Sir Edward Belcher | |
|---|---|
 Sir Edward Belcherc. 1859, portrait byStephen Pearce | |
| Born | (1799-02-27)27 February 1799 |
| Died | 18 March 1877(1877-03-18) (aged 78) London, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1812–1865 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | |
| Wars | First Anglo-Chinese War |
| Awards | |
| Spouse | Diana Jolliffe |
Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer,hydrographer, and explorer.[1]
Belcher was born inHalifax,Nova Scotia, the second son ofAndrew Belcher and entered theRoyal Navy in 1812.
He was the great-grandson ofJonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.
In 1825, he accompaniedFrederick William Beechey's expedition to thePacific andBering Strait as asurveyor.[2]: 153 In 1835 he was surveying in theIrish Sea inHMS Lightning[2]: 221 , and in 1836 he commanded a surveying ship on the north and west coasts of Africa and in the British seas. Belcher took up the work which Beechey had left unfinished on the Pacific coast ofSouth America. He was on boardHMS Sulphur, which was ordered to return to England in 1839 via the Trans-Pacific route. Belcher made various observations at a number of islands which he visited, having been delayed by being despatched to take part in thewar in China in 1840.[3]
On 25 January 1841, Commander Belcher landed onPossession Point at the north shoreHong Kong Island, and made the first British survey ofHong Kong harbour. After the war's end in 1842 he reached home and for his services was made aKnight Bachelor in the following year. He was then engaged onHMS Samarang, in surveying work in theEast Indies, the Philippines,Port Hamilton, and other places, until 1847.[3]
In 1852 Belcher led the last and largest Admiralty expedition to attempt to find and rescueSir John Franklin.[3] He was also to look for his former surveying officer in Hong Kong,Sir Richard Collinson, andSir Robert McClure, whose ships had not been seen after entering the Bering Strait. He did a great deal of sledge exploration, rescued McClure and abandoned four of his five ships in the ice.
He had five ships:HMS Assistance (Belcher),HMS Resolute (Henry Kellett, second mateGeorge Nares), the steam tendersPioneer (Sherard Osborn) andIntrepid (Sir Leopold McClintock) and the depot shipHMS North Star (William Pullen). Belcher and one tender were to enter theWellington Channel, betweenCornwallis Island andDevon Island, where Franklin was thought to be, while Kellett was to go west toMelville Island and look for Collinson and McClure.North Star was to stay atBeechey Island as a supply base.
He left theNore in April 1852. By early winterAssistance andPioneer were frozen in at Northumberland Sound to the north of Wellington Channel whileResolute andIntrepid were frozen in off Melville Island – the first ships this far West sinceSir William Edward Parry in 1819. A great deal of exploration was done bymanhauled sledges. In April 1853Leopold McClintock and others leftResolute on sledges and returned 105 days later, having covered 1,400 miles (2,300 km) and discoveredPrince Patrick Island.
Another party went West and discovered Robert McClure, whose ship was frozen in atMercy Bay. Belcher went north by sledge and found a channel at the northern tip ofDevon Island, hinting that Franklin might have used it to escape toBaffin Bay. When the ice broke up that summer, he pushed his ships up Wellington Channel and became trapped again.
By February 1854, Belcher was becoming increasingly worried about the safety of his ships and men. In April he ordered Kellett to abandon his ships and return by sledge toNorth Star. Belcher abandoned his two ships in late July. Aided by two ships that showed up at Beechey Island (Phoenix andBreadalbane), the whole party returned to England. Belcher went through acourt martial, which was automatic for any captain who had lost a ship.
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He was exonerated, but his sword was returned to him "without observation". He never again received an active command. CuriouslyResolute broke free of the ice and drifted all the way toDavis Strait, southwest ofGreenland, where it was picked up by an Americanwhaler. The American government graciously returned the ship to the United Kingdom, and when many years later the ship wasbroken up, its timbers were used to make a desk for the American president by way of a thank you. ThisResolute desk, a gift fromQueen Victoria, is still used today in theOval Office.
Despite his achievements, Belcher would later be described by aHydrographer of the Navy as “a tyrannical martinet who made every ship he commanded a floating hell.”[5]
Following his last active service, Belcher was appointed Knight Commander of theOrder of the Bath in 1867, and an admiral in 1872.[3]
He was briefly married to Diana Jolliffe, stepdaughter of CaptainPeter Heywood; that marriage ending upon her application for legal separation for his having infected her with venereal disease.[6]
Belcher is commemorated in Hong Kong throughBelcher's Street,Belcher Bay andThe Belcher's inKennedy Town. His name is also commemorated in theBelcher Islands, in theCanadian Arctic. He is also commemorated with a plaque in the Admiralty Garden,CFB Halifax.
A highly venomousseasnake,Hydrophis belcheri, is also named in his honour.[7] Belcher collected theholotype which is housed in theNatural History Museum, London.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Belcher, Sir Edward".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 663.
