Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec

Huon de Kermadec, Jean -Michel (* 1748, † July 20, 1793 ) was a French navigator and explorer in the 18th century. Huon de Kermadec came from Brittany.

In 1791 he commanded the ship L' Esperance on the expedition Joseph Bruny d' Entrecasteaux ', which was broken up by order of the French Government, to search for the lost adventurers and explorers, Jean -François de La Pérouse.

On September 28, 1791 stood d' Entrecasteaux, who commanded the La Recherche, and Kermadec from Brest to sea. However, the hopeful search for the missing La Pérouse came to disaster: The officers and crew were politically divided into Royalists and Republicans fought bitterly. And except the officers were still quite a few researchers on board, often representing their own interests. Only created the hydrographer Charles Beautemps - Beaupre, the excellent until today canceled charts of large areas and the botanist Jacques Julien Houton de Labillardiere it is thanks to them that the expedition was a success in scientific terms.

The two ships cruised around the South Seas and went various leads, but found neither La Pérouse nor his ship. ( Only Jules Dumont d' Urville found 35 years later the wreck of the La Boussole. )

After all, researched and discovered d' Entrecasteaux and Kermadec in their search many previously little-known areas. The Huon Gulf at Lae, the Trobriand Islands (after Lieutenant Denis de Trobriand of the l' Esperance), the Cape Cretin (after Lieutenant Lionel Cretin of the La Recherche ), the D' Entrecasteaux Islands, the D' Entrecasteauxstraße ( all in Papua New Guinea), the New Zealand Kermadecinseln.

After nearly two years of searching, the two captains died in quick succession, without having found La Pérouse. Huon Kermadec died of phthisis in Balade harbor, d' Entrecasteaux from scurvy on July 20, 1793 at sea off the Hermitinseln in the north of New Guinea.

After Huon Kermadec, in addition to which he discovered the Kermadec Islands Kermadec - Tonga Trench (or Kermadecgraben ), named the Huon (a river in Tasmania ), the city on the eponymous river Huonville and the Huon Peninsula of Papua New Guinea.

• Seafarer
• Discoverer (18th century)
• Frenchman
• Born in 1748
• Died in 1793
• Man
• Australia researchers