The era of European and American voyages of
scientific exploration followed the Age of
Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence
in science and reason that arose in the Age
of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in
the Age of Discovery were a means of expanding
colonial empires, establishing new trade routes
and extending diplomatic and trade relations
to new territories, but with the Enlightenment
scientific curiosity became a new motive for
exploration to add to the commercial and political
ambitions of the past. See also List of Arctic
expeditions and List of Antarctic expeditions.
== Maritime exploration in the Age of Discovery
==
From the early 15th century to the early 17th
century the Age of Discovery had, through
Spanish and Portuguese seafarers, opened up
southern Africa, the Americas (New World),
Asia and Oceania to European eyes: Bartholomew
Dias had sailed around the Cape of southern
Africa in search of a trade route to India;
Christopher Columbus, on four journeys across
the Atlantic, had prepared the way for European
colonisation of the New World; Ferdinand Magellan
had commanded the first expedition to sail
across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to
complete the first circumnavigation of the
Earth. Over this period colonial power shifted
from the Portuguese and Spanish to the Dutch
and then the British and French. The new era
of scientific exploration began in the late
17th century as scientists, and in particular
natural historians, established scientific
societies that published their researches
in specialist journals. The British Royal
Society was founded in 1660 and encouraged
the scientific rigour of empiricism with its
principles of careful observation and deduction.
Activities of early members of the Royal Society
served as models for later maritime exploration.
Hans Sloane (1650–1753) was elected a member
in 1685 and travelled to Jamaica from 1687
to 1689 as physician to the Duke of Albemarle
(1653–1688) who had been appointed Governor
of Jamaica. In Jamaica Sloane collected numerous
specimens which were carefully described and
illustrated in a published account of his
stay. Sloane bequeathed his vast collection
of natural history 'curiosities' and library
of over 50,000 bound volumes to the nation,
prompting the establishment in 1753 of the
British Museum. His travels also made him
an extremely wealthy man as he patented a
recipe that combined milk with the fruit of
Theobroma cacao (cocoa) he saw growing in
Jamaica, to produce milk chocolate. Books
of distinguished social figures like the intellectual
commentator Jean Jacques Rousseau, Director
of the Paris Museum of Natural History Comte
de Buffon, and scientist-travellers like Joseph
Banks, and Charles Darwin, along with the
romantic and often fanciful travelogues of
intrepid explorers, increased the desire of
European governments and the general public
for accurate information about the newly discovered
distant lands.One of the earliest French expeditions
on the coasts of Africa, South America and
through the Strait of Magellan was made by
a squadron of French men-of-war under the
command of M. de Gennes in 1695–97. The
young French explorer, engineer and hydrographer
François Froger described this expedition
in his A Relation of a Voyage (1699).
== Maritime exploration in the Age of Enlightenment
==
By the 18th century maritime exploration had
become safer and more efficient with technical
innovations that vastly improved navigation
and cartography: improvements were made to
the theodolite, octant, precision clocks,
as well as the compass, telescope, and general
shipbuilding techniques.
From the mid-18th century through the 19th
century scientific missions mapped the newly
discovered regions, brought back to Europe
the newly discovered fauna and flora, made
hydrological, astronomical and meteorological
observations and improved the methods of navigation.
This stimulated great advances in the scientific
disciplines of natural history, botany, zoology,
ichthyology, conchology, taxonomy, medicine,
geography, geology, mineralogy, hydrology,
oceanography, physics, meteorology etc. – all
contributing to the sense of "improvement"
and "progress" that characterized the Enlightenment.
Artists were used to record landscapes and
indigenous peoples, while natural history
illustrators captured the appearance of organisms
before they deteriorated after collection.
Some of the worlds finest natural history
illustrations were produced at this time and
the illustrators changed from informed amateurs
to fully trained professionals acutely aware
of the need for scientific accuracy.By the
middle of the 19th century all of the world's
major land masses, and most of the minor ones,
had been discovered by Europeans and their
coastlines charted. This marked the end of
this phase of science as the Challenger Expedition
of 1872–1876 began exploring the deep seas
beyond a depth of 20 or 30 meters. In spite
of the growing community of scientists, for
nearly 200 years science had been the preserve
of wealthy amateurs, educated middle classes
and clerics. At the start of the 18th century
most voyages were privately organized and
financed but by the second half of the century
these scientific expeditions, like James Cook's
three Pacific voyages under the auspices of
the British Admiralty, were instigated by
government. In the late 19th century, when
this phase of science was drawing to a close,
it became possible to earn a living as a professional
scientist although photography was beginning
to replace the illustrators. The exploratory
sailing ship had gradually evolved into the
modern research vessels. From now on maritime
research in new European colonies in America,
Africa, Australia, India and elsewhere, would
be carried out by researchers within the occupied
territories themselves.
=== Chronology of voyages ===
This compendium of voyages of scientific exploration
provides an overview of maritime scientific
research carried out at the time of the Enlightenment
in Europe.
Published journals and accounts are included
with the individual voyages.
==== 1735–39: French Geodesic Mission ====
The French Geodesic Mission was an 18th-century
expedition to what is now Ecuador carried
out for the purpose of measuring the roundness
of the Earth and measuring the length of a
degree of latitude at the Equator. The mission
was one of the first geodesic (or geodetic)
missions carried out under modern scientific
principles, and the first major international
scientific expedition.
Ships: from Spain to Colombia, El Conquistador
and Incendio; from France to Colombia, Portefaix;
from Colombia to Ecuador, San Cristóbal;
from Ecuador to Chile and return, Nuestra
Señora de Belén and Rosa, and finally from
Ecuador to France Liz, Nuestra Señora de
la Deliberanza, Luis Erasmo, Marquesa de Antin
(among a convoy of 53 ships).French astronomers:
Charles Marie de La Condamine (1701–1774),
Pierre Bouguer (1698–1758) and Louis Godin
(1704–1760).
Spanish geographers: Jorge Juan y Santacilla
(1713–1773) and Antonio de Ulloa (1716–1795).
Assistants: Joseph de Jussieu (1704–1779)
and Jean Godin (1713-1792).
Ecuadoran geographer and topographer: Pedro
Maldonado (1704–1748).
Publications: Relación histórica del viaje
a la América meridional, Jorge Juan and Ulloa,
1748; Figure de la terre determine, Bouguer,
1749; Journal du voyage, La Condamine, 1751;
Le procès des étoiles, 1735–1771, ISBN
978-2-232-10176-2, ISBN 978-2-232-11862-3.
==== 1764–66: HMS Dolphin ====
Considered the first scientific voyage undertaken
by the Royal Navy, its primary purpose was
the discovery of new lands in the South Atlantic
Ocean. It was during this trip that several
islands of the Tuamotu archipelago were discovered.
Dolphin was a 24-gun post ship launched in
1751 and used as a survey ship from 1764,
making two circumnavigations under the command
of John Byron and Samuel Wallis. She was broken
up in 1777.
Captain: John Byron (1723–1786).
Publications: J. Byron, A Voyage round the
world. (London, 1767), translated into French
the same year under the title Journey around
the world in 1764 and 1765, on the English
warship "The Dolphin", commissioned by Vice-Admiral
Byron ... (Paris).
==== 1766–68: HMS Dolphin and HMS Swallow
====
A circumnavigation by the English navigator
Samuel Wallis, on board Dolphin, accompanied
by Philip Carteret on the consort ship Swallow.
In August 1766, the two ships passed through
the Strait of Magellan. In December 1766,
conflicts between the two captains led to
the separation of the ships. Dolphin reached
Tahiti in June 1767. Samuel Wallis studied
the customs of the Polynesians, reaching the
Dutch East Indies at Batavia, returning to
London in May 1768. Meanwhile, Philip Carteret
in Swallow explored and studied the Solomon
Islands, New Ireland (island) (now part of
Papua New Guinea) and the islands of the Indonesian
archipelago (Sulawesi among others). The expedition
also stopped in Batavia from June to September
1768 and returned to London in March 1769.
