Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim
Encyclopedia
Admiral Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim, RN
, MP
, FRGS (12 June 1826 - 30 September 1886) was a Royal Navy
officer, Arctic explorer, barrister, and author. He was the first man who traveled from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage
to one on the western side.
, Devon
, England
, son of Edward Bedford Pim of Weirhead, Exeter
, a British navy
officer who died of yellow fever in 1830 off the coast of Africa while engaged in the suppression of the slave trade, and Sophia Soltau Harrison, eldest daughter of John Fairweather Harrison, Esquire of Totnes
. Educated at the Royal Naval School
, the younger Pim went to India in the British Merchant Navy, and in 1842, upon his return to England, was appointed a volunteer in the Royal Navy.
. For the next six years, he took part in surveys in the Falkland Islands
, the western coast of South America, and north to British Columbia
. During this time, he took part in three detours to search for the missing Sir John Franklin
expedition. He transferred from the Herald to HMS Plover, wintering at Chamisso Island
in Kotzebue Sound
1849-1850, spending considerable time with the local Malemiut, before returning to the Herald. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1851, and in April 1852, he returned to the Arctic, taking part in the rescue
of Robert McClure
and the crew of HMS Investigator
. Pim was the first man to travel from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage
to one on the western side.
Pim served in the Baltic in 1855 during the Crimean War
commanding HMS Magpie where he was wounded. He was wounded again in 1857 while commanding HMS Banterer in Chinese waters. He was made a commander in 1858. The following year, he investigated the possibility of a transoceanic canal and became a proponent of the Nicaragua Canal
. Pim went to the West Indies in command of the HMS Gorgon in 1860 and returned home on HMS Fury. He made post captain in 1868 and was compulsorily retired in 1870. He studied law after retirement and was called to the Bar
of the Inner Temple
in 1873. Pim practiced law in Bristol, mainly on admiralty cases, and became a magistrate for the county of Middlesex
. He wrote, When Do Sheriffs Take Office? in 1879.
A Conservative
, Pim unsuccessfully stood for election in Totnes in July 1865 and Gravesend
in December 1868. He was elected a Member of Parliament for Gravesend in 1874 and 1880. Pim was made rear-admiral in 1885.
Pim wrote several articles, books, and pamphlets. "Remarks on the Isthmus of Suez, with Special Reference to the Proposed Canal" was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1859, and "Proposed Transit-Route across Central America, from a New Harbour in Nicaragua" was published three years later. His 1839 A Brief sketch of the life of the late Zachary Macaulay
, Esq., F.R.S. As connected with the subjects of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery was his only biography. His journals as a Midshipman aboard the Herald provided most of the discussion for the Arctic portions of the six year cruise.
in 1854.In 1861, he became an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers
. He was also an honorary member of the Dulwich College
Science Society.
and Dulwich
. Pim died at Deal, Kent
, England, on 30 September 1886. A brass plaque honoring Pim was moved in 1981 from The Missions to Seamen Institute to St. Nicholas Church, Bristol
, England.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, FRGS (12 June 1826 - 30 September 1886) was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer, Arctic explorer, barrister, and author. He was the first man who traveled from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
to one on the western side.
Early years
Pim was born in BidefordBideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, son of Edward Bedford Pim of Weirhead, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, a British navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who died of yellow fever in 1830 off the coast of Africa while engaged in the suppression of the slave trade, and Sophia Soltau Harrison, eldest daughter of John Fairweather Harrison, Esquire of Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. Educated at the Royal Naval School
Royal Naval School
The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Many of...
, the younger Pim went to India in the British Merchant Navy, and in 1842, upon his return to England, was appointed a volunteer in the Royal Navy.
Career
In 1845, Pim was posted to the survey ship, HMS Herald, under Captain Henry KellettHenry Kellett
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett KCB was a British naval officer and explorer.-Naval career:Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822...
. For the next six years, he took part in surveys in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, the western coast of South America, and north to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. During this time, he took part in three detours to search for the missing Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
expedition. He transferred from the Herald to HMS Plover, wintering at Chamisso Island
Chamisso Island
Chamisso Island is a small island in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. It is located off Spafarief Bay at the mouth of Eschscholtz Bay, just south of the Choris Peninsula....
in Kotzebue Sound
Kotzebue Sound
Kotzebue Sound is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and wide....
