Sir Francis Beaufort | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Beaufortc. 1851 | |
| Hydrographer of the Navy | |
| In office 19 May 1829 – 25 January 1855 (1829-05-19 –1855-01-25) | |
| Preceded by | Sir Edward Parry |
| Succeeded by | John Washington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1774-05-27)27 May 1774 Navan,County Meath, Ireland |
| Died | 17 December 1857(1857-12-17) (aged 83) |
| Resting place | St John's Church Gardens |
| Spouses |
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| Children | |
| Parent | Daniel Augustus Beaufort |
| Relatives |
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| Occupation | Hydrographer,mariner |
| Known for | Beaufort cipher,Beaufort scale |
| Awards | |
| Military service | |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1790–1855 |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral |
| Wars | |
Sir Francis BeaufortKCB FRS FRGS FRAS MRIA (/ˈboʊfərt/BOH-fərt; 27 May 1774 – 17 December 1857) was an Irishhydrographer and naval officer who created theBeaufort cipher and theBeaufort scale.
Francis Beaufort was descended from French ProtestantHuguenots, who fled theFrench Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century. His parents moved to Ireland fromLondon. His father,Daniel Augustus Beaufort, was aProtestant clergyman fromNavan,County Meath, Ireland, and a member of the learnedRoyal Irish Academy. His mother Mary was the daughter and co-heiress of William Waller, ofAllenstown House. Francis was born in Navan on 27 May 1774.[1] He had an older brother, William Louis Beaufort and three sisters,Frances,Harriet, and Louisa. His father created and published a new map of Ireland in 1792.[2] Francis grew up in Wales and Ireland until age fourteen.[3][4] He left school and went to sea, but never stopped his education.[citation needed] By later in life, he had become sufficiently self-educated to associate with some of the greatest scientists and applied mathematicians of his time, includingMary Somerville,John Herschel,George Biddell Airy, andCharles Babbage.
Francis Beaufort had a lifelong keen awareness of the value of accurate charts for those risking the seas, as he was shipwrecked at the age of fifteen due to a faulty chart. His most significant accomplishments were innautical charting.[citation needed]
Beaufort first went to sea in 1789 on theBritish East India CompanyEast IndiamanVansittart. She was wrecked, but all but one man of her crew survived and Beaufort returned home.[5]
Beaufort commenced his naval career in 1790 by joiningHMS Latona as amidshipman. She was paid off late in the year and Beaufort transferred in 1791 to thefifth rate frigateHMS Aquilon. After the commencement ofwar with France he was onAquilon during the Battle of theGlorious First of June offUshant inBrittany in 1794, whenAquilon rescued the dismastedHMS Defence and exchanged broadsides with theFrench ship-of-the line,Impétueux.[5]
He was promoted to Lieutenant on 10 May 1796 onHMS Phaeton. While serving onPhaeton, Beaufort was badly wounded leading a cutting-out operation offMálaga in 1800; the action resulted in the capture of the 14-gunpolaccaCalpe. Beaufort was promoted to the rank of Commander on 13 November 1800.
While recovering from his wounds, during which he received a "paltry" pension of £45 per annum, he helped his brother-in-law,Richard Lovell Edgeworth, to construct asemaphore line fromDublin toGalway. He spent two years at this activity, for which he would accept no remuneration.[6]
Beaufort returned to active service and was appointed acaptain in theRoyal Navy on 30 May 1810. Whereas other wartime officers sought leisurely pursuits, Beaufort spent his leisure time takingdepth soundings andbearings, making astronomical observations to determinelongitude andlatitude, and measuring shorelines. His results were compiled in new charts.[citation needed]
TheAdmiralty gave Beaufort his first ship command,HMS Woolwich. He sailed her to the East Indies and escorted a convoy ofEast Indiamen back to Britain. The Admiralty then tasked him with conducting ahydrographic survey of theRio de la Plata estuary in South America. Experts were very impressed by the survey Beaufort brought back. Notably,Alexander Dalrymple remarked in a note to the Admiralty in March 1808, that "we have few officers (indeed I do not know one) in our Service who have half his professional knowledge and ability, and in zeal and perseverance he cannot be excelled."[7]
After theWoolwich, Beaufort received his firstpost-captain commission, commandingFrederickstein.[8]
Throughout 1811–1812, Beaufort charted and explored southernAnatolia, a region he referred to asKaramania, locating manyclassical ruins, includingHadrian's Gate. An attack on the crew of his boat (atAyas, nearAdana), byTurks interrupted his work and he received a serious bullet wound in the hip. He returned to England and drew up his charts.
