John Ross

John Ross or Jack Ross may refer to:

People

Australia

Canada

John Ross (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir John Ross, RN, CB (24 June 1777 – 30 August 1856) was a British naval officer and Arctic explorer.

Ross was the son of the Rev. Andrew Ross of Balsarroch, minister of Inch in Wigtownshire, and Elizabeth Corsane, daughter of Robert Corsane, the Provost of Dumfries. In 1786, aged only nine, he joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice. He served in the Mediterranean until 1789 and then in the English Channel. In 1808, he acted as a captain of the Swedish Navy and in 1812 became a Commander.

Sir John was the uncle of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, RN who explored the Arctic with him, and later led expeditions to the south pole.

Arctic expeditions

1818: first Arctic expedition

In 1818, six years after he became a Commander in the Swedish Navy, he received the command of an Arctic expedition organised by the British Admiralty, the first of a new series of attempts to solve the question of a Northwest Passage. This entailed going around the extreme northeast coast of America and sailing to the Bering Strait. He was also to note the currents, tides, the state of ice and magnetism and to collect specimens he found on the way.

John Ross (businessman)

CSgt John Ross, Esq. (25 October 1840 – 26 November 1876) was a very successful Victorian businessman with substantial retail interests. His fortune was stolen by a lawyer on his death.

Career

Born the son of a schoolteacher in the city centre of Glasgow, Ross came to Falkirk, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in Falkirk, Scotland to set up retail outlets at the age of just 17, principally hatters and grocers on the High Street, the longest in Britain.

Other interests

Ross had been a member of the local Volunteer Company since its formation in 1859, and had attained the rank of Colour-Sergeant by his death. He was also a dedicated Freemason, a successful member of the Curling, Bowling and Chess Clubs in the area (as his numerous prizes testified) and was one of only twelve members of the Ancient Order of Free Gardeners.

Death

Ross died suddenly of a heart attack on Sunday 26 November 1876, and was interred with full military honours. His funeral was a grand occasion with a full march (followed by several carriages and a band) through the town and a gun salute. Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of Falkirk as the coffin was carried past, his remains followed by what the local newspaper deemed 'one of the largest company of mourners ever seen at a funeral in Falkirk'. Captain Nimmo of the Volunteers commented: