Emil Bessels

Dr. Emil Bessels (2 June 1846 – 30 March 1888) was a German Jewish physician and Arctic explorer. Born in Heidelberg, Germany, he studied medicine and natural sciences in his home town and at the university of Jena. Bessels spent much of his scientific career working for the Smithsonian Institution. He took part in several Arctic expeditions, during the course of one of which he came under suspicion of murdering American explorer Charles Francis Hall.

In 1869, on suggestion from August Petermann, he joined an expedition to the Arctic Sea with the aim to investigate the islands of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya and survey the ocean in their vicinity. Because of adverse ice conditions, only the first destination could be reached. During the course of the expedition, hydrographical measurements were performed and the climatological influence of the Gulf Stream on the eastern coast of Spitzbergen was demonstrated. After returning to his home country in 1870, he joined the German army as a surgeon in time for the Franco-Prussian war. For his military service he received a public commendation from the Grand Duke of Baden.

In 1871, Bessels joined the crew of American Arctic explorer C. F. Hall on the Polaris expedition as ship's physician and head of the scientific team. He and Hall soon came into conflict over control of the scientific research on the expedition. When Hall became ill in October 1871, Bessels remained by his bedside for several days, ostensibly in order to administer medical treatment. However, Hall suspected that Bessels was poisoning him, and consequently refused any further contact.

After Hall's death several weeks later, Bessels was among those who remained with the ship, the Polaris, when most of the crew became separated while trying to salvage supplies. Bessels and his party were eventually forced to abandon the ship, but were rescued and arrived back in the United States in 1873. Bessels and the other surviving members of the expedition crew were questioned by a naval board of inquiry about the events leading to Hall's death. The official conclusion was that Hall had died of natural causes and that Bessels had done his best in treating him. Nevertheless, following a forensic investigation in 1969 during which traces of arsenic were discovered on Hall's recovered body, today many scholars suspect that Bessels had in fact murdered Hall.

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