Dumont d'Urville

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Dumont d'Urville

Post by shipstamps » Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:25 pm

DUMONT D'URVILLE, JULES SEBASTIEN CESAR (1790-1842) He was a French naval officer and explorer, joining the navy at the age of 16 and showed an early predilection for the study of travels and voyages of exploration.
While serving in the Mediterranean in 1820 he visited the island of Melos where he reported the discovery of an ancient Greek statue of outstanding beauty. On his recommendation it was secured for the Louvre and later became famous as the Venus de Milo. Returning to Paris, Dumont d'Urville helped to found the Paris Geographical Society and began to draw up plans for a scientific voyage of circumnavigation through the South Pacific Ocean.
From 1822-25 Dumont was at sea on board the COQUILLE carrying out studies in hydrography and natural history.
Between 1826 and 1829 he was at sea in command of the COQUILLE now rechristened ASTROLABE in commemoration of La Perouse's vessel. The results of this expedition were entirely successful. The wreck of La Perouse's ship was also discovered. When the revolution of 1830 took place, he was called upon to escort Charles X into exile. For some reason he seems to have incurred the hostility of the new monarch, Louis Philippe, and spent the next five years in eclipse and poverty. But his enthusiasm for the study of the Pacific islands remained unabated and at last he was able to get his plans for an anthropological expedition submitted to the King. Louis Philippe approved but proposed a preliminary trip into Antarctic waters to surpass James Weddell's record in these high southern latitudes.
Durmont accepted this added task without enthusiasm, neither his own ship, the ASTROLABE, nor its companion the ZELEE under the command of Captain Jacquinot, was suitable for navigation in ice. The expedition set sail in September 1837 and in January 1838 entered the pack ice but failed to penetrate far south of the Antarctic circle. Concluding that Weddell was a liar, Dumont d'Urville turned north and after discovering a group of islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula, sailed for the Pacific to pursue the main objectives of the expedition.
Two years later he made one more attempt to penetrate the Antarctic ice south of latitude 60° 5. between longitudes 120°-160° E. in the hope of discovering the South Magnetic Pole. As he admitted, he was spurred by the known presence in these waters of a British expedition under James Clark Ross and an American under Charles Wilkes. On this occasion his perseverance was rewarded by the discovery of continental land on 20t" January 1840.
Shortly afterwards, the ASTROLABE hailed a passing vessel which failed to communicate; it was Wilkes's brig PORPOISE. Dumont d' Urville contin¬ued to follow the ice barrier until ill health compelled him to return to the Pacific.
The following year he was promoted to rear admiral. In May 1842 he was killed in a railway accident.
St Helena SG500 Log Book Jan 2005
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