Captains: Samuel Wallis (1728–1795) (leader
of the expedition), Philip Carteret (1733–1796)
(Commander of Swallow which was separated
from the Dolphin and returned to its point
of departure a year later).
Second Lieutenant: Tobias Furneaux (1735–1781).
==== 1766: HMS Niger ====
This British ship explored Newfoundland and
Labrador with Constantine Phipps aboard and
Thomas Adams (Captain?), and with Joseph Banks
also aboard. HMS Niger was a 33-gun fifth-rate
launched in 1759, converted to a prison ship
in 1810 and renamed Negro in 1813. She was
sold in 1814.
Captain: Thomas Adams (?–1770)
Also aboard: Joseph Banks (1743–1820) and
Constantine Phipps.
==== 1766–69: La Boudeuse and L'Étoile
====
Ordered by Louis XV, it is the first trip
around the world initiated by the French.
The discovery and description of Tahiti by
Louis Antoine de Bougainville in his trip
will have a very significant impact on the
philosophers of the Enlightenment including
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78). The expedition
was organised by Louis Antoine de Bougainville
and received the support of such prominent
figures of the time as Charles de Brosses
(1709–77), Comte de Buffon (1707–88),
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698–1759)
and Jérôme Lalande (1732–1807).
The purpose of the expedition is to discover
new territories available for settlement,
to open a new route to reach China, to found
new outlets for the French East India Company
and, finally, discover acclimatable spices
for the Isle de France (now Mauritius).
Captains: Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811)
Chief of expedition, Nicolas Pierre Duclos-Guyot
(Captain of La Boudeuse), François Chenard
de la Giraudais (1727–1775) (Captain of
L'Étoile)
Naturalists: Philibert Commerçon (1727–73),
Jeanne Baré (1740–1807)
Astronomer: Pierre-Antoine Véron (1736–70)
Cartographer: Charles Routier de Romainville
(1742–92?)
Publication: Louis Antoine de Bougainville,
Journey Around the World by the Commander
of the La Boudeuse and L'Étoile, in 1766,
1767, 1768 and 1769" (Paris, 1771)
==== 1768–71: HMS Endeavour ====
An expedition to observe the transit of Venus
across the Sun (in 1769) that included the
discovery of new Islands, Tuamotu and Society
Islands, the first circumnavigation of New
Zealand and charting of the East coast of
New Holland.
Captain: James Cook (1728–1779)
Naturalists: Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820)
and Daniel Solander (1733–1782)
Astronomer: Charles Green (1735–1771)
Artist: Sydney Parkinson (1745–1771)
Publications: "A Journal of a voyage round
the world [printed], in His Majesty's ship
Endeavour, in the years 1768, 1769, 1770,
and 1771… to which is added, a Concise vocabulary
of the language of Otahitee" (London, 1771).
The identity of the authors of this report
remains controversial because different authors
attribute it to Cook, to Banks, Solander as
well as various officers having shared in
the voyage. It is translated into French under
the title of "Journal of a voyage around the
world, 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771; containing
the various events of the voyage; with the
relationship of the lands newly discovered
in the méridional… hemisphere " (Paris,
1772).John Hawkesworth (c. 1715 – 1773)
is commissioned by the Admiralty to make a
synthesis of different shipments under the
title "An Account of the Voyages undertaken…
for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere
and performed by Commodore Byrone John Byron,
Captain Hallis, Captain Carteret and Captain
Cook (from 1702 to 1771) drawn up from the
Journals…" (London, three volumes, 1773).
==== 1771–72: Isle de France and Le Nécessaire
====
Expedition to harvest spices for production
on Mauritius, to prevent the monopoly of their
trade by the Dutch.
Captains: Chevalier de Coëtivi (Isle of France)
and Mr. Cordé (Le Nécessaire)
Naturalist: Pierre Sonnerat (1748–1814)
Publication: P. Sonnerat, Trip to New Guinea,
which is the description of places, the physical
and moral observations, and details about
the naturelle… history (Paris, 1776)
==== 1772: Sir Lawrence ====
An expedition in the brig Sir Lawrence exploring
Iceland and the islands along the West coast
of Scotland.
Captain: John Gore (1772–1836)
Aboard: Joseph Banks (1743–1820)
Aboard: Daniel Solander (1733–1782)
==== 1772–75: HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure
====
Cook's second voyage in Resolution and Adventure
around the world. He again visited New Zealand,
sailed near the Antarctic and discovered many
islands in the Pacific. Swedish Sparrman embarked
during a stopover at the Cape.
Captains: James Cook (1728–1779) (Resolution)
expedition leader, Charles Clerke and Tobias
Furneaux (1735–1781) (Adventure)
Surgeon-naturalist: William Anderson (1750–1788)
Naturalists: Johann Reinhold Forster (1729–1798),
Georg Forster (1754–1794) and Anders Sparrman
(1748–1820)
Astronomer: William Wales (c. 1734 – 1798)
Aboard as crew member George Vancouver, also
to become a famous Explorer
Publications: Cook's journals; also the two
Forsters released an account of this journey
==== 1771–72: La Fortune and Le Gros-Ventre
====
Exploration of the southern Indian Ocean and
the shipping routes to India.
Captains: Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec
(1734–1797), Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn
(1738–1772)
==== 1773–74: Le Roland and L'Oiseau ====
Exploration of the southern Indian Ocean.
Captain: Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec
(1734–1797)
Naturalist: Jean Guillaume Bruguière (1749
or 1750–1798)
Astronomer: Joseph Lepaute Dagelet
==== 1773–74: HMS Racehorse and HMS Carcass
====
A British expedition to explore the Arctic
Sea. The two ships reached Svalbard before
turning back because of the ice. Horatio Nelson
was involved with the trip.
Captain: Constantine John Phipps (1744–1792)
Surgeon-naturalist: Charles Irving, assisted
by Olaudah Equiano
Astronomer: Israel Lyons (1739–1775)
Publication: C.J. Phipps (1774), A Voyage
towards the north pole undertaken ....
==== 1776–80: HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery
====
Cook's Third Voyage to find the North-West
passage by crossing the Bering Strait. Cook
was killed in the Hawaiian archipelago.
Captains: James Cook (1728–1779) (Resolution)
and Charles Clerke (1741–1779) (Discovery)
Surgeon-naturalists: William Anderson (1750–1788)
and William Ellis (1747–1810)
Astronomer: Joseph Billings (1758–1806)
Illustrater: John Webber (1750–1793)
Crew members: George Vancouver (1757–1798)
was to become a celebrated explorer himself
and William Bligh (1754–1817) who would
later command HMS Bounty.
==== 1785–88: La Boussole and L'Astrolabe
====
French King Louis XVI inspired by Cook's voyages
mounted his own expedition under the direction
of de Lapérouse. Cook's anti-scorbutic remedies
to eradicate scurvy were applied successfully.
Lamanon and twelve other members of the expedition
were massacred by natives at Vanuatu where
they were looking for water. The two ships
disappeared in the Solomon Islands, at Vanikoro,
during a violent storm.
Captain: Jean-François de Galaup, comte de
Lapérouse (1741–1788) (La Boussole) and
Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle (1744–1787)
(L'Astrolabe)
Chief Engineer: Paul Mérault Monneron (1748–1788)
Geologist: Robert de Lamanon (1752–1787)
Artists: the uncle and nephew Prevost, Duché
De Vancy
Naturalists: Jean-André Mongez (1751 – c.
1788)
Interpreter of Russian: Barthélemy de Lesseps
(1766–1834) landed at Petropavlovsk, and
in charge of bringing to France the log, maps
and drawings of the trip.
==== 1785–88: HMS King George ====
Global circumnavigation.
Captain: Woodcock
==== 1785–94: Slava Rossii ====
A 
Russian expedition commanded by the British
Captain Joseph Billings, astronomer on Cook's
third voyage. This expedition lasted more
than ten years attempting, unsuccessfully,
to find the northwest passage that had remained
undiscovered after Cook's explorations.
