Isaac Israel Hayes (1832–1881) was an American physician, politician, and Arctic explorer whose literary output was deeply informed by his northern expeditions. Born in Pennsylvania, Hayes trained as a physician before embarking on historic voyages to the Arctic. During the American Civil War, he served as the commanding officer at Satterlee General Hospital, and he later transitioned into politics, serving in the New York State Assembly.\n\nHayes's literary career was defined by his vivid accounts of polar exploration, capturing the imagination of a public fascinated by the uncharted North. His first major work, Arctic Boat Journey (1860), detailed his harrowing experiences during Elisha Kent Kane's second Grinnell expedition. He followed this with The Open Polar Sea: A Narrative of a Voyage of Discovery towards the North Pole, in the Schooner United States (1867), which documented his own command of an expedition seeking an ice-free northern passage.\n\nIn addition to his non-fiction travelogues, Hayes wrote for younger audiences, publishing the adventure novel Cast Away in the Cold in 1868. His final major work, The Land of Desolation (1872), recorded his travels in Greenland. Through his writings, Hayes contributed significantly to the nineteenth-century genre of Arctic exploration literature, blending scientific observation with dramatic narrative. His works remain valuable historical records of early polar exploration.
