Edward Belcher

Sir Edward Belcher, KCB ( born February 27, 1799 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, † March 18, 1877 in London) was a British sailor and Arctic explorer.

Life

Belcher was the 1825 Captain Frederick William Beechey added and made the trip to the Bering Strait. At Beechey place Belcher in 1836 commander of the ships HMS Sulphur and HMS Starling, with which he makes a trip around the world undertook to 1842. The long duration explained by the fact that he was involved in during this trip well in the fighting against the Chinese. For such crimes, he received the dignity of Knights ( Knight ) and was appointed post captain. Soon after, he was sent to the cartographic recording of the coasts of Borneo and Japan.

In his last company Belcher led 1852 large search expedition to John Franklin, after the ships HMS Intrepid and Pioneer got stuck in the ice. If this was also unsuccessful, as Belcher explored at least the Penny Strait with sled and came to Jones Sound. According to him, the Belcher were named. In 1854 he returned to the loss of several ships back home. He was then brought before a court-martial, but acquitted. He defended himself later in his book The Last Arctic voyages ( 2 vols, London 1855).

One of the lost ships was the HMS Resolute. In 1855, American whalers carried the remaining stuck in the polar ship, which was returned after repair of the British Crown. After the dismantling of the ship in 1879, a desk was built from the wood. The desk was a thank you gift from the British Queen Victoria, and was passed on 23 November 1880, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes. He is called " Resolute Desk " and stands as a desk by the U.S. President in the Oval Office of the White House. With the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford this desk was used by all other presidents according to Hayes.

1864 Belcher was appointed Rear Admiral of the red flag and 1866 also Vice- Admiral. Edward Belcher died on 18 March 1877 in London.

Works

• Narrative of a voyage round the world. 2 vols London ( 1843)
• Voyage of the Samarang to the Easter archipelago. 2 vols London ( 1846)
• The great equatorial current, misnamed Gulf Stream. London ( 1871)