Frederick William Beechey

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Frederick William Beechey

Frederick William Beechey (born February 17, 1796 in London , † November 29, 1856 ibid) was a British naval officer, polar explorer , politician and geographer .

Life

Frederick William Beechey was the son of the portrait painter Sir William Beechey (1753–1839) and initially took part as an officer in 1818 with John Franklin on the expedition to Spitzbergen to search for the Northwest Passage . In 1819 he accompanied William Edward Parry as a lieutenant on the ship Hecla on a Northern Sea voyage. On this trip Parry discovered an island that he named after Beechey, Beechey Island in what is now the Canadian province of Nunavut . Beechey himself was the first European to sight Banks Island on the same expedition .

In 1821 he went to the north coast of Africa and explored the Great Syrte and the Cyrenaica . In 1825 he was given command of HMS Blossom . With this research vessel, Beechey undertook an expedition to the Pacific , the Bering Strait and arctic North America from 1825 to 1828 . If possible, he was supposed to meet John Franklin , who was advancing over the mainland from the east , via the Kotzebue Sound and thus gain further knowledge about the Northwest Passage . Beechey only reached Point Barrow in northernmost Alaska. Since a meeting did not take place, he returned to Woolwich in England in October 1828 . The captain's younger brother, later admiral and marine painter Richard Brydges Beechey , also took part in the trip as a midshipman .

From 1837 he was busy with hydrographic work in the Irish Channel . In 1847 he was appointed head of the Navy Department in the Ministry of Commerce , which he held until his death. Beechey became Rear Admiral in 1854 and President of the Royal Geographical Society in 1855 .

Frederick William Beechey died in London on November 29, 1856.

Works

  • Voyage of discovery towards the North Pole 1818 . London 1843 ( online )
  • Description of Messrs Marshall's grand peristrephic panorama of the Polar regions [microform]: which displays the north coast of Spitzbergen, Baffin's Bay, Arctic Highlands, & c., Now exhibiting in the large new circular wooden building, George's Square, Glasgow; painted from drawings taken by Lieut. Beechey who accompanied the Polar Expedition in 1818 , 1821 ( online )
  • Proceedings of the expedition to explore the northern coast of Africa . London 1827 ( online )
  • Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait, to Co-operate With the Polar Expeditions Performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom Under the Command of Captain FW Beechey RN in the Years 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828. , 2 Volumes, Colburn & Bentley, London 1831 ( online )
  • The zoology of Captain Beechey's voyage, compiled from the collections and notes ... , HG Bohn, London 1839. ( online )
  • The Botany of Captain Beechey's voyage , London 1841 ( online )
  • Address at the anniversary meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, 26th May, 1856 , London 1857 ( online )

Web links

Commons : Frederick William Beechey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Beechey, Frederick William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English polar explorer and geographer
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1796
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1856
Place of death London