Canada
* 1977,
Massey Medal
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) awards the Massey Medal annually to recognize outstanding personal achievement in the exploration, development or description of the geography of Canada. The award was established in 1959, by the M ...
,
Royal Canadian Geographical Society
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...
* 1979,
Honorary Doctorate of Laws
A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
,
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
* 1992, Doris Huestis Speirs Award, Society of Canadian Ornithologists
Partial works
For full bibliography see: Carter, B. 2004. A Tribute to Thomas Henry Manning 1911–198. ''Canadian Field-Naturalist'' 118: 618–625. http://journals.sfu.ca/cfn/index.php/cfn/article/download/70/70
* (1939), ''Western Baffin Island''
* (1941), ''The Foxe Basin coasts of Baffin Island''
* (1942), ''Blue and lesser snow geese on Southampton and Baffin Islands''
* (1942), ''Notes on some fish of the Eastern Canadian Arctic''
* (1943), ''Notes on the mammals of south and central west Baffin Island''
* (1947), ''Ruins of Eskimo stone houses on the east side of Hudson Bay''
* (1950), ''Report on coastal waters of Hudson Bay in and around Broad River area of Manitoba''
* (1951), ''Eskimo stone houses in Foxe Basin''
* (1952), ''Birds of the west James Bay and southern Hudson Bay coasts.''
* (1956), ''The northern red-backed mouse, Clethrionomys rutilus (Pallas), in Canada.''
* (1956), ''The birds of Banks Island,''
* (1958), ''The mammals of Banks Island''
* (1960), ''The relationship of the Peary and barren ground caribou''
* (1961), ''Notes on Winter Harbour, Bridport Inlet, and
Skene Bay''
* (1964), ''Age determination in the polar bear Ursus maritimus Phipps,''
* (1964), ''Geographical and sexual variation in the long-tailed jaeger Stercorarius Longicaudus vieillot''
* (1971), ''Geographical variation in the polar bear Ursus maritimus Phipps,''
* (1974), ''Variations in the skull of the bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben)''
* (1976), ''Birds and mammals of the Belcher, Sleeper, Ottawa and King George Islands, and Northwest Territories''
* (1981), ''Birds of the Twin Islands, James Bay, N.W.T., Canada''
References
External links
''Western Baffin Island'' Manuscriptat Dartmouth College Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Thomas Henry
1911 births
1998 deaths
People educated at Harrow School
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
British emigrants to Canada
Officers of the Order of Canada
People from Northampton
Royal Canadian Navy officers
Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II
Massey Medal recipients
People of the Scott Polar Research Institute
20th-century Canadian biologists
Military personnel from Northampton