Richardson, Sir John

Richardson, Sir John

▪ Scottish surgeon and explorer
born Nov. 5, 1787, Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scot.
died June 5, 1865, Grasmere, Westmoreland, Eng.

      Scottish naval surgeon and naturalist who made accurate surveys of more of the Canadian Arctic coast than any other explorer.

      After receiving his medical qualification at the University of Edinburgh and passing the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of London (1807), Richardson was commissioned in the Royal Navy, in which he served for 48 years, rising from assistant surgeon to inspector of hospitals and fleets. Between 1807 and 1814 he was assigned to five ships in succession, seeing action at Copenhagen, at the blockade of the Tagus River, in convoys to Spain and Quebec, at Madeira, and finally in the Baltic fleet.

      Between 1819 and 1822 Richardson was surgeon and naturalist in Sir John Franklin's (Franklin, Sir John) first overland expedition to the Canadian Arctic coast. From 1824 to 1827 he was surgeon and naturalist and second in command of Franklin's second overland expedition, in the course of which Richardson surveyed some 900 miles (1,449 km) of Canadian Arctic coast between the Mackenzie and Coppermine rivers. He was knighted in 1846. In 1848–49 Richardson, with John Rae as second in command, made an overland journey in search of Franklin's lost third Arctic expedition that had started in 1845. They explored the region between the estuary of the Mackenzie River and Cape Kendall in the Union and Dolphin straits but were unable to find any trace of Franklin's ships.

      Richardson was also a prolific and important writer in several fields in natural history, especially Arctic biology and general ichthyology.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • RICHARDSON, SIR JOHN, M.D. —    naturalist and Arctic explorer, born at Dumfries; graduated at Edinburgh; for some time a navy surgeon; accompanied Franklin on the expeditions in 1819 22 and 1825 27, and later commanded one of the Franklin search expeditions (1848); held… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Richardson, Sir John — (1787 1865)    Born in Dumfries, Scotland. Educated at Edinburgh University. In 1807 entered the navy as assistant surgeon, and took part in the attack on Copenhagen. In 1816 obtained the degree of M.D. from Edinburgh; and in 1819 appointed… …   The makers of Canada

  • Sir John Soane's Museum — ist ein Museum in London, das aus den drei zusammengelegten ehemaligen Wohnhäusern Sir John Soanes besteht. Das Museum wurde im 19. Jahrhundert gegründet. Die Gründung des Museums wird mit dem 20. April 1833 durch einen Act of Parliament to… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sir John Soane's Museum — (often abbreviated to the Soane Museum) is a museum of architecture, and was formerly the house and studio of the neo classical architect Sir John Soane. It holds many drawings and models of his projects and the collections of paintings, drawings …   Wikipedia

  • Sir John Soane’s Museum — Sir John Soane s Museum Sir John Soane s Museum ist ein Museum in London, das aus den drei zusammengelegten ehemaligen Wohnhäusern Sir John Soanes besteht. Das Museum wurde im 19. Jahrhundert gegründet. Die Gründung des Museums wird mit dem 20.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Richardson, Sir Ralph — ▪ British actor in full  Sir Ralph David Richardson   born Dec. 19, 1902, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng. died Oct. 10, 1983, London  British stage and motion picture actor who, with Sir John Gielgud (Gielgud, Sir John) and Laurence Olivier… …   Universalium

  • Sir John Sulman Medal — Infobox award name = Sir John Sulman Medal imagesize = caption = current awards = description = Architectural merit presenter = Royal Australian Institute of Architects (NSW) country = Australia year = 1932 website =… …   Wikipedia

  • Sir John Franklin — John Franklin Pour les articles homonymes, voir Franklin. John Franklin John Franklin (Spilsby 15 avril 1786 î …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Franklin, Sir John — (1786 1847)    Served at Trafalgar, in the Bellerophon. Headed overland expedition of 1819 1822, from York Factory by way of Great Slave Lake, to the mouth of the Coppermine, and the Arctic coast; and second expedition, 1825 1827, in which he… …   The makers of Canada

  • Richardson , Sir Owen Willans — (1879–1959) British physicist Richardson, the son of a woollen manufacturer from Dewsbury in the north of England, was educated at Cambridge University and at London University, where he became a DSc in 1904. He taught at Princeton in America… …   Scientists

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”