Edward Adrian Wilson

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Edward A. Wilson

Edward Adrian Wilson (born July 23, 1872 in Cheltenham , † March 29, 1912 , Ross Ice Shelf , Antarctica ) was a British polar explorer , doctor and ornithologist .

Born and raised on the Crippetts farm near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire , he studied then at Gonville and Caius College of Cambridge University . The college flag Wilson took with him to the South Pole is still kept there .

Participants in British Antarctic expeditions

Wilson was a participant in two British Antarctic expeditions. During the Discovery Expedition from 1901 to 1904 under Robert Falcon Scott on the Discovery , he worked as a doctor and zoologist. Ernest Shackleton asked him to take part in his Nimrod expedition (1907-1909) as well, but Wilson refused.

However, Wilson was a participant in the Terra Nova expedition , which set out again for Antarctica under Scott in 1910 and was responsible for the scientific part. He was one of five men who reached the South Pole on January 18, 1912 . All five died on their return. The Royal Geographic Society posthumously awarded him the Patron's Medal in 1913 .

Wilson grew up in a heavily religious atmosphere, and until his death he retained a spiritual serenity and serenity that made him the person his comrades turned to when they needed encouragement while participating in the Antarctic expeditions. In the dispute between Scott and Shackleton over alleged questions of prerogative for conquering the South Pole, he took Scott's side. As a result, there was a break with Shackleton, who was actually his friend.

The Wilson Piedmont Glacier , Cape Wilson , the Wilson Hills and, indirectly, the Wilson Canyon are named after Wilson .

2017 was between Penguin springs, the watercolor "1899 Tree Creeper" ( treecreepers rediscovered) by Edward Wilson. He is said to have taken it with him on his 1912 expedition to the South Pole, for reasons that were not yet known. It was brought to New Zealand with 1,500 artefacts and is now to be returned to East Antarctica ( Cape Adare ).

literature

Web links

Commons : Edward Adrian Wilson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of Gold Medal Winners from the Royal Geographic Society , accessed June 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ bark: Old watercolor discovered in Antarctica, In: Hamburger Abendblatt from June 14, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Wilson, Edward Adrian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British doctor and polar explorer
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Cheltenham , England
DATE OF DEATH March 29, 1912
Place of death Ross Ice Shelf , Antarctica