Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim

Admiral
Bedford Pim
MP, FRGS
Member of Parliament
for Gravesend
In office
6 February 1874 – 3 April 1880
Preceded by Sir Charles John Wingfield
Succeeded by Thomas Bevan
Personal details
Born (1826-12-12)12 December 1826
Bideford, Devon, England
Died 30 September 1886(1886-09-30) (aged 59)
Deal, Kent, England
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Susanna Locock
Alma mater Royal Naval School, London
Profession Member of Parliament
Military service
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  Royal Navy
Years of service 1842-1870
Rank Admiral
Commands HMS Magpie
Battles/wars Crimean War
Second Opium War

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.

Early years

Pim was born in Bideford, 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.[1]

Career

In 1845, Pim was posted to the survey ship, HMS Herald, under Captain Henry Kellett. 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.[1][2] Pim was the first man to travel from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage to one on the western side.[3]

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.[4] The following year, he investigated the possibility of a transoceanic canal and became a proponent of the Nicaragua Canal.[5] 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.[6] 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.[6] 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.[7] He was elected a Member of Parliament for Gravesend in 1874 and 1880.[6] Pim was made rear-admiral in 1885.[4]

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.[2]

Organizations

Pim belonged to several scientific organizations. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1854.In 1861, he became an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers.[4] He was also an honorary member of the Dulwich College Science Society.

Personal life

Pim was a major landowner in Central America and the Caribbean.[8] 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 Belsize and Dulwich. Pim died at Deal, Kent, England, on 30 September 1886.[4] A brass plaque honoring Pim was moved in 1981 from The Missions to Seamen Institute to St. Nicholas Church, Bristol, England.[9]

Legacy

Pim Island (2005)

Partial works

References

  1. 1 2 Barr, William (March 1992). "Franklin in Siberia?--Lieutenant Beford Pim's Proposal to Search the Arctic Coast of Siberia, 1851-52" (PDF). Arctic. 45 (1): 36–46. doi:10.14430/arctic1371.
  2. 1 2 Samson, Jane (1998). "That Extensive Enterprise: HMS Herald's North Pacific Survey, 1845-1851" (PDF). Pacific Science. University of Hawaii Press. 52 (4): 287–293.
  3. ↑ Blanch, William Harnett (1877). Ye parish of Cam̃erwell: A brief account of the parish of Camberwell, its history and antiquities (Digitized 24 Jan 2006 ed.). London: E.W. Allen. p. 399.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Neatby, L. H. (2000). "PIM, BEDFORD CLAPPERTON TREVELYAN". Dictionary Of Canadian Biography Online, Volume XI. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "Captain Beford Pim's Schemes". The New York Times. 16 December 1884. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 Cooper, Thompson; A.C. Key; L.W. Cave; R.N. Shaw (1882). Men of Mark: a Gallery of Contemporary Portraits of Men Distinguished in the Senate, the Church, in Science, Literature, and Art, the Army, Navy, Law, Medicine, etc. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivingtom. p. 26.
  7. ↑ Cooper, Thompson (1875). Men of the time: a dictionary of contemporaries (Digitized 7 Sep 2007 ed.). G. Routledge and sons. p. 809.
  8. ↑ Watson, Tim. "Jamaica, Genealogy, George Eliot: Inheriting the Empire After Morant Bay". ncsu.edu. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Teague, Josephine. "Memorial: M530". nmm.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  10. ↑ Society of Arts (1890). Abstract of the proceedings. 18 (Digitized 5 Dec 2007 ed.). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 94.

External links

Wikisource has original works written by or about:
Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Charles John Wingfield		 Member of Parliament for Gravesend
1874 – 1880 		Succeeded by
Thomas Bevan
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