Online Encyclopedia

SIR WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY (179o–1855)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 866 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:
SIR WILLIAM
See also:
EDWARD PARRY (179o–1855)
  ,
See also:
English
See also:
rear-
See also:
admiral and Arctic explorer, was born in Bath on the 19th of December 1790, the son of a doctor . At the age of thirteen he joined the flag-
See also:
ship of Admiral Cornwallis in the Channel
See also:
fleet as a first-class volunteer, in 18o6 became a
See also:
midshipman, and in 1810 was promoted to the rank of
See also:
lieutenant in the " Alexander "
See also:
frigate, which was employed for the next three years in the
See also:
protection of the Spitzbergen
See also:
whale fishery . He took
See also:
advantage of this opportunity for the study and practice of astronomical observations in
See also:
northern latitudes, and after-wards published the results of his studies in a small
See also:
volume on Nautical Astronomy by
See also:
Night (1816) . From 1813–1817 he served on the North
See also:
American station . In 1818 he was given the command of the " Alexander " brig in the Arctic expedition under Captain (afterwards
See also:
Sir) John Ross . This expedition returned to England without having made any new discoveries but Parry, confident, as he expressed it, "that attempts at Polar
See also:
discovery had been hitherto relinquished just at a time when there was the greatest chance of succeeding," in the following
See also:
year obtained the chief command of a new Arctic expedition; consisting of the two
See also:
ships " Griper " and " Hecla." This expedition returned to England in November 1820 after a voyage of almost unprecedented Arctic success (see POLAR REGIONS), having accomplished more than
See also:
half the journey from Greenland to Bering Strait, the completion of which solved the ancient problem of a North-west Passage . A narrative of the expedition, entitled Journal of a Voyage to discover a North-west Passage, appeared in 1821 . Upon his return Lieutenant Parry was promoted to the rank of
See also:
commander . In May 1821 he set
See also:
sail with the " Fury " and " Hecla " on a second expedition to discover a North-west Passage, but was compelled to return to England in
See also:
October 1823 without achieving his purpose . During his absence he had in November 1821 been promoted to
See also:
post rank, and shortly after his return he was appointed acting hydrographer to the
See also:
navy . His Journal of a Second Voyage, &c., appeared in 1824 . With the same ships he undertook a third expedition on the same quest in 1824, but was again unsuccessful, and the " Fury " being wrecked, he returned home in October 1825 with a double ship's
See also:
company .

Of this voyage he published an

account in 1826 . In the following year he obtained the sanction of the Admiralty for an attempt on the North Pole from the northern shores of Spitzbergen, and his extreme point of 82° 45' N.
See also:
lat. remained for 49 years the highest latitude attained . He published an account of this journey under the title of Narrative of the Attempt to reach the IT North Pole, &c . (1827) . In
See also:
April 1829 he was knighted . He was subsequently selected for the post of
See also:
comptroller of the newly created department of steam machinery of the Navy, and held this office until his retirement from active service in 1846, when he was appointed captain-superintendent of Haslar Hospital . He attained the rank of rear-admiral in 1852, and in the following year became a governor of
See also:
Greenwich Hospital, and retained this post till his
See also:
death on the 8th of
See also:
July 1855 . The religious side of Sir
See also:
Edward Parry's character was strongly marked, and besides the
See also:
journals of his different voyages he was also the author of a Lecture to Seamen, and Thoughts on the Parental Character of
See also:
God . See
See also:
Memoirs of Rear-Admiral Sir W . E . Parry, by his son, Rev . Edward Parry (3rd ed., 1857) .

End of Article: SIR WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY (179o–1855)
[back]
BART SIR CHARLES HUBERT HASTINGS PARRY
[next]
PARSEES, or PARSIS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click and select "copy." Paste it into a website, email, or other HTML document.