Edwin Jesse DeHaven (May 7, 1816May 1, 1865) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer and explorer of the first half of the 19th century who was best known for his command of the

First Grinnell expedition The First Grinnell expedition of 1850 was the first American effort, financed by Henry Grinnell, to determine the fate of the lost Franklin Northwest Passage expedition. Led by Lieutenant Edwin De Haven, the team explored the accessible areas ...

in 1850, which was directed to ascertain what had happened to the lost

Franklin Polar Expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest ...

Life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

on May 7, 1816, De Haven became a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

at the age of 10, serving until 1857. From 1839 to 1842, he participated in the Wilkes Expedition, officially known as the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

. His most notable achievement was serving as captain of the ''Advance''. Together with ''Rescue'', the ship participated in the Arctic search mission to discover the remains of

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

's earlier, 1847, Arctic expedition. The two ships left New York on May 5, 1850. De Haven and his crew were at sea for sixteen months, spending the winter inside the

Arctic circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...

."De Haven II (DD-727)," U.S.Naval History and Heritage Command. Edwin DeHaven headstone

After returning from the expedition, Edwin Jesse De Haven served in the

U.S. Coast Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...

, before spending the rest of his career at the

United States Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...

under superintendent Matthew Fontaine Maury. Suffering from impaired vision, he was placed on the retired list in 1862. He died in Philadelphia May 1, 1865, and was interred at that city's Christ Church Burial Ground.

Namesakes

The

named two destroyers USS ''De Haven'' in his honor.

References

: : *''The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration from Franklin to Scot''t, E C Coleman, 2006 (Tempus Publishing)

External links

Biography of De Haven from the ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,'' U.S. Naval Historical CenterBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* See an 1858 ma
''Preliminary chart of entrance to Brazos River, Texas / from a trigonometrical survey under the direction of A. Bache; triangulation by J.S. Williams ; topography by J.M. Wampler; hydrography by the parties under the command of E.J. De Haven & J.K. Duer.''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Edwin Jesse De Haven Papers, 1832-1928 MS 211
held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:De Haven, Edwin Jesse 1816 births 1865 deaths Explorers of Canada Explorers of the Arctic Military personnel from Philadelphia United States Navy officers Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia

Life

Namesakes

See also

References

External links