Walter Wellman

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Walter Wellman (1858–1934) was an American journalist, explorer, and aëronaut, born at Mentor, Ohio, and educated in the public schools.

In 1879 he founded the Cincinnati Evening Post, and after 1884 was the Washington correspondent successively of the Chicago Herald and then the Times-Herald.

His itchy feet got the best of him in the 1890s. He traveled to the Bahamas in 1892, seeking the landfall of Columbus. In 1894, he traveled north of Spitzbergen, reaching the latitude of 81°N.

In 1898-1899, he led another expedition to the Arctic regions. He made a dash for the North pole in 1899, but failed due to an accident. From 1906 he employed balloons in several attempts to explore the Arctic regions. In 1910, with five companions, he made a daring attempt to cross the Atlantic in the airship America. The attempt failed and the men were plucked from the ocean about 375 miles (603 km) from Cape Hatteras by a passing steamship.