The tradition of the polar bear as a symbol for Bowdoin College
can be traced to the discovery of the North Pole on April 6, 1909, by
Admiral Robert E. Peary of the Bowdoin Class of 1877. The
identification of the College with the Arctic and exploration has
been consistent since that date. Even the College color —
white — relates to the Arctic. Bowdoin varsity teams are
known as the Polar Bears.
Bowdoin’s identification with Arctic exploration does not
revolve around one individual alone, but is interwoven in the
overlapping careers of several Bowdoin graduates. General Thomas
Hamlin Hubbard (Class of 1857) was president of the Arctic Club
which provided financial backing for Peary’s expedition.
Admiral Donald B. MacMillan (Class of 1898) was a member of the
Peary expedition and continued his work in the Arctic throughout
the next half century. Countless numbers of Bowdoin graduates
served under MacMillan in his more than 30 trips into Arctic
waters.
The polar bear was chosen as the mascot of Bowdoin College in 1913
at the forty-third annual banquet of the Bowdoin College Alumni
Association at the Sherman Square Hotel in New York City.
MacMillan, who was present at the dinner, was asked to secure a
polar bear on his next expedition to the Arctic. This he did on May
13, 
1915, and shortly thereafter presented it to the College with the
words: “May his spirit be the Guardian Spirit not only of
Bowdoin Athletics but of every Bowdoin [person.]”
The Class of 1912 presented a sculpture of the polar bear to the
College in 1937. It is a life size granite statue designed by
Frederic George Richard Roth. The figure stands in front of the
entrance to Sargent Gymnasium, and has for many years symbolized
Bowdoin College to alumni and to the public
.
The polar bear has long been identified with Bowdoin publications
either in the title or by means of illustrations. The first known
use as a title was “The Bowdoin Bear Skin,” a campus
humor publication that appeared in 1922-27. Early copies of the
alumni newsletter were called “The Explorer.” The polar
bear appeared on the cover of the 1915 edition of the College
yearbook, the Bowdoin Bugle, where it has regularly appeared as an
overall decorative motif, sometimes in caricature.
Today, Bowdoin is home to the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and the Arctic Studies Program. Established in 1967,
the Museum is located in Hubbard Hall named in honor of Peary
benefactor General Thomas H. Hubbard. The Museum collections
include Arctic exploration gear, natural history specimens, and art
and anthropological material, produced primarily by the Inuit
cultures of Labrador and Greenland. The museum also has large
holdings of historic and anthropological photographs and motion
picture film. A concentration in Arctic studies provides students
with opportunities to explore cultural, social, and environmental
issues involving Arctic lands and peoples.
In the summer of 2008, exactly 100 years after Peary embarked from
New York City on his successful expedition to the North Pole,
Bowdoin unveiled a new official depiction of the polar bear to be
used in athletic facilities, on clothing, in printed materials, and
on the Bowdoin Web site. The polar bear was chosen with input and
participation from current students, alumni, faculty, and
staff.