James Lamont

James Lamont (28 April 1828 – 29 July 1913) was a Scottish explorer and author, particularly known for his voyages in the Arctic in 1858–1859 and 1869–1871, which were the topic of his two books, Seasons with the Sea-Horse and Yachting in the Arctic Seas (1876). He was a fellow of the Geological Society of London and the Royal Geographical Society. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Buteshire (1865–1868), and was created a baronet in 1910.

Early life

James Lamont was born on 28 April 1828 in Knockdow, Toward, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll, to Jane (née Chrystie) and Alexander Lamont (1784–1861), a lawyer, Lieutenant-Colonel in the Bute militia and laird of Knockdow. In 1859, he returned to the Edge Island region on the Anna Louisa, a vessel designed for hunting walrus, and in 1862 visited Nova Scotia and Labrador. He undertook three He was accompanied on these later voyages by the surgeon Charles Edward Smith and the artist and amateur botanist, William Livesay.

Source James Lamont, William Livesay (ed.). Yachting in the Arctic Seas (Chatto and Windus; 1876)

Further reading and external links P. J. Capelotti. Shipwreck at Cape Flora: The Expeditions of Benjamin Leigh Smith, England's Forgotten Arctic Explorer, pp. 34–45 (University of Calgary Press; 2013) C. Leah Devlin (2014). The letters between James Lamont and Charles Darwin on Arctic fauna. Polar Record 51 (5): 492–500 Augusta Lamont (1946). Anent a Scots explorer. Biographical sketch of Sir James Lamont of Knockdow. Scottish Geographical Magazine 62 (2): 76–77 Matthew McDowell (26 October 2016). MP of the Month: James Lamont (1828–1913), Arctic explorer and scientist, The Victorian Commons Papers of the Lamont of Knockdow family, National Library of Scotland

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