Sir James Mann Wordie CBE FRS FRSGS LLD (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist.

His occupation brought him in contact with Frank Debenham and Raymond Priestley, who were members of the second Antarctic expedition of Robert Falcon Scott.

During the 1920s and 1930s, he made numerous voyages to the Arctic and helped nurture a new generation of young explorers, including Vivian Fuchs, Gino Watkins and Augustine Courtauld.

He became the elder statesman of British polar exploration, and few expeditions left Britain without first consulting Wordie.

He was chairman of the Committee of Management of the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) and president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954.

[4] During his term at the Society he helped plan the first successful ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

He also contributed to the British Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series that was published during World War II.