Evelyn B. Baldwin, the well-known arctic explorer, was born in
Springfield, Missouri, July 2, 1862. He is the son of Elias Briggs
Baldwin, who served with distinction during the Civil war. The subject
of this sketch was educated at the public schools in Dupage county,
Illinois, and, on graduating from the Northwestern college, Naperville,
Illinois, taught in district schools for some time. After an experience
as professional pedestrian and bicyclist in Europe, he returned to this
country and was appointed principal of high schools and superintendent
of city schools in Kansas. Next we hear of him as attached to the
United States weather bureau and becoming inspector-at-large of the
signal corps of the United States army. In 1883 he was a member of the
Peary expedition to North Greenland in the capacity of meteorologist.
In 1897 he made a voyage to the Andree balloon station in Spitzbergen,
hoping to join that ill-fated scientist, but arrived a few days
too late. In 1898 he accompanied Wellman’s polar expedition as
meteorologist, and secured valuable data in connection with same. He
also organized and commanded the Baldwin-Ziegler polar expedition in
1901. He is the author of several works on arctic exploration and is
the member of a number of scientific societies.