Charles Clerke | |
|---|---|
 Charles Clerke, byNathaniel Dance-Holland, 1776 | |
| Born | 22 August 1741 |
| Died | 22 August 1779 (aged 38) Kamchatka, Russia |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands | HMSDiscovery HMSResolution |
| Battles / wars | Seven Years' War |
CaptainCharles ClerkeRN (22 August 1741 – 22 August 1779) was an officer in theRoyal Navy who sailed on four voyages of exploration (including three circumnavigations), three with CaptainJames Cook. When Cook was killed during his3rd expedition to the Pacific, Clerke took command but died later in the voyage fromtuberculosis.
Clerke started studying at theRoyal Naval Academy inPortsmouth when he was 13. During theSeven Years' War he served aboardHMSDorsetshire andHMSBellona. He was in themizzen-top of HMSBellona when the mast was shot away in 1761 and he became the only survivor of those who consequently fell overboard.[1]
In June 1764 he joinedCaptainJohn Byron, aboardHMSDolphin, on Byron's expedition to explore the Pacific. TheDolphin returned in May 1766. Its circumnavigation of 22 months was the quickest up to that point. Upon his return Clerke published an account of encounteringPatagonian giants, a hoax which theDictionary of Canadian Biography attributed to his high spirits.[2]
Clerke's last three voyages were all under the command of CaptainJames Cook. He started thefirst voyage aboardHM BarkEndeavour (1768–1771) as amaster's mate. Cook promoted him to actinglieutenant in 1771, and he was officially confirmed in that rank on 31 July 1771. He wasHMSResolution's second lieutenant onCook's second voyage (1772–1775).
While ashore between Cook's 2nd and3rd voyages Clerke agreed to serve time in theKing's Benchdebtor's prison for a debt one of his brothers, Sir John Clerke had incurred. While in debtor's prison he was infected with the tuberculosis that eventually killed him.[3][4]
For Cook's third expedition, Clerke was placed in command ofHMSDiscovery, receiving this command on 26 August 1775. WhenCook was killed in a skirmish withHawaiians on 14 February 1779, Clerke took command of the expedition and of HMSResolution. He continued the expedition's exploration of the Northern Pacific coast, searching for a navigableNorthwest Passage. The expedition then proceeded to the Pacific coast of Siberia. LieutenantJames King, one of his subordinates, wrote that Clerke's illness had reduced him to skeletal thinness. On 10 August 1779, Clerke wrote in a letter toSir Joseph Banks that, "The disorder I was attacked with in the King's bench prison has proved consumptive, with which I have battled with various [unclear] although without one single days health since I took leave of you ... it has now so far got the better of me that I am not able to turn myself in bed, so that my stay in this world must be of very short duration."[5] Clerke died from tuberculosis on his 38th birthday (22 August 1779) en route toKamchatka from theBering Strait. He was buried in Kamchatka on 29 August 1779. Clerke's second in command, LieutenantJohn Gore took command of the expedition as captain ofResolution, appointing King as captain ofDiscovery. The expedition then sailed via China and theSunda Strait toCape Town, returning to England in August 1780.[6]
In 1913, theBritish Admiralty erected a smallobelisk in Clerke's honour atPetropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, with an inscription in English.[7][8][9]
