William Parry (explorer)
Sir William Edward Parry ( born December 19, 1790 in Bath, † July 8, 1855 in Bad Ems) was a British admiral and Arctic explorer. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " W.Parry ".
Life
William Edward Parry was born in Bath, the son of Caleb Hillier Parry of the doctor and his wife Sarah nee Rigby. At his birth he first attended the Grammar School and joined at the age of 13 years as a volunteer under the command of Admiral William Cornwallis channel fleet. Parry distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars 1803-1806 as a cadet at the blockade of the French fleet in Brest and in the Baltic Sea from. In 1810 he became a lieutenant on the frigate Alexandria, which was used to protect whalers in Spitsbergen. He also used this time for astronomical observations in the northern latitudes and later published his studies under the title Nautical Astronomy by Night (1816 ).
The search for the Northwest Passage
1818 Parry accompanied the Scottish captain and polar explorer John Ross, who had received the order to go in search of the Northwest Passage, on a trip to Arctic waters, but ended without tangible results. The British Admiralty ordered this to provide a further expedition. On his next Arctic trip (May 11, 1819 to October 30, 1820 ) Parry explored with the two ships HMS Hecla and HMS Griper a hitherto not yet known part of the polar archipelago of Canada and discovered also previously unknown islands - such as Bathurst island and Melville Island. These two and the Devon and Cornwallis Island were named after their discoverer, Parry Islands, its present name is Queen Elizabeth Islands. As a result of massive ice pack he was finally forced to cancel the trip. In 1821 he described in Journal of a Voyage to discover a North -west Passage his impressions of the trip.
Of 3 May 1821 to the October 10, 1823 Parry undertook with the ships HMS Fury and HMS Hecla a second Arctic expedition, this time to the north of Hudson Bay, where he first explored in more detail the Repulse Bay and then to winter Iceland, before which is also explored by him Lyon Inlet area, had to spend the winter. After Eisaufbruch sailing northward he discovered a whole year completely frozen waterway, the Fury and Hecla - Street. In the hope that the ice the following summer aufbräche, he had one more time to hibernate, this time on Iglulik Iceland, and made scientific observations, including about the lifestyle of the Inuit to. After the ice the Fury and Hecla Strait, was not free, contrary to expectations and state of health deteriorated more and more, Parry was forced to return. 1824 appeared Parry's publication Journal of a second voyage for the discovery of a North - West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
A third trip from 1824 to 1825 on the Lancaster Sound in the Prince Regent Inlet ended with the sinking of the HMS Fury on the east coast of Somerset Iceland; on HMS Hecla Parry returned with the entire team back to England. In 1827 he tried to reach the North Pole from Svalbard, but only got to 82 ° 45 'north latitude (27 July 1827). His impressions he described in the book Narrative of the Attempt to reach the North Pole (1827 ).
Although Parry neither the Northwest Passage completely sailed yet reached the North Pole, brought his discoveries and studies clarify the structure of the Arctic islands of North America. For this he was knighted in 1829 by Queen Victoria (English title: Sir) beaten.
Last years of life
From 1829 to 1834 he was commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company in New South Wales in Australia. Later he became auditor of the newly founded Department of steam engines in the British Navy, and held this post until his retirement.
Personal
William Parry was a deeply religious embossed person who published the book, among other Lecture to Seamen, and Thoughts on the Parental Character of God. He was married twice: to Isabella Louisa Stanley (1826-1839), with whom he had eight children, and in 1841 with Catherine Edwards Hankinson, with whom he had three children. He died during a spa stay in Bad Ems at the age of 64 years on July 8, 1855. His son Pastor Edward Parry, published posthumously in the Memoirs of Rear- Admiral Sir WE Parry.
Honors
The lunar crater Parry was named in 1935 by the IAU for him.
Publications
- Expedition to the Arctic regions in 1818, in the royal. Alexander ships under the command of Lieutenant Commander and WE Parry, Vienna 1826 ( digitized )
- Four voyages to the North Pole, 5 vols, London 1833