1849-1850, spending considerable time with the local Malemiut, before returning to the Herald. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1851, and in April 1852, he returned to the Arctic, taking part in the rescue
McClure Arctic Expedition
The McClure Arctic Expedition of 1850, among numerous British search efforts to determine the fate of the Franklin's lost expedition, is distinguished as the voyage during which Robert McClure became the first person to confirm and transit the Northwest Passage by a combination of sea travel and...
of Robert McClure
Robert McClure
Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure was an Irish explorer of the Arctic.In 1854, he was the first to transit the Northwest Passage , as well as the first to circumnavigate the Americas.-Early life and career:He was born at Wexford, in Ireland, the posthumous son of one of Abercrombie's captains,...
and the crew of HMS Investigator
HMS Investigator (1848)
HMS Investigator was a merchant ship purchased in 1848 to search for Sir John Franklin's lost expedition. She made two voyages to the Arctic and had to be abandoned in 1853 after becoming trapped in the ice. Her wreckage was found in July 2010 on Banks Island, in the Beaufort Sea...
. Pim was the first man to travel from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
to one on the western side.
Pim served in the Baltic in 1855 during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
commanding HMS Magpie where he was wounded. He was wounded again in 1857 while commanding HMS Banterer in Chinese waters. He was made a commander in 1858. The following year, he investigated the possibility of a transoceanic canal and became a proponent of the Nicaragua Canal
Nicaragua Canal
The Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal was a proposed waterway through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean...
. Pim went to the West Indies in command of the HMS Gorgon in 1860 and returned home on HMS Fury. He made post captain in 1868 and was compulsorily retired in 1870. He studied law after retirement and was called to the Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1873. Pim practiced law in Bristol, mainly on admiralty cases, and became a magistrate for the county of Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. He wrote, When Do Sheriffs Take Office? in 1879.
A Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, Pim unsuccessfully stood for election in Totnes in July 1865 and Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
in December 1868. He was elected a Member of Parliament for Gravesend in 1874 and 1880. Pim was made rear-admiral in 1885.
Pim wrote several articles, books, and pamphlets. "Remarks on the Isthmus of Suez, with Special Reference to the Proposed Canal" was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1859, and "Proposed Transit-Route across Central America, from a New Harbour in Nicaragua" was published three years later. His 1839 A Brief sketch of the life of the late Zachary Macaulay
Zachary Macaulay
Zachary Macaulay was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.-Early life:Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of the Rev. John Macaulay Zachary Macaulay (2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.-Early life:Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of...
, Esq., F.R.S. As connected with the subjects of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery was his only biography. His journals as a Midshipman aboard the Herald provided most of the discussion for the Arctic portions of the six year cruise.
Organizations
Pim belonged to several scientific organizations. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in 1854.In 1861, he became an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
. He was also an honorary member of the Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
Science Society.
Personal life
Pim was a major landowner in Central America and the Caribbean. He married Susanna Locock on 3 October 1861 and they had two sons, including the Rev. Henry Bedford Pim. They lived for a time at BelsizeBelsize
Belsize is a hamlet in Hertfordshire, England, situated between the villages of Sarratt and Chipperfield. It was given the award of Hertfordshire's best kept hamlet in 1989 and 1996....
and Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
. Pim died at Deal, Kent
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
, England, on 30 September 1886. A brass plaque honoring Pim was moved in 1981 from The Missions to Seamen Institute to St. Nicholas Church, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England.
Legacy
- Pim IslandPim Islandright|thumb|200px|Plaque on Pim Island to the memory of dead men from the expedition of [[Adolphus Greely]]. Photograped in 2005Pim Island is located off the eastern coast of Ellesmere Island, part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut...
, Nunavut, Canada. - Pim's Bay (variant Monkey PointMonkey PointMonkey Point is a village in Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur, Nicaragua, south of Bluefields. It is located near the site of a planned $US 350 million seaport, to be financed by Iran and Venezuela. More recently American and South Korean investors have expressed interest in developing a...
), 40 mi (64.4 km) of Greytown, Nicaragua
Partial works
- (1857) An earnest appeal to the British public on behalf of the missing Arctic Expedition.
- (1858) Notes on Cherbourg.
- (1863) The Gate of the Pacific.
- (1868) The negro and Jamaica. Read before the Anthropological Society of London, etc.
- (1869) Dottings on the Roadside in Panama, Nicaragua, and Mosquito ... Illustrated with plates and maps.
- (s.d.) War chronicle, with memoirs of the emperor Napoleon III, the emperor-King William I, map and official documents, from the breaking out of the war to the final evacuation of French territory by the German troops.
- (1876) British manufacturing industries: Ship-building ; telegraphy ; agricultural machinery ; railways and tramways.
- (1877) The Eastern question, past, present and future : with official documents.
- (1881). Gems from Greenwich Hospital.
- (1883). Transit across Central America.