Captain: Joseph Billings (c. 1758 – 1806)
Naturalists: Carl Heinrich Merck and Carl
Krebs
Surgeons-naturalists: Michael Robeck and Peter
Allegretti
Cartographer: Gavriil Sarytchev
Publications: J. Billings, An Account of a
Geographical and Astronomical expedition to
the Northern parts of Russia. (1802), translated
into French the same year under the title
of Voyage made by order of Empress Catherine
II Russia, in the North of the Asian Russiain
the icy sea, in the sea on the coasts of America,
from 1785 until 1794, by commodore Billings
and Anadyr (Paris, 1802); Peter Simon Pallas
(1741–1811), Zoographia Rosso – Asiatica
(1811), where he described the species discovered
by this expedition.
==== 1790–91: La Solide ====
The Solide expedition was the second successful
circumnavigation by the French, after that
by Bougainville. It occurred from 1790 to
1792 but remains little known due to its mostly
commercial aims in the fur trade between the
northwest American coast and China.
Captain: Étienne Marchand (1755–1793)
==== 1789–94: Descubierta and Atrevida ====
The Spanish Malaspina Expedition explored
the coasts of Spanish possessions in America
and Alaska, always looking for the northwest
passage. More than 70 crates of natural history
specimens were sent to Madrid. On return Captain
Malaspina was forced into exile because of
his ideas, suggesting, among other things,
that Spain abandon the military domination
of its colonies in favour of a Federation.
The scientific journal of the trip was lost
but recovered in 1885.
Captains: Alessandro Malaspina (1754–1810)
("Descubierta") and José de Bustamante y
Guerra (1759–1825) ("Atravida")
Naturalists: Antonio Pineda (1751–1792),
Thaddäus Haenke (1761–1817), Luis Née
(c. 1789 – 1794) and Tomas de Suria
Artist: José del Pozo and José Guío
Publication: Pedro de Novo y Colson (1846–1931),
Viaje político-científico alrededor del
mundo: por las corbetas Descubierta y Atrevida
al mando los capitanes navío d. Alejandro
Malaspina y Don José de Bustamante y Guerra,
desde 1789 á 1794. (Madrid, 1885).
==== 1791–94: La Recherche and L'Espérance
====
An expedition to find the two vessels commanded
by Jean-François de La Pérouse (1741–1788)
and of which there was no news after they
left Port Jackson heading for southern Tasmania
and southern Australia. Captain Kermadec died
in May 1793 and Captain d'Entrecasteaux in
July of the same year. The expedition was
headed by a royalist and heard of the terror
in France when putting into the Dutch colonies.
The crew was arrested and collections of natural
history confiscated and offered by the Dutch
to the British. These were however, on the
express request of Joseph Banks (1743–1820),
returned to France
Captains: Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux (1737–1793)
(La Recherche) and Jean-Michel de Kermadec
(1748–1793) (L'Espérance)
Naturalists: Jacques-Julien de Labillardière
(1755–1834), Claude Riche (1762–1798),
Jean Blavier (1764–1828), the father Louis
Ventenat (1765–1794) and Louis Deschamps
(1765–1842)
Hydrographer: Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré
(1766–1854)
Gardener: Félix Delahaye (1767–1829)
Artist: Piron (?–1796)
Publication: J.H. La Billardière, Relation
of the voyage for the Perugia, made by order
of the constituent Assembly during the years
1791, 1792 and during the first and second
years of the Republic Françoise (Paris, 1799);
Elizabeth Rossel Voyage of Entrecasteaux,
sent for Lapérouse, 2 vols, 1809.
==== 1791–93: HMS Providence ====
The Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and
Commerce offered a reward of fifty pounds
for living Bread-fruit plants. Bligh completed
this in Providence, his second mission to
collect breadfruit plants and other botanical
specimens from the Pacific. These he transported
to the West Indies, specimens being given
to the Royal Botanic Gardens in St. Vincent.
This expedition was a success, returning to
the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew with 1,283 plants
including varieties of apple, pear, oranges
and mangoes. In addition to these specimens,
the expedition accomplished many observations
and cartographic surveys in the South Seas.
Captain: William Bligh (1754–1817)
Surgeons-naturalists: Thomas Dancer (c. 1750
– 1811)
==== 1791–95: HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham
====
A mission to the South Seas and Pacific Northwest
coast of America. In 1791, Discovery left
England with Chatham. Both ships anchored
at Cape Town before exploring the south coast
of Australia. In King George Sound, the Discovery's
naturalist and surgeon Archibald Menzies collected
various plant species including Banksia grandis,
the first recording of the genus Banksia from
Western Australia. The two ships sailed to
Hawaiʻi where Vancouver named Kamehameha
I. Chatham and Discovery then sailed on to
the Northwest Pacific. Over the course of
the next four years, Vancouver surveyed the
northern Pacific Ocean coast in Discovery
wintering in Spanish California or Hawaiʻi.
Discovery's primary mission was to exert British
sovereignty over this part of the Northwest
Coast following the hand-over of the Spanish
Fort San Miguel at Nootka Sound, although
exploration in co-operation with the Spanish
was seen as an important secondary objective.
Exploration work was successful as relations
with the Spanish went well; resupply in California
was especially helpful. Vancouver and the
Spanish commandant Juan Francisco de la Bodega
y Quadra were on such good terms that the
original name of Vancouver Island was actually
Quadra and Vancouver's Island.
Captains: George Vancouver (1757–1798) (Discovery)
and William Robert Broughton (1763–1822)
(Chatham)
Naturalist: Archibald Menzies (1754–1842)
Physician-naturalist: Alexander Cranstoun
==== 1800–04: Le Géographe and Naturaliste
====
This expedition was organised to establish
a permanent colonial presence in the South
seas before the British, concentrating on
the mapping of the coast of the Australia
and New Guinea. Nicolas Baudin died in Mauritius
in 1803, another naturalist on the island
of Timor, two other naturalists chose to stay
on the island and two astronomers died of
dysentery. Péron, assisted by his friend
Lesueur, managed to gather a vast zoological
collection. Naturaliste returned to France
in 1803 with a part of the collections. Captain
Baudin bought a schooner, the Casuarina then
at Port Jackson. Baudin was replaced by Pierre
Bernard Milius (1773–1829).
Commanders: Nicolas Baudin (1754–1803) (Le
Géographe) and Jacques Hamelin (1768–1839)
(Le Naturaliste).
Physician, surgeon (first doctor in the Navy)
and biologist: Pierre François Keraudren
(1769–1858) (Le Géographe).
Naturalists: Jean 
Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour (1773–1826),
René Maugé Cely, Stanislas Levillain (1774–1801),
François Péron (1775–1810), Jean-Baptiste
Bory de Saint-Vincent (1778–1846) (left
the expedition to Mauritius), Désiré Dumont,
André Michaux (1746–1803)
Artist: Charles-Alexandre Lesueur (1778–1846)
assisted by Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777–1804)
Astronomers: Pierre-François Bernier (1779–1803)
and Frédéric de Bissy (1768–1803)
Cartographer: Charles-Pierre Boullanger
Geographer: Pierre Faure (1777–1855)
Mineralogist: Louis Depuch, Joseph Charles
Bailly
Publications: F. Péron, Voyage of discovery
to the southern lands (three volumes, Paris,
1807–1816); many species of birds are described
by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot (1748–1831)
in the New Dictionary of Natural History (1816–1819).
==== 1801–03: HMS Investigator ====
The first circumnavigation of Australia. The
work of scientific observation was interrupted
due to damage and many specimens transferred
to HMS Porpoise were lost when it sank. The
observations of Brown on the flora of this
continent were the most extensive at this
time.
Captain: Matthew Flinders (1774–1814).
Naturalist: Robert Brown (1773–1858)
Physician-naturalist: Hugh Bell
Mineralogist: John Allen
Astronomer: John Crosley
Artists: Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826) and
William Westall (1781–1850)
Publication: M. Flinders, A Voyage to Terra
Australis, undertaken for the purpose of completing
the discovery of that vast country and prosecuted
in the years 1801, 1802 and 1803 ... (two
volumes, 1814).
