John Rae (1813–93), Kirkwall, Orkney

摘要

This striking memorial to John Rae (Figure 1), doctor and Arctic explorer, is in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney in the kirkyard of which he is buried. Unusually for a doctor the monument shows him wearing arctic clothing, covered by a blanket and lying beside a large gun but this is appropriate since his fame rests not so much upon his medical achievements as upon his outdoor survival skills.