Pelham AldrichCVO (8 December 1844 – 12 November 1930) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer,[1] who became Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth Docks.
Whilst on board the Challenger, he took part in the four-year-long Challenger expedition of 1872–76 – a scientific expedition that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. In 1875, he transferred to the sloopAlert to take part in the British Arctic Expedition, which was sent by the British Admiralty to attempt to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound. Aldrich commanded the Western Sledge Party to Ellesmere Island, and what is often described as the most northerly point of North America is named Cape Aldrich in his honour.[6][7] He became a commander on 3 November 1876 and commanded the Sylvia and Fawn on surveying expeditions of China and the Mediterranean. As captain of Fawn he, along with the scientist Stephen Joseph Perry, observed the 1882 transit of Venus from an improvised tent observatory in Madagascar.[8] He was promoted to captain on 29 June 1883, commanding the Sylvia and Egeria on further surveying expeditions of the Cape of Good Hope and Australia.
He retired from the Navy on 22 March 1908 and moved to The Croft, in Great Bealings in Suffolk.[14] He died in Great Bealings and was buried in the local churchyard on 17 November 1930. His wife was buried in the same place on 6 May 1943, aged 94.[15]
References
^"Aldrich, Vice-Admiral Pelham". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 27.
^Bevand, P. A.; Allen, F. W. II (eds.). "Admiral Pelham Aldrich C.V.O."Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
^Aitken, Frédéric; Foulc, Jean-Numa (2019). The First Explorations of the Deep Sea by H.M.S. Challenger (1872–1876). From Deep Sea to Laboratory. Vol. 1. London: ISTE. Chapter 2. doi:10.1002/9781119610953. ISBN978-1-78630-374-5. S2CID146750038.
^Rayburn, Alan (2001). "Looking at Canada's Places". Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names. University of Toronto Press. p. 23. ISBN978-0-80208-293-0.
^Trumble, Angus (14 December 2008). "Christmas Island". The Tumbrel Diaries. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
^"Name Details: Mount Aldrich". Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Community, Australian Government. Retrieved 30 November 2010.