==== 1803–06: Nadezhda and Neva ====
The first Russian circumnavigation of the
world was intended to establish a link with
Russian possessions in America, the transport
of goods at that time being via Siberia (a
journey lasting about two years). The second
objective, which was not achieved, was to
establish trade and diplomatic links with
Japan. This expedition took place during the
rule of emperor Alexander I (1777–1825).
Nadezhda and Neva explored the Aleutian Islands,
Sakhalin and discovered the mouth of the Love
River. They also visited the Marquesas Islands
and Hawaii. Baron von Langsdorff left the
expedition in 1805 to explore the Interior
of Alaska and California. Thirteen cases of
natural history specimens were shipped to
the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Captains: Adam Johann von Krusenstern (1770–1846)
(Nadezhda) and Yuri Fyodorovich Lisianski
(Neva)
Naturalist: Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff
(1774–1852)
Physician-naturalist: Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius
von Tilenau (1769–1857)
Publication: G. H. von Langsdorff, Bemerkungen
auf einer Reise um die Welt in den Jahren
1803 bis 1807, von G. h. von Langsdorff, ... (Frankfurt
am Main, two volumes, 1812).
==== 1815–18: Rurik ====
A Russian expedition funded by the Chancellor
of Russia, count Nikolai P. Romanzof to investigate
the northeast passage in the Bering Sea. The
coast of Alaska was studied and the South
Pacific, also the cartography of 36 islands
including the Marshall Islands. Also natural
history collections made.
Captain: Otto von Kotzebue (1787–1846)
Naturalist: Adelbert von Chamisso (1781–1838)
Physician-naturalist: Johann Friedrich von
Eschscholtz (1793–1831)
Publication: J.F. Eschscholtz, Entdeckungs
– Reise in die Süd – See und nach der
Berings – Strasse zur Erforschung einer
nordöstlichen Durchfahrt, unternommen in
den Jahren 1815, 1816, 1817 1818 und, auf
Kosten… a… Grafen Rumanzoff, auf dem Schiffe
″Rurick″, unter dem Befehle of the Lieutenants…
Otto von Kotzebue… (three volumes, Weimer,
1821).
==== 1817–20: L'Uranie and La Physicienne
====
A French expedition exploring Western Australia
and islands of Timor, Molucca, Samoa and Hawaii.
L'Uranie visited Rio de Janeiro to take a
series of pendulum measurements as well as
other observations, not only in geography
and ethnology, but in astronomy, terrestrial
magnetism, and meteorology, and for the collection
of specimens in natural history.
Commander: Commander Louis Claude de Saulces
Freycinet (1779–1842)
Second: Louis Isidore Duperrey (1786–1865)
Physician-naturalist: Joseph Paul Gaimard
(1796–1858) and Jean René Constant Quoy
(1790–1869)
Botanist: Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (1789–1854)
Illustrator: Jacques Arago (1790–1855),
Adrien Taunay the Younger (1803–1828)
Publication: de Freycinet, L. Voyage autour
du Monde...exécuté sur les corvettes de
L. M. "L'Uranie" et "La Physicienne," pendant
les années 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820. Paris.
pp. 192–401. J. Arago, Drive around the
world during the years 1817, 1818, 1819 and
1820, on the corvettes of the King the Urania
and physicist, commissioned by Mr. Freycinet,
by Js. Arago, designer of the expedition (Paris,
2 volumes, 1822).
==== 1819–21: Le Rhône and La Durance ====
One of the missions of this expedition and
recruit workers to Java and Philippines to
French Guiana. Botanist Samuel Perrottet (1793–1870)
settled in Guyana to investigate the acclimation
of plants reported to Asia. La Durance returned
to France in 1820, Le Rhône the following
year.
Captain: Pierre Henri Philibert (1774-?)
Botanist: George Samuel Perrottet (1793–1870)
==== 1822–25: La Coquille ====
Louis Isidore Duperrey commanded the expedition
in La Coquille with Jules Dumont d'Urville
as second in command. The naturalists appointed
to the expedition were the surgeon, pharmacist
and zoologist René Primevère Lesson and
surgeon-major Prosper Garnot. Doctor Garnot
had a severe attack of dysentery and was sent
back on the Castle Forbes with some of the
specimens collected in South America and the
Pacific. The specimens were lost when the
ship was wrecked off the Cape of Good Hope
in July 1824. Garnot and Lesson wrote the
zoological section of the voyage's report.
Commander: lieutenant Louis Isidore Duperrey
(1786–1865)
Second: lieutenant Jules Dumont d'Urville
botanist (1790–1842)
Physician-naturalist: the surgeon, pharmacist
and zoologist René Primevère Lesson (1794–1849)
and surgeon-major Prosper Garnot (1794–1838)
Astronomer: sign of vessel Charles Hector
Jacquinot (1796–1879)
Illustrators: Jules Louis Lejeune (1804–1851),
Jacques Arago (1790–1855)
Hydrographer: Victor Charles Lottin (1795–1858)
Publications: Lesson and Garnot, Voyage autour
du monde exécuté par ordre du roi sur la
corvette La Coquille (1828–32) / "Journey
around the world on the corvette La Coquille"
(Paris, six volumes, 1826–1830).
==== 1823–26: Predpriyatiye ====
An expedition of two ships of war, the main
object of which was to take reinforcements
to Kamchatka. There was, however, a staff
of scientists on board the Russian sailing
sloop Predpriyatiye (Russian: "Enterprise"),
who collected much valuable information and
material on geography, ethnography and natural
history. The expedition, proceeding by Cape
Horn, visited the Radak and Society Islands,
and reached Petropavlovsk in July 1824. Many
positions along the coast were mapped more
accurately, the Navigator islands visited,
and several discoveries made. The expedition
returned by the Marianas, Philippines, New
Caledonia and the Hawaiian Islands, reaching
Kronstadt on 10 July 1826.
Captain: Otto von Kotzebue (1787–1846)
Physician-naturalist: Johann Friedrich von
Eschscholtz (1793–1831) and Dr. Lenz
Publication: O. von Kotzebue, Reise um die
Welt in den Jahren 1823, 24, 25 und 26, von
Otto von Kotzebue, ... (Weimer, 1830).
==== 1824–25: HMS Blonde ====
In 1824 Byron was chosen to accompany homewards
the bodies of Hawaiian monarchs Liholiho (known
as King Kamehameha II) and Queen Kamāmalu,
who had died of measles during a state visit
to England. He sailed in Blonde in September
1824, accompanied by several naturalists and,
amongst others, his lieutenant, Edward Belcher.
He toured the islands and made observations.
With the consent of Christian missionaries
to the islands, he also removed wooden carvings
and other artifacts of the chiefs of ancient
Hawaii from the temple ruins of Puʻuhonua
O Hōnaunau.
On his return journey in 1825, Lord Byron
discovered and charted Malden Island, which
he named after his surveying officer, Mauke;
and Starbuck Island. Starbuck was named in
honour of Captain Valentine Starbuck, an American
whaler who had sighted the island while carrying
the Hawaiian royal couple to England in 1823–1824,
but which had probably been previously sighted
by his cousin and fellow-whaler Captain Obed
Starbuck in 1823.
Captain: George Anson Byron (1789–1868)
Naturalists: Andrew Bloxam (1801–1878) and
James Macrae
Published by: G.A. Byron, Voyage of H.M.S.
Blonde to the Sandwich Islands, in the years
1824–1825. The Right Hon. captain. Lord
Byron order. (London, 1826).
==== 1824–26: Le Thétis and L'Espérance
====
A mission to establish diplomatic relations
with Indochina and make geographical observations.
On 12 January 1825, Hyacinthe de Bougainville
led an embassy to Vietnam with Captain Courson
de la Ville-Hélio, arriving in Da Nang, with
the warships Thétis and L'Espérance. Although
they had a 28 January 1824 letter from Louis
XVIII, the ambassadors could not obtain an
audience with Minh Mạng.
