Transcribe-a-thon: USS Jeannette Logbooks

Innovation Hub
Washington, DC

On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco in a daring attempt to reach the North Pole by pioneering a route from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait. Just two months after setting sail, the Jeannette became trapped by ice and drifted for almost two years before being crushed by ice floes and sinking north of the Siberian coast.

Miraculously, its four logbooks, which contain meteorological conditions, instrument readings, and sightings of ice floes and auroras, survived. Find the digitized documents in  catalog.archives.gov.

Help Transcribe the Logbooks

We will be hosting a transcribe-a-thon to transcribe these valuable logbooks. A subject expert will give a brief presentation, and a National Archives staff member will provide guidance on submitting your transcriptions to our citizen archivist dashboard.

Join us in person: 

• The Innovation Hub is located near the research center of the National Archives Building.
• No experience necessary!
• You will need a photo ID to get into the building.
• Please bring your own laptop.

Can’t make it to the National Archives Building in Washington, DC? Join us on Facebook Live.

Questions? Send an email to kathleen.brown@nara.gov.