Kane, Elisha Kent (1820-1857), an Arctic explorer. He was a native of Philadelphia, a graduate of the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania. He held various government appointments as a surgeon, including that to the American Embassy to China, and was enabled to see much of the world. In 1850 he was made senior surgeon to the expedition sent out to search for Sir John Franklin. On his return, he published an interesting account of The United States Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin: A Personal Narrative. In 1853 he returned to the Baffin's Bay country. His ship became entangled in the ice north of Smith's Strait in latitude 78 deg. 43', and was frozen in for twenty-one months. Dr. Kane then abandoned the ship and set out with his companions for the Danish settlements of Greenland 1300 miles distant. This he accomplished by boats and sledges in the short space of ten weeks, with the loss of but one man. The Second Grinnell Expedition is a popular account of the perils and privations undergone by the party. See ARCTIC REGIONS.