Captains: Hyacinthe de Bougainville (1781–1846)
(Le Thétis) and Paul de Nourquer du Camper
(L'Espérance)
Surgeon-naturalist: François Louis Busseuil
(1791–1835)
==== 1825–28: HMS Blossom ====
A 
British expedition to the Bering Sea attempting
a rendezvous with the expedition of Sir John
Franklin (1786–1847) at the mouth of Mackenzie
River. Blossom reached as far north as Point
Barrow, Alaska, the furthest point into the
Arctic any non-Inuit had been at the time,
but was unable to join the Franklin expedition.
With Lay ill it was Beechey and Collie that
performed most of the specimen collection
but many could not be preserved.
Captain: Frederick William Beechey (1796–1856)
Physician-naturalist: Alexander Collie (1793–1835)
Naturalist: George Tradescant Lay (1800?–1854)
Publication: F.W. Beechey, Narrative of a
Voyage to the Pacific and Behring's Strait"
(1831), "The Zoology of Captain Beechey's
voyage to the Pacific and Behring's Strait.
(1839).
==== 1825–30: HMS Adventure and HMS Beagle
====
The mission was the hydrographic survey of
Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, under the
overall command of the surveyor Commander
Phillip Parker King, in HMS Adventure.
In the desolate waters of Tierra del Fuego
Stokes, the captain of HMS Beagle, became
depressed and shot himself on 2 August 1828
dying a few days later. Parker King replaced
Stokes with Lieutenant W.G. Skyring as commander
of the ship, and both ships sailed to Montevideo.
After the ships arrived at Rio de Janeiro
for repairs and provisioning, Rear Admiral
Sir Robert Otway, the Commander-in-chief of
the South American station, gave command of
Beagle to his aide, Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy.
Fuegians were taken back with them when the
Beagle returned. During this survey, the Beagle
Channel was identified and named after the
ship.
Captain: Philip Parker King (1793–1856)
(Adventure) and Pringle Stokes (?–1828)
(Beagle)
Naturalist: James Anderson (1797–1842)
Publication: P.P. King, Narrative of the first
surveying voyage of H. M. ships ″Adventure″
and ″Beagle″, between the years 1826 and
1836, describing their examination of the
Southern shores of South-America and the ″Beagle's″
circumnavigation of the world ... Vol. i.
[containing the proceedings of the first expedition,
1826–1830 under the command of captain P.
Parker King "(London, 1839).]
==== 1826–29: L'Astrolabe ====
This mission, led by Dumont d'Urville, searched
for the two vessels of La Pérouse (1741–1788).
The coasts of Australia, of New Zealand, of
Fiji and the Loyalty Islands were explored.
Dumont d'Urville renamed La Coquille as L'Astrolabe
as a tribute to the ship of La Pérouse.
Captain: Jules Dumont d'Urville (1790–1842)
Physician-naturalist: Joseph Paul Gaimard
(1796–1858) and Jean René Constant Quoy
(1790–1869)
Pharmacy-botanist: René Primevère Lesson
(1805–1888)
Publications: J. Dumont d'Urville, Voyage
of the Astrolabe. (14 volumes, 1830–1835).
==== 1826–29: Senyavin and Moller ====
A Russian circumnavigation on the ship Senyavin,
sailing from Cronstadt and rounding Cape Horn
accompanied by Captain Mikhail Nikolaievich
Staniukovich in command of the sloop Moller.
During the voyage Litke and his team described
the western coastline of the Bering Sea, the
Bonin Islands off Japan, and the Carolines,
discovered 12 new islands. An expedition to
strengthen Russian presence near Alaska. A
large collection of natural history specimens
was made including 1,000 new speciess of insects,
fish, birds and other animals and 2,500 plant
specimens including algae and minerals.
Captain: Fyodor Litke (1797–1882)
Botanist-naturalist: Karl Heinrich Mertens
(1796–1830)
Naturalist: Heinrich von Kittlitz (1799–1874)
Mineralogist: Alexander Philipov Postels (1801–1871)
Published by: F. Litke, Trip around the world
(1835–1836).
==== 1827–28: La Chevrette ====
The 
first expedition to map the coast of India.
Captain: Theodore Fabré (1795–1830)
Surgeon-naturalist: Auguste Adolphe Marc Reynaud
(1804–?)
==== 1828: Ms. Korvet Triton ====
Dutch exploration of New Guinea.
The corvette Triton
The brig Iris
Expedition leader: Dr. H.C. Macklot
Captain of Triton: J.J. Steenboom
==== 1829: La Cybèle ====
Scientific exploration was placed under the
direction of Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent
(1778–1846).
Captain: Marie Antoine Chevalier de Robillard
(1788–1837)
Zoologists: Gaspard Auguste Brullé (1809–1873)
and Sextius Delaunay
Botanist: Jean-Marie Despréaux (1794–1843)
Geologist: Pierre Théodore Virlet D'Aoust
of (1800–1894)
Artist: Prosper Baccuet (1798–1854)
==== 1829–32: La Favorite ====
As British, American and Dutch voyages consolidated
their interest in Australia, Hawaii and New
Guinea, the French government sought to secure
the religious freedoms and rights of French
residents in the South Pacific. The expedition
passed the Cape of Good Hope, stopping at
Pondicherry and Madras, and then exploring
the coast of Cochinchina and Tonkin, stopping
in the Philippines, Australia, Tasmania and
New Zealand. The expedition was considered
a great success, many hydrological observations
were completed and natural history collections
assembled.
Captain: Cyrille Pierre Théodore Laplace
(1793–1875)
Naturalist: Joseph Fortuné Théodore Eydoux
(1802–1841)
Publication: C.P.T. Laplace, Journey around
the world by the India and China seas, running
on the corvette of the State the Favorite
during the 1830s, 1831 and 1832 under the
command of Mr Laplace captain of frégatte.
Published by order of Mr. Vice-Admiral comte
Rigny Minister of marine and colonies. (seven
volumes including two atlas, Paris, 1833–1839).
==== 1831–36: HMS Beagle ====
A world circumnavigation to make a hydrographic
survey of the coast of Patagonia, Tierra del
Fuego, Chile and Peru, and establish accurate
longitude measurements. Charles Darwin paid
his own way as a naturalist/companion to the
captain, and found the voyage a stimulus both
to his career as a geologist and to the formulation
of his theory of evolution.
Captain: Robert FitzRoy (1805–1865)
Physician-naturalist: Robert McCormick (1800–1890)
until April 1832, followed by Benjamin Bynoe
(1804–1865)
Artist: Augustus Earle, replaced by Conrad
Martens
Naturalist (supernumerary passenger): Charles
Darwin (1809–1882)
Publications: C. Darwin (editor), Zoology
of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. (five volumes,
1838–1843),R. FitzRoy (editor), Narrative
of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's
Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years
1826 and 1836, describing their examination
of the southern shores of South America, and
the Beagle's circumnavigation of the globe.
(volume 2 and appendix by FitzRoy, Proceedings
of the second expedition, 1831–36, under
the command of Captain Robert Fitz-Roy, R.N.
(1839), volume 3 by C. Darwin Journal and
Remarks, (1839).)C. Darwin, The Geology of
the Voyage of The Beagle (three volumes, The
Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
(1842), Geological Observations on the Volcanic
Islands (1844), Geological Observations on
South America (1846).)
==== 1835 and 1836: La Recherche ====
Two expeditions to the coasts of Iceland and
Greenland in an attempt to trace the Bordelaise
commanded by Jules de Blosseville (1802–1833)
which had been missing since 1833.
Captain François Thomas Tréhouart (1798–1873)
Physician-naturalist: Joseph Paul Gaimard
(1796–1858) assisted by Elie Jean-François
Le Guillou (1806–1894) (first voyage) and
by Charles René Augustin Léclancher (1804–1857)
(second voyage), Louis Eugène Robert
==== 1836–39: Vénus ====
Expedition (circumnavigation) in the frigate
Vénus to assess the economic viability of
whaling in the North Pacific.
