Nathaniel Brown Palmer | |
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| Born | (1799-08-08)August 8, 1799 Stonington, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | June 21, 1877(1877-06-21) (aged 77) |
| Monuments | Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House,Palmer Station,Palmer Land,Palmer Archipelago,N.B. Palmer (clipper),Nathaniel B. Palmer (icebreaker) |
| Other names | "Captain Nat" |
| Occupation(s) | Sealing captain, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer |
| Known for | 22-year-old "Captain Nat" and his men were the first Americans to discover theAntarctic Peninsula. Later, he was active in the design of the firstclipper ships. |
Nathaniel Brown Palmer (August 8, 1799 – June 21, 1877) was an Americanseal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, ship designer, and a whale hunter. He gave his name toPalmer Land,Antarctica, which he explored in 1820 on hissloopHero. He was born inStonington, Connecticut, and was a descendant ofWalter Palmer, one of the town's founders.[1]
During the 1810s the hides ofAntarctic Ocean seals were highly valued as items for trade withChina. Palmer served as second mate on boardHersilia's first voyage, during which she became the first American vessel known to reach theSouth Shetland Islands. As a skilled and fearless seal hunter, Palmer achieved his first command at the early age of 21. His vessel, a diminutivesloop namedHero, was only 47 feet (14 m) in length. Palmer steered southward inHero at the beginning of the Antarctic summer of 1820–1821. Aggressively searching for newsealrookeries south ofCape Horn, on November 17, 1820, Palmer and his men became the first Americans and the third group of people to discover theAntarctic Peninsula. Larger ships skippered byFabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen andEdward Bransfield had reported sighting land earlier in 1820. Along with English sealerGeorge Powell, Palmer also co-discovered the nearbySouth Orkney Islands archipelago.
After concluding a successful sealing career, Palmer, still in the prime of life, switched his attention to the captaining of fast sailing ships for the transportation of express freight. In 1843, Captain Palmer took command ofPaul Jones on her maiden voyage fromBoston toHong Kong, arriving in 111 days. In this new role, the Connecticut captain traveled many of the world's principal sailing routes. Observing the strengths and weaknesses of the ocean-going sailing ships of his time, Palmer suggested and designed improvements to theirhulls andrigging. The improvements made Palmer a co-developer of the mid-19th centuryclipper ship.
Capt. Palmer purchased the Capt. Loper house in 1836, in Stonington, Connecticut. The Loper family were primarily whalers out of East Hampton, Long Island. Capt. Jacob Loper had four sons who brought whaling to Nantucket, Massachusetts; the Delaware Bay, southern New Jersey; and, Stonington, Connecticut. The composite character of Ismael inMoby Dick is based on events in the life of one of his children, who was the only survivor of an 1835 sinking off Japan, in which all were lost but young James Loper, who floated upon a coffin for a week. In the Capt. Loper House library Capt. Palmer found many old maps, including two of the coastline of Antarctica, made by the Lopers while working with TheDutch East India Company. The Loper family invented "All Found", which meant that berth and food were not deducted from sailors' pay, insuring eager crews for Capt. James Loper. Escaping slaves likewise signed on as each sailor was paid the same rate. All African-Americans with the last name of "Loper" can trace their lineage back to this time, taking their last name from the Dutch Loper family. Between 1852 and 1854 Capt. Palmer built his home in Stonington which is today known as theCapt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House. The house is of a transitional style combining elements of theGreek revival and VictorianItalianate styles. It was designated aNational Historic Landmark in 1996 and is now the headquarters of theStonington Historical Society.
Palmer closed his sailing career and established himself in his hometown of Stonington as a successful owner of clipper ships sailed by others. He died in San Francisco June 21, 1877, at the age of 77.
Palmer Land, part of the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as thePalmer Archipelago, were named in his honor.
The Antarctic science and research program operated by theU.S. government continues to recall Palmer's role in the exploration of the Antarctic area.Palmer Station, located in the seal islands that Palmer explored, the clipper shipN.B. Palmer (built byJacob Aaron Westervelt) and the Antarctic icebreakerRVNathaniel B. Palmer are named after Captain Palmer.
Hero Bay, in the South Shetland Islands, is named for Captain Palmer's sloopHero, one of the vessels of thePendleton sealing fleet from Stonington which visited the islands in 1820–21.
Also named after Palmer's sloopHero isHero Rupes, anescarpment which was discovered in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mercury in 1973.
On September 14, 1988, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp honoring Nathaniel Palmer.
His home in Stonington, theCapt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House, was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1996.According to the records of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Connecticut, he was initiated in 1826 by the Loper family. His record of membership ends in the year of his death and was reported at a special meeting of Asylum Lodge of Masons in Stonington, CT No. 57 on June 29, 1877, a Seafarer's Lodge. The Masonic Service Association of North America published a Short Talk Bulletin in March 2007 that is Vol. 85 No. 3 which details his history and attests to his membership in the Masonic Fraternity.
n.b. palmer.
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