Greely, Adolphus Washington (1844-1935), was an American soldier and Arctic explorer. From 1881 to 1884, he led an expedition to establish observation stations near the North Pole. The expedition made scientific observations and explored northern Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Greely withdrew southward when relief ships failed to arrive in 1883. The six survivors of the expedition were rescued at Cape Sabine on the east coast of Ellesmere Island. Nineteen men died.
Greely was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts. He fought in the Civil War. He was assigned to the Signal Corps in 1867, and became chief signal officer in 1887. He introduced radio telegraphy to the Signal Corps. He also supervised the building of telegraph lines in the Southwest.