Captain: Abel Aubert Du Petit-Thouars (1793–1864)
Engineer hydrographer: Urbain Dortet de Tessan
(1804–1879)
Physician-naturalist: Adolphe Simon Neboux
(1806–1844)
Surgeon: Charles René Augustin Léclancher
(1804–1857)
Publication: A.A. Petit-Thouars, Travel around
the world on the fragate Venus. (eleven volumes,
1840–1864).
==== 1836–37: La Bonite ====
A global circumnavigation sailing the coast
of South America, back along the West Coast
to California, across the Pacific, reaching
Manila, China, India, the Isla Borbón and
returning to France. More than 1,000 new plant
species were collected and many geographical
and meteorological observations made.
Captain: Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant (1793–1858)
Physician-naturalist: Joseph Fortuné Théodore
Eydoux (1803–1841) and Louis François Auguste
Souleyet (1811–1852)
Hydrographer: Benoît Darondeau (1805–1869)
Pharmacy-botanist: Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré
(1789–1854)
Publication: A. N. Vaillant, Trip around the
world executed during the years 1836 and 1837
on the corvette Bonito ... (eleven volumes,
Paris, 1841–1852).
==== 1836–42: HMS Sulphur ====
Exploration of the Pacific coast of America
and interior of Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Sulphur participated in the First Opium War
between 1840 and 1841 and was later used to
survey the harbour of Hong Kong in 1841, returning
to England in 1842.
Captain: Edward Belcher (1799–1877)
Physician-naturalist: Richard Brinsley Hinds
(1811–1846)
Publications: E. Belcher, Narrative of a Voyage
Round the World in HMS Sulphur. (two volumes,
1843) (Volume 1, Volume 2); R.B. Hinds (editor),
"The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Sulphur"
(two volumes, 1843–1844).
==== 1837–40: L'Astrolabe and La Zélée
====
The second voyage of L'Astrolabe, this time
accompanied by La Zélée, sailed on 7 September
1837 and at the end of November, the ships
reached the Strait of Magellan. Dumont thought
there was sufficient time to explore the strait
for three weeks, taking into account the precise
maps drawn by Phillip Parker King between
1826 and 1830, before heading south again
but two weeks after seeing their first iceberg,
the ships were encased in pack ice for a while.
After reaching the South Orkney Islands, the
expedition headed directly to the South Shetland
Islands and the Bransfield Strait. Then located
some land which was named Terre de Louis-Philippe
(now called Graham Land), the Joinville Island
group and Rosamel Island (now called Andersson
Island. In poor shape the two ships headed
for Talcahuano in Chile. Turning south they
led for the first time some experiments to
determine the approximate position of the
South magnetic pole, discovered the Terre
Adélie on 20 January 1840 and landed two
days later on an islet of the Géologie Archipelago
(66°36′19″S 140°4′0″E) 4 km from
the mainland to take mineral and animal samples.
Captains: Jules Dumont d'Urville (1790–1842)
(L'Astrolabe), Charles Hector Jacquinot (1796–1879)
(La Zélée)
Physician-naturalist: on "The Astrolabe",
Jacques Bernard Hombron (1798–1852) surgeon-major
of 2nd class and Louis Le Breton (1818–1866)
surgeon 3rd class and "La Zélée" Honoré
Jacquinot (1815–1887) 3rd class surgeon,
Elie Jean François Le Guillou (1806 – after
1860) surgeon, 3rd class
Preparer-naturalist: Pierre Marie Alexandre
Dumoutier (1797–1871)
Illustrator: Ernest Goupil (1814–1840) (replaced
on his death on 1 April 1840 to Hobart-Town
by Louis Le Breton surgeon, 3rd class)
Hydrographer-cartographer: Clément Adrien
Vincendon-Dumoulin(1811–1858)
Publications: J. Dumont d'Urville then Clément
Adrien Vincendon-Dumoulin, assisted Desgraz
Secretary of L'Astrolabe "Histoire du voyage"
from Tome 4 to 10 tome 1, tome 2, tome 3,
tome 4, tome 5, volume 6, tome 7, tome 8,
tome 9, tome 10.For all other publications
by themes and authors, refer to Expédition
Dumont d'Urville in the Publications part.
==== 1837–43: HMS Beagle ====
The mission was the hydrographic survey of
the coasts of Australia. In 1839 Lieutenant
Stokes sighted a natural harbour which Wickham
named Port Darwin, the later settlement nearby
eventually became the city of Darwin, Northern
Territory. In 1841 Wickham fell ill, and Stokes
took command.
Captain: John Clements Wickham (1798–1864),
succeeded by John Lort Stokes (1812–1885)
Physician-naturalist: Benjamin Bynoe (1804–1865)
Publication: J. L . Stokes, Discoveries in
Australia, With an Account of the Coasts and
Rivers Explored and Surveyed During The Voyage
of H.M.S. Beagle, in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43.
By Command of the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty. Also a Narrative of Captain Owen
Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura
Sea. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (London, 1846)
==== 1838–42: USS Vincennes and USS Peacock
====
The "Wilkes Expedition", included naturalists,
botanists, a mineralogist, taxidermists, artists
and a philologist in the ships Vincennes,
Peacock, the brig Porpoise, the store-ship
Relief, and two schooners, Sea Gull, and Flying
Fish.
Departing Hampton Roads on 18 August 18, 1838,
the expedition stopped at Madeira and Rio
de Janeiro, Argentina; visited Tierra del
Fuego, Chile, Peru, the Tuamotu Archipelago,
Samoa, and New South Wales. From Sydney, the
fleet sailed into the Antarctic Ocean in December
1839 and reported the discovery "of an Antarctic
continent west of the Balleny Islands" of
which it sighted the coast on 25 January 1840.
Next, the expedition visited Fiji and the
Hawaiian Islands in 1840. In July 1840, two
sailors, one of whom was Wilkes' nephew, Midshipman
Wilkes Henry, were killed while bartering
for food on Malolo, in Fiji. Wilkes retribution
was swift and severe. According to an old
man of Malolo Island, nearly 80 Fijians were
killed in the incident.
From December 1840 to March 1841, his men
with native Hawaiian porters hauled a pendulum
to the summit of Mauna Loa to measure gravity.
He explored the west coast of North America,
including the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget
Sound, the Columbia River, San Francisco Bay
and the Sacramento River, in 1841.
The expedition returned by way of the Philippines,
the Sulu Archipelago, Borneo, Singapore, Polynesia
and the Cape of Good Hope, reaching New York
City on 10 June 1842. This was the first circumnavigation
of the world funded by the Government of the
United States and the last by a sailing vessel.
The expedition was poorly prepared and of
five vessels which left, only two returned
to port. The natural history collections were
very rich with 50,000 plant specimens (approximately
10 000 species) and 4,000 specimens of animals
(half being new species).
Captains: Charles Wilkes (1798–1877) (USS
Vincennes) and William Levereth Hudson (USS
Peacock) (1794–1862)
Doctor-tries: J.L. Fox
Naturalists: Charles Pickering (1805–1878),
Titian Ramsay Peale (1799–1885), James Dwight
Dana (1813–1895), William Dunlop Brackenridge
(1810–1893)
Publication: V. Wilkes, Narrative of the United
States exploring Expedition. (twenty volumes,
1845–1876)
==== 1839–43: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror
====
This British trip, sponsored by the Royal
Society, was to discover magnetic and geographic
features of the Antarctic. The expedition
was prepared with great care by James Clark
Ross, already familiar with Polar navigation.
The two ships left the United Kingdom on 19
September 1839, stopping to explore the Kerguelen
Islands in 1840, and then on Tasmania to build
a magnetic observatory for the Antarctic and
to conduct cartographic work. Mount Erebus
and the Ross Sea were discovered during this
journey. After three attempts, Ross admitted
that the magnetic pole lay in land that he
could not reach. Following the footsteps of
his uncle John Ross, he performed the first
deep sea surveys up to 4800 m (2677 fathoms),
using ropes. Unfortunately biological specimens
collected decomposed.
