George W. Melville was born in New York City in 1841. He joined the Navy in 1861 and
served aboard a number of ships. In 1873 he was the chief engineer of the steamer
Tigress during an Arctic cruise searching for
survivors of the exploration ship Polaris. He
returned to the Arctic in 1879 aboard the steamer Jeannette and assumed leadership of the survivors of the ill-fated
expedition after they landed in Siberia in 1881. Melville again went to the Arctic
in 1884 aboard the USS Thetis. Melville left active
duty in 1903 and died in Philadelphia in 1912.
