Alexander Armstrong (medical doctor)

Sir Alexander Armstrong (* 1818 in County Donegal - † July 4, 1899 ) was an Irish ship surgeon in the Royal Navy.

Life

Armstrong studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Edinburgh . In 1842 he joined the Royal Navy as an assistant doctor . Promoted to Surgeon in 1849 , he sailed for the Western Arctic on HMS Investigator in 1850 . Captain Robert John Le Mesurier McClure searched the Bering Strait for the missing Franklin expedition . The ship was trapped in the pack ice for three years . By rescuing them, they discovered the Northwest Passage . During the Crimean War he saw the Suomenlinna Fortress being bombarded . He later served in the Mediterranean Fleet , the RNH Bighi in Malta , the Royal Hospital Haslar and the Royal Marine Infirmary in Chatham (Kent) . From 1869 to 1880 he was Director-General of the Medical Department of the Navy .

Personal narrative of the discovery of the North-West passage, with numerous incidents of travel and adventure during nearly five years' continous service in the arctic regions while in search of the expedition under Sir John Franklin. London 1857.
Observations on naval hygiene and scurvy, more particularly as the latter appeared during a polar voyage. 1858.

^ Georg-Michael Fleischer : Ship surgeons from Columbus to Nelson. Forgotten heroes of seafaring history. Kaden Verlag, Heidelberg 2017. ISBN 978-3-942825-46-7 , p. 213.

personal data
SURNAME	Armstrong, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Irish doctor in the Royal Navy
DATE OF BIRTH	1818
PLACE OF BIRTH	County Donegal , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH	4th July 1899