Joseph Barclay Pentland

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Pencil drawing Joseph Barclay Pentlands by Carlo Ernesto Liverati , signed by Pentland

Joseph Barclay Pentland (born January 17, 1797 in Ballybofey , County Donegal , † July 12, 1873 in London ) was an Irish traveler and naturalist.

Life

Joseph Barclay Pentland, who was orphaned at a young age, trained in Armagh and at Paris University, where his knowledge of comparative anatomy earned him the friendship of the French naturalist Georges Cuvier . He was recommended by Cuvier and Alexander von Humboldt , employed in the British consulate service in South America in 1826 and has since traveled to Peru , Chile and Bolivia . With Woodbine Parish he measured a large part of the Bolivian Andes from 1826-27 , which until now had rarely been visited by Europeans. In particular, he made a name for himself through numerous astronomical location determinations, through height measurements of important Andean peaks such as the Chimborazo , Illimani and Sorata, as well as through determination of the snow depths. He also visited Lake Titicaca and found that its outflow was the Río Desaguadero , while it had been classified as a tributary of the lake on all previous maps. From 1836-39 Pentland served as the British Consul General of Bolivia. In 1838 he visited Cusco in southern Peru and numerous interesting places in the vicinity of this city. Among other things, he wrote the text Notices of the Bolivian Andes and southern affluents of the rivers Amazonas and Beni (London 1836).

Pentland later lived in Europe again, mostly in Italy since 1845. He was so familiar with the topography and antiquity of Rome that he was chosen as the tour guide of the Prince of Wales on two visits to Rome. He also edited the 9th edition of the Handbook of Rome and its Environs for John Murray in 1860 , as well as its 10th and 11th editions in 1871/72, the 6th edition of the Handbook for Travelers in Southern Italy (1868) and the 11th edition . Edition of the Handbook for Travelers in Northern Italy (1869). He helped James Fergusson write his Sketches of the Antiquities of Cusco and Mrs. Somerville with information on the geology of South America for their Physical Geography (1848).

On July 12, 1873, Pentland, who discovered the mineral pentlandite named after him, died in London at the age of 76 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery .

The lunar crater Pentland is named after him.

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personal data
SURNAME Pentland, Joseph Barclay
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish traveler and naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1797
PLACE OF BIRTH Ballybofey , County Donegal
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1873
Place of death London