Henryk Bull
Encyclopedia
Henryk Bull was a Norwegian businessman and shipping magnate. Henry Bull was one of the pioneers in the exploration of Antarctica.
in Vestfold
County, Norway. He attended school in Tønsberg
and worked for several years as a businessman in Tønsberg. During the late 1880s, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia, where he was associated with a company in shipping and trade.
In 1893, Norwegian whaling captain Svend Foyn
agreed to financially support an Antarctica expedition led by Henryk Bull in search of Right Whale
s. Svend Foyn was a businessman who patented the grenade-harpoon gun which was to be used for whaling. The ship provided by Svend Foyn was named the Antarctic
was used for the expedition. It was and was equipped with eleven harpoon guns, an arsenal of explosives, eight whaleboats and thirty-one men. The crew was captained by Leonard Kristensen and included Carsten Borchgrevink, who later lead the Southern Cross Expedition
to Antarctica.
Over the course of the two year expedition, they visited Tristan da Cunha
, the Prince Edward Islands
, Îles Crozet, Îles Kerguelen, the Balleny Islands
, Campbell Island
and Possession Island
. On 19 January 1895, while in search of the elusive Right Whale, a small party landed on Possession Island
, a rocky island about 2 miles long. On 24 January 1895 a boat was put ashore with six men including Bull, Leonard Kristensen , Carsten Borchgrevink and seaman Alexander von Tunzelmann
at Cape Adare
, Antarctica. At the time they believed they were the first men to set foot on Antarctica – and they are certainly the best confirmed – but unknown to them sealer John Davis
, had made a disputed claim that he stepped onto the Antarctic Peninsula
much earlier in 1821.
In 1898, Henrik Johan Bull wrote his memories of the expedition in his book, Sydover. Ekspeditionen til Sydishavet i 1893–1895. The book was also published in English under the title The cruise of the 'Antarctic' to the South Polar regions (London & New York: Edward Arnold, 1896).
He later founded a whaling company and was a pioneer of the whaling industry. Bull died in Oslo
, Norway at 85 years of age.
Biography
Henrik Johan Bull was born in StokkeStokke
Stokke is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stokke.-Background:The municipality of Stokke was established on 1 January 1838...
in Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
County, Norway. He attended school in Tønsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....
and worked for several years as a businessman in Tønsberg. During the late 1880s, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia, where he was associated with a company in shipping and trade.
In 1893, Norwegian whaling captain Svend Foyn
Svend Foyn
Svend Foyn was a Norwegian whaling and shipping magnate who pioneered revolutionary methods for hunting and processing whales. Svend Foyn introduced the modern harpoon gun and brought whaling into a modern age....
agreed to financially support an Antarctica expedition led by Henryk Bull in search of Right Whale
Right whale
Right whales are three species of large baleen whales consisting of two genera in the family Balaenidae of order Cetacea. Their bodies are very dark gray or black and rotund....
s. Svend Foyn was a businessman who patented the grenade-harpoon gun which was to be used for whaling. The ship provided by Svend Foyn was named the Antarctic
Antarctic (ship)
The Antarctic was a Swedish steamship built in Drammen, Norway in 1871. She was used on several research expeditions to the Arctic region and to Antarctica through 1898-1903. In 1895 the first confirmed landing on the mainland of Antarctica was made from this ship.-The ship:Antarctic was a barque...
was used for the expedition. It was and was equipped with eleven harpoon guns, an arsenal of explosives, eight whaleboats and thirty-one men. The crew was captained by Leonard Kristensen and included Carsten Borchgrevink, who later lead the Southern Cross Expedition
Southern Cross Expedition
The Southern Cross Expedition, officially known as the British Antarctic Expedition 1898–1900, was the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and the forerunner of the more celebrated journeys of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton...
to Antarctica.
Over the course of the two year expedition, they visited Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...
, the Prince Edward Islands
Prince Edward Islands
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands, named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, are located at ....
, Îles Crozet, Îles Kerguelen, the Balleny Islands
Balleny Islands
The Balleny Islands are a series of uninhabited islands in the Southern Ocean extending from 66°15' to 67°35'S and 162°30' to 165°00'E. The group extends for about in a northwest-southeast direction. The islands are heavily glaciated and are of volcanic origin. Glaciers project from their slopes...
, Campbell Island
Campbell Island
Campbell Island may refer to:* Campbell Island, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia* Campbell Island , Canada* Campbell Island, New Zealand* Campbell Island, North Carolina, USA...
and Possession Island
Possession Island
Possession Island may refer to:* Possession Island, Namibia, on the Skeleton Coast of Africa* Possession Island , in the Torres Strait, Australia* Possession Island, Antarctica, in the Possession Islands group...
. On 19 January 1895, while in search of the elusive Right Whale, a small party landed on Possession Island
Possession Island
Possession Island may refer to:* Possession Island, Namibia, on the Skeleton Coast of Africa* Possession Island , in the Torres Strait, Australia* Possession Island, Antarctica, in the Possession Islands group...
, a rocky island about 2 miles long. On 24 January 1895 a boat was put ashore with six men including Bull, Leonard Kristensen , Carsten Borchgrevink and seaman Alexander von Tunzelmann
Alexander von Tunzelmann
Alexander Francis Henry von Tunzelmann , a New Zealand crew member of on the Norwegian whaling ship Antarctic was part of the first group to set foot on the mainland of Antarctica—at Cape Adare on 24 January 1895....
at Cape Adare
Cape Adare
Cape Adare is the northeastern most peninsula in Victoria Land, East Antarctica. The cape separates the Ross Sea to the east from the Southern Ocean to the west, and is backed by the high Admiralty Mountains...
, Antarctica. At the time they believed they were the first men to set foot on Antarctica – and they are certainly the best confirmed – but unknown to them sealer John Davis
John Davis (sealer)
Captain John Davis was a seal hunter from Connecticut, USA who captained men who may have been the first to have set foot on Antarctica on 7 February 1821 shortly after the first sightings of the new continent by Fabian von Bellingshausen, Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, Edward Bransfield and Nathaniel...
, had made a disputed claim that he stepped onto the Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
much earlier in 1821.
In 1898, Henrik Johan Bull wrote his memories of the expedition in his book, Sydover. Ekspeditionen til Sydishavet i 1893–1895. The book was also published in English under the title The cruise of the 'Antarctic' to the South Polar regions (London & New York: Edward Arnold, 1896).
He later founded a whaling company and was a pioneer of the whaling industry. Bull died in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway at 85 years of age.
Other sources
- Per Gramsborg. «The first man to have set foot on the Antarctic continent». I: The Norseman, nr 2 (1992)
- Norsk biografisk leksikon
- Henrik Johan Bull (1898) Sydover. Ekspeditionen til Sydishavet i 1893–1895 (British Library, Historical Print Editions) ISBN 978-1241418274