Alexander Dalrymple

Alexander Dalrymple ( born July 24, 1737 New Hailes, Midlothian, † June 19, 1808 in London) was a Scottish geographer.

Historically significant Dalrymple was especially in his role as unwavering in his support of the theory of a previously undiscovered southern continent. This idea appeared already at the Egyptian scholar Ptolemy - it was believed that this was necessary in order to bring the earth back into balance, but otherwise the land masses would dominate in the ratio 8:1 in the northern hemisphere. With this view, Dalrymple's rivalry with navigator and cartographer James Cook, who faced the existence of such a continent rather skeptical developed.

Cook was sent by the Admiralty to his legendary three circumnavigations. Among other things, he had the task to prove the existence of such a continent either or disprove. Dalrymple had initially hoped that the Admiralty would assign this task as expedition leader. But they finally gave the nautical far more experienced Cook preferred over the " desk scholars" Dalrymple.

Cook succeeded on one of his expeditions, probably as the first Europeans ever to happen to the Antarctic Circle. This, or by his subsequent circumnavigation of Antarctica became apparent that could be no place for such a continent in higher southern latitudes. Antarctica could not be regarded as the sought southern continent, since it was of a land mass in even moderate, habitable latitudes. This suggested Dalrymple another chapter in the long history of scientific errors.

Life

Alexander Dalrymple, son of Sir James Dalrymple (Baron of Hailes ) and Lady Christina Hamilton, spent his childhood on the family estate - New Hailes, near Edinburgh. He was the seventh of 16 children, which he survived all the others. The most popular one of his brothers was the jurist and historian Lord David Dalrymple. He received his first education in the school of David Young in Haddington.

His father died before Alexander completed the age of 14, and so he had to stop this training. Two years, he was still further directed by his eldest brother, until he received the offer in 1752 to work for the East India Company as a clerk. In preparation, he took courses in bookkeeping and arithmetic at the Academy in Fort Hills.

After successfully passing the tests he embarked in December this year to India in order to reach Madras in mid-May of the following year. In accordance with his incomplete education, he was initially assigned to the storekeeper, but could, through the intercession of the Governor, Lord Pigot, and the historian Orme ascend to the office. His two mentors taught him personally in writing and accounting.

However, in the records of the company, he came across notes on trade in the Philippines and the subject fascinated him so much that he also neglected his primary responsibilities for the company, which he fell in his mentors in disgrace.

Later still, he managed to get to the Philippines. After the conquest of Manila, during the British invasion of the Philippines, the British captured countless documents. Among other things, the reports of the Spanish explorer Luiz Vaez de Torres, who had been kept secret and a half centuries of the Spanish. Alexander Dalrymple received the documents for translation and realized the importance of Torres ' discovery that had happened first the strait between Australia and New Guinea, today's Torres Strait. He published Torres ' discovery in his work on the South Pacific explorations. In addition, he was instrumental in negotiating a profitable trade treaty with the Sultan of the Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah.

In 1765 he returned to England to convince the local authorities of the opportunities for increased trade in the Indian Ocean, but it was less successful.

Many years in the service of the East India Company, he worked from 1779 to society as a hydrographer, 1792, he was appointed to the first hydrographer. 1795 appointed him to the British Admiralty in the same position.

Compared to its role as a tragic figure of the history of science are often overlook his many contributions to cartography and maritime safety.

When the Kingdom of Great Britain became more and more involved end of the 18th century in the naval war with Napoleonic France, the need for systematic charts grew by leaps and Dalrymple made ​​a profound contribution to their standardization and cataloging. In the ship's safety, he created with his graphs to the recognition features of different wind strengths, the basis for the Beaufort scale.

Dalrymple suggested incidentally also was the first to name Australia for the continent at that time still known as New Holland.

Works

• An Account of the Discoveries made ​​in the South Pacifick Ocean previous to 1764th London 1767
• An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries Several. London 1771 online version of the work
• Historical Collection of various trips to the South Seas in the 16th, 17th and 18th century and the discoveries made ​​there. Bohn, Hamburg 1786