Exploring the mysterious death of Charles Francis Hall in the Arctic and the speculation of murder through arsenic poisoning. The chapter highlights connections between Hall, Vennie Reem, and Bessels, delving into potential motives and the unresolved nature of the case.
Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom when he made a try for the North Pole – though he was the only one from his expedition to die.
Research:
- Besselss, Emil, and William Barr. “Polaris: The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73.” University of Calgary Press. 2016.
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles Francis Hall". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Francis-Hall
- Dodge, Ernest S. and C.C. Loomis. “HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hall_charles_francis_10E.html
- Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 1.” Nunatsiaq News. Sept. 7, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_1/
- Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 2.” Nunatsiaq News. September 14, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_2/
- Loomis, Chauncey C. “Weird and tragic shores; the story of Charles Francis Hall, explorer.” New York. Knopf. 1971. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/weirdtragicshore0000loom/page/388/mode/2up
- MOSELEY, H. Besselss' Account of the “Polaris” Expedition1 . Nature 24, 194–197 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/024194a0
- Niekrasz, Emily. “Wait. Did That Really Happen? Potential Poison on the Polaris.” Smithsonian Institution Archives. August 13, 2020. https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/wait-did-really-happen-potential-poison-polaris
- Page, Jake. “Arctic Arsenic.” Smithsonian. Feb. 1, 2001. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/arctic-arsenic-71724451/
- Phillips, Braden. “This Arctic murder mystery remains unsolved after 150 years.” National Geographic. Nov. 22, 2022. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/11/this-arctic-murder-mystery-remains-unsolved-after-150-years
- “The Story of the Ice.” The New York Herald. Sept. 21, 1873. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1873-09-21/ed-1/seq-5/
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