Edward Belcher

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Edward Belcher, painting by Stephen Pearce, 1859.

Sir Edward Belcher , KCB (born February 27, 1799 in Halifax , Nova Scotia , † March 18, 1877 in London ) was a British navigator and polar explorer .

Life

Belcher was added to Captain Frederick William Beechey in 1825 and made his journey to the Bering Strait . In Beechey's place, Belcher became commander of the ships HMS Sulfur and HMS Starling in 1836 , with which he made a voyage around the world until 1842 . The long duration is explained by the fact that during this trip he also took part in the fighting against the Chinese . For these acts he was accepted as a Companion in the Order of the Bath in 1841 and was appointed post captain. Soon after, he was sent out to map the coasts of Borneo and Japan .

In his last venture, Belcher led the great search expedition to John Franklin in 1852 after the ships HMS Intrepid and Pioneer got stuck in the ice. If this was unsuccessful, Belcher at least explored Penny Strait with a sleigh and came to Jones Sound . The Belcher Islands and the Belcher Canal were named after him. In 1854 he returned home after losing several ships. He was then tried before a court martial , but acquitted . He later defended himself in his work The last Arctic voyages (2 vols., London 1855).

One of the lost ships was the HMS Resolute . In 1855, American whalers recovered the ship that had got stuck in the polar ice and was returned after the British crown had been repaired. After the ship was dismantled in 1879, a desk was built from the wood. The desk was a thank you gift from the British Queen Victoria and was given to US President Rutherford B. Hayes on November 23, 1880 . It is known as the " Resolute Desk " and is the US President's desk in the Oval Office of the White House. With the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson , Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford , this desk was used by all other presidents after Hayes.

In 1864, Belcher was named Rear Admiral of the Red Flag and, in 1866, Vice Admiral . In 1867 he was a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for beaten knight . Edward Belcher died in London on March 18, 1877.

Works

  • Narrative of a voyage around the world . 2 vols. London (1843)
  • Voyage of the Samarang to the Easter archipelago . 2 vols. London (1846)
  • The last of the Arctic voyages; being a narrative of the expedition in HMS Assistance, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher CB, in search of Sir John Franklin, during the years 1852–53–54 , 2 vols. London (1855)
  • The great equatorial current, misnamed Gulf Stream . London (1871)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Belcher, Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Belcher, Sir Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British naval officer and polar explorer
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1799
PLACE OF BIRTH Halifax , Nova Scotia
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1877
Place of death London