In 1817, he published his bookKaramania; or a brief description of the South Coast of Asia Minor, and of the Remains of Antiquity.[9]
In 1829, Beaufort was elected as a Fellow of theRoyal Astronomical Society,[10] and in the same year, at the age of 55 (retirement age for most administrative contemporaries), Beaufort was appointed as theBritish AdmiraltyHydrographer of the Navy. He served in that post for 26 years, longer than any other Hydrographer.G.S. Ritchie, himself Hydrographer (1966–1971) described this period as the "High Noon" of Admiralty surveying.[11]: 189–199 The geographical scope of surveying was greatly increased, both in home waters and overseas. The production of new charts increased from 19 in 1830 to 1230 in 1855.[11]: 196
In 1831, a Scientific Branch of the Admiralty was formed, which as well as theHydrographic Department included the great astronomicalobservatories atGreenwich, England, and theCape of Good Hope, Africa, and the Nautical Almanac and Chronometer Offices, and Beaufort was responsible for the administration.[11]: 195 Beaufort directed some of the major maritime explorations and experiments of that period. He played a leading role in the search for the explorer,Sir John Franklin, who was lost during his last polar voyage to search for the legendaryNorthwest Passage.[12]
Beaufort was interested in scientific affairs beyond the confines of navigation. As a council member of theRoyal Society, theRoyal Observatory, and theRoyal Geographical Society (which he helped found), Beaufort used his position and prestige as a top administrator to act as a "middleman" for many scientists of his time. Beaufort represented the geographers, astronomers,oceanographers,geodesists, andmeteorologists to that government agency, the Hydrographic Office, which could support their research. In 1849 he assisted in the publication of the AdmiraltyManual of Scientific Enquiry, to assist both Navy personnel and general travellers in scientific investigations, ranging fromastronomy toethnography.[13][11]: 198
Beaufort trainedRobert FitzRoy, who was put in temporary command of the survey shipHMSBeagle after her previous captain committed suicide. When FitzRoy was reappointed as commander for what became the famoussecond voyage of theBeagle, he requested of Beaufort "that a well-educated andscientific gentleman be sought" as a companion on the voyage.[11]: 203 Beaufort's enquiries led to an invitation toCharles Darwin, who later drew on his discoveries in formulating thetheory of evolution he presented in his bookThe Origin of Species. Later, when Beaufort persuaded theBoard of Trade to set up a Meterorological Department, Fitzroy became its first director[11]: 192
Using his many connections, including theRoyal Society, Beaufort helped to obtain funding for theAntarctic voyage of 1839–1843 byJames Clark Ross for extensive measurements ofterrestrial magnetism, coordinated with similar measurements in Europe and Asia.[3]: 303 (This is comparable to theInternational Geophysical Year of our time.)
Beaufort promoted the development of reliable tide tables around British shores, publishing the first edition of theAdmiralty Tide Tables in 1833.[14][15] This inspired similar research for Europe and North America. Aiding his friendWilliam Whewell, Beaufort gained the support of the Prime Minister,Duke of Wellington, in expanding record-keeping at 200 BritishCoastguard stations. Beaufort gave enthusiastic support to his friend,Sir George Airy, theAstronomer Royal and noted mathematician, in achieving a historic period of measurements by the Greenwich and Good Hope observatories.[citation needed]
By the time Beaufort retired the Admiralty Chart series was a truly worldwide resource with 2,000 charts covering every sea.[16]
Beaufort retired from the Royal Navy with the rank ofrear admiral on 1 October 1846, at the age of 72. He became "Sir Francis Beaufort" on being appointedKCB (Knight Commander of the Bath) on 29 April 1848, a relatively belated honorific considering the eminence of his position from 1829 onward. In 1840, he was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[17]
Beaufort's extant correspondence of more than 200 letters and journals contained portions written in personal cipher. Beaufort altered theVigenère cipher, by reversing the cipher alphabet, and the resulting variant is called theBeaufort cipher. The deciphered writings have revealed family and personal problems, including some of a sexual nature. It appears that between 1835 and his marriage to Honora Edgeworth in November 1838, he had incestuous relations with his sisterHarriet. His diary entries, incipher, show that he was tortured by guilt over this.[3][page needed]
He died on 17 December 1857, at age 83 inHove,Sussex, England. He is buried in the church gardens of St John atHackney, London, where his tomb may still be seen. His home in London, No. 52 Manchester Street,Westminster, is marked by an historicblue plaque noting his residency and achievements.[18]
Beaufort married, firstly, Alicia Magdalena Wilson, daughter of Lestock Wilson R.N. under whom he had first served; she died in 1834.[19] Of their children, three daughters and three sons were living in 1859.[20] They included:
Beaufort married again in 1838, to Honora Edgeworth, the daughter of his brother-in-lawRichard Lovell Edgeworth and his second wife. (Francis' sister Frances Beaufort had married Edgeworth as his fourth wife years earlier in the 1810s.)
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During these early years of command, Beaufort developed the first versions of hisWind Force Scale and Weather Notation coding, which he was to use in his journals for the remainder of his life. From the circle representing a weather station, a staff (rather like the stem of a note in musical notation) extends, with one or more half or whole barbs. For example, a stave with 31⁄2 barbs represents Beaufort seven on the scale, decoded as 32–38 mph, or a "moderate Gale".
Beaufort, like other patrons of exploration, has had his name given to many geographical places. Among these:
Beaufort created theBeaufort cipher. It is asubstitution cipher similar to theVigenère cipher.
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