Captains: Sir James Clark Ross (1800–1862)
(Erebus) and Francis Crozier (1796–1848)
(Terror)
Physician-naturalist: Robert McCormick (1800–1890),
Joseph Hooker (1817–1911), John Robertson,
David Lyall (1817–1895)
Publications: J.C. Ross, A Voyage of Discovery
and Research in the Southern and Antarctic
Regions. (1847), J.E. Gray and John Richardson,
The zoology of the Voyage of HM Ships Erebus
and Terror (1844–1875). J.D. Hooker, The
botany of the Antarctic voyage of HM discovery
ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843
under the command of Captain Sir James Clark
Ross. Three volumes: I. Flora Antarctica (1844),
II. Flora Novae Zelandiae (1853–1855), III.
Flora Tasmaniae (1860).
==== 1841–1844: La Favorite ====
A scientific exploration in the China Sea
and Indian Ocean.
Captain: Théogène François Page (1807–1867)
Surgeon-naturalist: Charles René Augustin
Léclancher (1804–1857)
==== 1842–46: HMS Fly ====
During the early to mid-1840s, Fly charted
numerous trade and other routes between many
locations, primarily off Australia's North-east
coast and nearby islands. Such islands included
Whitsunday Island and the Capricorn Islands.
After being discovered during the survey of
the Gulf of Papua, New Guinea, the Fly River
was named after Fly. For the most of its seaworthy
existence, Fly was captained by Francis Price
Blackwood.
Captain: Francis Price Blackwood (1809–1854)
Physician-naturalist: Benjamin Bynoe (1804–1865)
Naturalists: Joseph Beete Jukes (1811–1869)
and John MacGillivray (1821–1867)
Publication: J.B. Jukes, "Narrative of the
surveying voyage of H. M. S. ″Fly″, commanded
by captain F. P. Blackwood,... in Torres Strait,
New Guinea and other islands of the Eastern
Archipelago, during the years 1842–1846,
together with an excursion into the interior
of the Eastern part of Java" (two volumes,
1847).
==== 1846–50: HMS Rattlesnake and HMS Bramble
====
An expedition to the Cape York and Torres
Strait areas of northern Australia.
Captain: Owen Stanley (1811–1850) (Rattlesnake)
and Charles Bampfield Yule (Bramble)
Surgeon: John Thomson
Physician-naturalist: Thomas Henry Huxley
(1825–1895)
Naturalists: John MacGillivray (1821–1867)
and James Fowler Wilcox (1823–1881)
Artist: Oswald Brierly (1817–1894)
Publication: J. MacGillivray, Narrative of
the Voyage of HMS Rattlesnake. (1852). Goodman,
J. The Rattlesnake: A Voyage of Discovery
to the Coral Sea. London: Faber & Faber, ISBN
978-0-571-21078-7 (2006). Goodman, J. Losing
it in New Guinea: the voyage of HMS Rattlesnake.
Endeavour (Elsevier) 29 (2): 60–65, doi:10.1016/j.endeavour.2005.04.005,
PMID 15935857 (2005). J. Huxley, T.H. Huxley's
diary of the voyage of HMS Rattlesnake. London:
Chatto & Windus (1935).
==== 1851–54: Capricieuse ====
A French expedition circumnavigating the world
via Cape Horn, stopping in Tahiti and Ualan
to determine an astronomical Meridian intended
for future travel in the Pacific, then arriving
in China. There, the ship performed several
missions of exploration including, in July–August
1852, in the seas of Korea and Japan (then
very little known in Europe) and on the coasts
of Kamchatkato completely unknown the Lapérouse
expedition. The Capricieuse then returned
to France via the Cape of Good Hope. This
was the last French global circumnavigation
by sail.
Commander: Commander Gaston de Rocquemaurel
(1804–1878)
Second: Navy lieutenant Jules Duroch
Publication: The narrative of the voyage remained
unpublished.
==== 1851–53: Eugenie ====
A Swedish natural history excursion, contributing
to the capture of Manuel Briones, a robber
who seized an American whaler "George Howland"
and who was the terror on the coast of the
Ecuador.
Captain: Christian Adolf Virgin (1797–1870).
Physician-naturalist: Johan Gustaf Hjalmar
Kinberg (1820–1908)
Naturalist: Nils Johan Andersson (1821–1880)
Publication: N.J. Andersson, Fregatten "Eugenies"
resa omkring jorden åren 1851–1853, under
befäl af utgifven af, v. a. Virgin v. Skogman
... (Stockholm, 1856).
==== 1852–63: HMS Herald ====
A survey of the Australian coast and Fiji
Islands, continuing the mission of HMS Rattlesnake.
Following disagreements with the captain,
naturalist John MacGillivray disembarks at
Sydney in January 1854. Herald was a 500-ton,
28-gun sixth-rate, launched as Termagant in
1822 and renamed in 1824. She served as a
survey ship under Henry Kellett and Henry
Mangles Denham and was sold in 1864.
Captain: Henry Mangles Denham (1800–1887)
Naturalists: John MacGillivray (1821–1867),
William Milne (botanist) and Denis Macdonald
as Assistant Surgeon-zoologist.
Publication: Edward Forbes (1815–1854),
The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Herald
under the command of Captain Henry Kellett,...
during the years 1845–51. (London, 1854).
==== 1853–55: USS Vincennes and USS Porpoise
====
This American expedition explored the coasts
of Japan, China, Siberia and Kamchatka before
putting in at the Cape of Good Hope and returning
to the United States. Porpoise sank in a typhoon
in 1854.
Captain: John Rodgers (1812–1882)
Naturalists: William Stimpson (1832–1872)
and Charles Wright (1811–1885)
Publication: due to the outbreak of civil
war, there is no record of this voyage, scientific
discoveries have been published separately
from scientific journals.
==== 1857–60: SMS Novara ====
An expedition organized by the Emperor of
Austria to demonstrate the power of the Crown.
Novara departed Trieste in April 1857, passing
the Cape of Good Hope to reach the Philippines,
Australia, and New Zealand. Fourteen of the
forty-four guns were dumped to make more room
for the scientific collections.
Captain: Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair
(1816–1883)
Naturalists: Ferdinand von Hochstetter (1829–1884),
Georg von Frauenfeld (1807–1873) and Johann
Zelebor (1819–1869).
Publication: Reise der österreichischen Fregatte
Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858,
1859 unter den Befehlen Commodore b. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair.
(1864–1875)
==== 1860: HMS Bulldog ====
An oceanographic survey in Bulldog for the
laying of a submarine telegraph cable in the
North Atlantic.
Captain: Francis Leopold McClintock (1819–1907)
Naturalist: George Charles Wallich (1815–1899)
Publication: The North Atlantic Sea – Bed;
comprising a diary of the voyage on board
H. M. S. Bulldog, in 1860, and observations
on the presence of animal life, and the formation
and nature of organic deposits, at great depths
in the ocean. (1862).
==== 1865–68: Magenta ====
An Italian circumnavigation of the globe that
made important scientific observations in
South America. The purpose of the trip was
also to establish diplomatic relations with
China and Japan, but without success. De Filippi
set out in 1866 on a government-sponsored
scientific voyage to circumnavigate the globe.
The ship, the Italian warship Magenta, sailed
under the command of Vittorio Arminjon, departing
Montevideo on 2 February 1866. It reached
Naples on 28 March 1868. However, De Filippi
himself died en route at Hong Kong, on 9 February
1867, from serious dysentery and liver problems.
The scientific report was completed by his
assistant, Professor Enrico Hillyer Giglioli.
Giglioli returned to Italy in 1868.
