Henry Grinnell
| Henry Grinnell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
February 18, 1799 New Bedford, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 30, 1874 (aged 75) New York, New York |
| Resting place |
Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Employer | Grinnell, Minturn & Co. |
| Known for | Sponsor of Arctic exploration |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Minturn |
| Children |
Henry Walton Grinnell Sylvia Grinnell Ruxton |
Henry Grinnell (February 18, 1799 in New Bedford, Massachusetts – June 30, 1874) was an American merchant and philanthropist.
In 1818, Grinnell moved to New York City where he became a clerk in the commission house of H.D. & E.B. Sewell. He married Sarah Minturn, who was from a prominent merchant and shipping family, in 1822. In 1825, Henry joined his brother Joseph Grinnell in Fish, Grinnell & Company. A few years later, with the addition of Henry's brother-in-law, this became Grinnell, Minturn & Company, a firm whose operations were greatly expanded by its entry into the general shipping business. This company became one of the strongest mercantile houses in New York City.
Henry Grinnell retired in 1850, around the time that he became very interested in the fate of the lost Franklin Polar Expedition. For the remainder of his life he corresponded regularly with Lady Jane Franklin and others interested in solving the mystery, as well as promoting and funding several expeditions.
The first of these expeditions was in 1850, when he purchased and loaned to the United States Navy the brigs Rescue and Advance to search the Arctic under the overall command of Lieutenant Edwin De Haven. After these vessels returned unsuccessful, he funded a second expedition with the Advance under Elisha Kent Kane which explored the region named Grinnell Land off the north-western coast of Greenland between 1853 and 1855, when the vessel, hopelessly beset in the ice, was abandoned.
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