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Vice-Admiral Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure (28 January 1807 – 17 October 1873) was an Irish explorer who explored the Arctic. In 1854 he traversed the Northwest Passage by boat and sledge, and was the first to circumnavigate the Americas.
He entered the Royal Navy in 1824, and twelve years later gained his first experience of Arctic exploration as mate of on an expedition commanded by Captain George Back. On his return, he obtained his commission as a lieutenant and from 1838 to 1839 served on the Canadian lakes. Subsequently, he was attached to the North American and West Indian naval stations, where he remained until 1846.
Two years later, in 1848, he joined a search expedition in their attempt to recover Franklin's lost expedition, an ill-fated expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage led by Sir John Franklin that was missing since 1845. McClure served under James Clark Ross as first 's first lieutenant.
Investigator sailed north through the Pacific and entered the Arctic Ocean by way of Bering Strait, and sailing eastward past Point Barrow, Alaska, to eventually link up with another British expedition from the northwest. Investigator was abandoned to the pack ice in the spring of 1853. McClure and his crew undertook a sledge journey and were rescued when they happened upon a party from – one of the ships commanded by Sir Edward Belcher, who sailed into the Arctic region from the east. Subsequently, he completed his journey across the Northwest Passage. Resolute itself did not make it out of the Arctic that year; it was abandoned in ice, but later recovered.
Thus, McClure and his crew were the first both to circumnavigate the Americas, and to transit the Northwest Passage – considerable feats at that time. Enterprise returned to Point Barrow in 1850, a fortnight later than Investigator, and found the passage blocked by winter ice. They had to turn back and return the following year; it conducted its own Arctic explorations, but credit for the Northwest Passage already belonged to McClure.
On his return to the United Kingdom, in 1854, McClure was court martialled for the loss of Investigator. This was automatic when a captain lost his ship. Following an honourable acquittal, McClure was knighted and promoted to post-rank, his commission being dated back four years in recognition of his special services. McClure and his crew shared a monetary reward of £10,000 by the British Parliament.
McClure was also honoured by both British and French geographical societies. In 1855, he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society. American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
McClure is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London. His epitaph reads: 'Thus We Launch into this Formidable Frozen Sea. Spes Mea in Deo.' McClure Strait was later named after him, as well as the lunar McClure crater in the Mare Fecunditatis, the Sea of Fertility.
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