Captain: Vittorio Arminjon (1830–1897)
Naturalists: Filippo de Filippi (1814–1867)
and Enrico Hillyer Giglioli (1845–1909)
Publications: E.H. Giglioli, Note intorno
alla distribuzione della Fauna Vertebrata
nell oceano prese durante un viaggio intorno
al Blobo. (1870) and Viaggio intorno al globo
della r. pirocorvetta italiana ″Magenta″
negli anni 1865-66-67-68, sotto it comando
del capitano di fregata V. f. Arminjon. Relazione
descrittiva e scientifica pubblicata sotto
gli auspici del ministero di Agricoltura,
industria e commercio dal dottore Enrico Hillyer
Giglioli… Con una introduzione etnologica
di Paolo Mantegazza. (Milan, 1875).
==== 1865: HMS Curacoa ====
An expedition embarked in Curacoa leaving
Sydney in June 1865 to explore the Pacific
Islands. One of the objectives is to punish
the inhabitants of the islands of Tanna for
mistreating a missionary.
Captain: Sir William Wiseman, 8th Baronet
(1814–1874)
Naturalist: Julius Lucius Brenchley (1816–1873)
Publication: J.L. Brenchley, Jottings during
the cruise of H.M.S. Curoçoa among the south
sea islands in 1865. (London, 1873). Collections
by Brenchley are handled by various specialists
as George Robert Gray (1808–1872) for Albert
Günther (1830–1914) birds to fish and reptiles.
==== 1868 and 1869–1870: HMS Lightning and
HMS Porcupine ====
Two oceanographic expeditions in the Atlantic
Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Captains: Captain May (Porcupine), Killwick
Calver (1813–1892) (Lightning).
Naturalists: Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–1882)
and Philip Herbert Carpenter (1813–1885)
Publication: The Depths of the Sea: An Account
of the General Results of the Dredging Cruises
of H.M.SS. Porcupine and Lightning during
the summers of 1868, 1869, and 1870, Under
the Scientific Direction of Dr. Carpenter,
J. Gwyn Jeffreys, and Dr. Wyville Thomson.
==== 1873–76: HMS Challenger ====
The 
Challenger Expedition was a grand tour of
the world during covering 68,000 nautical
miles (125,936 km) organized by the Royal
Society in collaboration with the University
of Edinburgh. Charles Thomson was the leader
of a large scientific team.
Captains: George Nares (1873 and 1874) and
Frank Tourle Thomson (1875 and 1876)
Naturalists: Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–1882),
Henry Nottidge Moseley (1844–1891) and Rudolf
von Willemoes-Suhm (1847–1875)
Oceanographers: John Young Buchanan (1844–1925)
and John Murray (1841–1914)
Publications: C.W. Thomson, Report on the
scientific results of the voyage of HMS Challenger
during the years 1873–76… prepared under
the superintendence of the late Sir C. Wyville
Thomson,... and now of John Murray,... (fifty
volumes, London, 1880–1895). H.N. Moseley,
Notes by a naturalist on the Challenger (1879).
W.J.J. Spry, The cruise of the Challenger
(1876).
==== 1875–76: HMS Alert and HMS Discovery
====
The British Arctic Expedition in Alert and
Discovery seeking to establish the geographic
and magnetic north pole.
Captain: George Strong Nares (1831–1915)
Physician-naturalist: Richard William Coppinger
(1847–1910) and Edward Lawton Moss
Naturalists: Henry Chichester Hart (1847–1908)
and Henry Fielden
Publication: G. Nares, Narrative of a voyage
to the Polar Sea during 1875–6 in the ships
HMS Alert and HMS Discovery. (London, 1878);
translated into French (Paris, 1877).
==== 1881: USRC Thomas Corwin ====
Several expeditions were conducted in the
Bering Sea in 1881 to find the Jeannette and
two whaling ships. Wrangell Island was discovered
and made part of the United States in August
1881 with the landing of famed explorer John
Muir and the crew of U. S. Revenue Marine
ship Thomas Corwin under the command of Captain
Calvin Leighton Hooper. The landing at the
mouth of the Clark River was illustrated by
Muir in his book "The Cruise of the Corwin".
Two weeks after the Corwin took possession,
USS John Rodgers conducted a complete survey
of the island, which turned out to equal the
size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
Captain: Calvin Leighton Hooper
Naturalist: Edward William Nelson (1855–1934)
Explorer: John Muir (1838–1914)
Publication: Muir, J. "The Cruise of the Corwin".
==== 1882–83: La Romanche ====
The building of the French Navy La Romanche
was for a French multidisciplinary expedition
on a Scientific Mission to Cape Horn. (See
also Romanche Glacier)
Captain: Ferdinand Martial
Officers/photographers: Payen, Doze
Botanists: Émile Bescherelle, Paul Auguste
Hariot, Adrien René Franchet, Paul Petit
Doctor/geologist/ anthropologist: Paul Hyades
Ornithologist: Emile Oustalet
==== 1882–85: Vettor Pisani ====
The 
Vettor Pisani was an Italian naval corvette
equipped for scientific exploration.
==== 1886–96: USS Albatross ====
Albatross belonged to the Committee on Fisheries
of the United States and it carried out numerous
scientific expeditions under the direction
of Alexander Emanuel Agassiz (1835–1910).
The primary goal was an inventory of the Pacific
fishery reserves but many other observations
are carried out by Townsend and other scientists.
Captain: Zera Tanner (1835–1906)
Naturalist: Charles Haskins Townsend (1859–1944)
==== 1897–98: Lila and Mattie ====
Zoologist Walter Rothschild commissioned the
Webster-Harris Expedition to the Galápagos
Islands from June 1897 to February 1898. This
expedition on the schooner Lila & Mattie is
well-described in the 1983 book titled Dear
Lord Rothschild by Miriam Rothschild. In the
1936 book Oceanic Birds of South America by
Robert Cushman Murphy, Rollo Beck describes
the seminal telegram from C.M Harris that
started his long and important association
with the Galápagos Islands. The original
of this telegram is in the Rollo Beck Collection
in the California Academy of Sciences Archives.
There is also a photo from Beck's Sierra Nevada
collecting trip in the archives of the Museum
of Vertebrate Zoology on the University of
California, Berkeley campus. The story of
buried treasure on Tower Island connected
with this trip was apparently known to Captain
Lindbridge during this voyage, but the information
was not revealed until after the group had
left Tower Island. This trip lasted from June
1897 to February 1898, after having started
on a tragic note with the deaths of three
of the original crew to Yellow Fever, and
having to reconstitute the expedition in San
Francisco, California.
Naturalist: Rollo Beck (1870–1950)
Organizer: Frank Blake Webster
Organizer: Charles Miller Harris
==== 1897–98: Belgica ====
Adrien de Gerlache was an officer in the Belgian
Royal Navy who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition
of 1897 to 1899. He acquired Le Patria in
1896 renaming it Belgica. He left Antwerp
on 16 August 1897 passing winter in the Antarctic
before returning to Belgium on 5 November
1898.
Captain: Adrien de Gerlache (1866–1934)
Naturalist: Emil Racovita (1868–1947)
==== 1898–99: Valdivia ====
A 
German deep-sea expedition exploring in Antarctic
regions, the Valdivia being a steamship in
the Hamburg-American line of steamers. The
subscription was launched by Georg von Neumayer
(1826–1909) and only consisted of a single
vessel instead of the two planned. The expedition
quickly reached the Cape of Good Hope where
the study of deep waters began. The ship reached
Antarctic pack ice and rediscovered Bouvet
Island followed by the Kerguelen Islands.
For the first time, evidence of deep water
in this region was provided by survey. The
Valdivia then passed to the Indian Ocean,
studying the coast of Sumatra before returning
to its port of origin 29 April 1899.
Captain: Adalbert Krech (1852–1907)
Naturalist: Carl Chun (1852–1914).
Publication: C. Chun (1903), "Aus den Tiefen
des Weltmeeres".
== See also ==
Circumnavigation
History of navigation
List of explorers
List of circumnavigations
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
Chronology of European exploration of Asia
Timeline of European exploration
List of Arctic expeditions
List of Antarctic expeditions
Apostles of Linnaeus
