Edward Bransfield

Edward Bransfield (* 1785 in Ballinacurra, County Cork, † October 31, 1852 in Brighton ) was an Irish- British navigator and explorer, and perhaps the first man who has seen the land mass of Antarctica.

Life

Early years

Bransfield was born in 1785 in Ballinacurra, about his youth, very little is known. In 1803 he was taken on a ship of the Royal Navy by a pressing Command to hire a then common way new sailors.

His seafaring career began as a simple sailor on the battleship Ville de Paris, after he won very quickly seaman higher ranks. He served in 1805 as able-bodied seaman and in 1808 lieutenant on the battleship Royal Sovereign. In 1812 he reached the rank of 2nd officer and the same year he became commander of the Goldfinch. A few years later he was helmsman of Andromache under the command of Captain William H. Shirreff ( 1785-1847 ). During this trip he was stationed by the Royal Navy on the Pacific station in Valparaíso in Chile. Chile had just won its independence from Spain at this time, Valparaíso was accordingly a very restless city.

The discovery of the Antarctic

After 1819 the South Shetland Islands were discovered by chance by William Smith Williams, sent Captain Shirreff Bransfield to explore to the south. He chartered for this purpose the Williams and William Smith remained as navigator aboard.

End of December 1819 he sailed from Chile to the South Shetland Islands. After he had taken the King George Island for England in possession, he explored the southern part of the Antarctic marine and came across Tower Iceland and Ohlin Iceland. On January 30, 1820, the expedition discovered Deception Iceland and sighted later in the day a mountain range running from north-east to south-west, probably the Trinity Peninsula, the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula. He recorded in his journal that he had discovered the long-sought southern land mass and described two snow-capped mountains. One of these mountains was named in his honor Mount Bransfield. Bransfield followed the pack ice edge and discovered Elephant and Clarence Iceland Iceland, where he went ashore.

It is controversial to this day whether Bransfield and Smith have discovered the Antarctic continent. Probably this honor Fabian von Bellingshausen, who had been three days earlier spotted the Princess Martha Coast in East Antarctica by the corvette Vostok from.

Bransfield gave his logbook and his private notes and the maps to Shirreff, who forwarded them to Britain. The cards are lost until now owned by the Hydrographic Department in London, the logbook was, however. 1821, parts of the records released.

Later life

Bransfield left the Navy nor 1820 and took over in the following years in command of various merchant ships. He and his wife Ann, he lived in Brighton and died in 1852.

Honors

In addition to Mount Bransfield Strait between the South Shetland Islands and the Trinity Peninsula by Bransfield is called the Bransfield Strait. His name also carries Bransfield Iceland.

In 2000, the British Post Office wanted to issue a stamp with his portrait, but was not able to find a picture of the man. Instead, now decorated with a picture of the RRS Bransfield the brand, a research vessel, which was named after Bransfield.