William Speirs Bruce (1867-1921)

(1867-1921), Polar explorer and oceanographer

Educated at the University of Edinburgh (where he was later the George Heriot Research Fellow 1900-1901, he became the Director of the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory.

He was an assistant in the Challenger Expedition Commission, and a naturalist on the Scottish Antarctic Expedition 1892-93, the Jackson-Harmsworth Polar Expedition 1896 & 1897, and a number of others, and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition in 1902-1904. He lectured on geography at Heriot-Watt College (now Heriot-Watt University) 1899-1901 and from 1917 until his death, and at the Church of Scotland Training College, Edinburgh. He bequeathed to Edinburgh University Library ca 1,000 volumes, 2,000-3,000 pamphlets and offprints, files and albums of illustrative matter, and ca 30 albums of new cuttings, on Arctic and Antarctic exploration.