Margaret Penny

Margaret Penny née Irvine (12 December 1812 - 11 June 1891) was an explorer and pioneer who was the first Scottish woman to go on an expedition to Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada.

Biography In 1857 Penny sailed with her husband, Captain William Penny (1809-1892), on an Arctic whaling voyage. There had been for some time a significant British whaling industry, but very few women ever experienced it directly, and those who did mostly sailed to the South Seas. At the end of the voyage Penny's contribution to the expedition was recognised by the Aberdeen Arctic Company's shareholders, on her return from the Cumberland Inlet in the Lady Franklin. They presented her with a silver tea service, considered an appropriate gift for a lady who had entertained the Eskimo belles of Kekerten to tea on board the ship. The tea service is now held by the City of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum.