Sir Horatio Thomas Austin (10 March 1800 – 16 November 1865) was a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer and explorer.

Biography

Austin was born in England on 18 March 1800, the son of an official in the Chatham Dockyard. In 1828, was dispatched on a scientific expedition in the Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain Henry Foster, with Austin as his first lieutenant. Foster explored the South Atlantic, and especially the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

. Foster drowned in 1831, in the Chagres River in Panama. After Foster's loss, the ship's command fell to Austin. On the expedition, the ship circumnavigated along the Southern Hemisphere and visited the River Plate,

Isla de los Estados Isla de los Estados (English: Staten Island, from the Dutch ''Stateneiland'') is an Argentine island that lies off the eastern extremity of Tierra del Fuego, from which it is separated by the Le Maire Strait. It was named after the Netherland ...

and South Georgia, before returning to Falmouth in 1830. During the early 1840s he commanded the steam paddle wheel frigate ''Cyclops''. Following the 1849 failure of Sir

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edwa ...

's attempt to locate

Franklin's lost expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sect ...

, Austin led an expedition in 1850 that also attempted to find the missing explorers. George F. McDougall was second master on board . Although the expedition located only traces of Franklin's presence, Austin is credited with organising successful sledging expeditions along the coasts of several North American Arctic islands, including the island of Bathurst, Byam Martin, Melville, and

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the ruler ...

. Between October 1850 and March 1851, members of the ''Resolute'' crew under Austin published at least five editions of a handwritten newspaper, ''The Illustrated Arctic News'', during the wintering of the ''Resolute'' in what they identified as Barrow Strait. Upon the return of the ''Resolute'' to home port in England, the manuscript paper was printed in London in 1852. Austin became admiral superintendent at

Malta Dockyard Malta Dockyard was an important naval base in the Grand Harbour in Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. The infrastructure which is still in operation is now operated by Palumbo Shipyards. History Pre-1800 The Knights of Malta established dockyard ...

in 1863, and died in November 1865. Austin was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(CB) in 1840, and was promoted to

Knight Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mi ...

(KCB) in March 1865 just months before his death.

References

Sources

* Atwood, R.A. (1997)
"Shipboard News: Nineteenth Century Handwritten Periodicals at Sea."
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (80th, Chicago, Illinois, 30 July – 3 August 1997) Addendum I; see also "The Illustrated Arctic News" i
''The Handwritten Newspapers Project''
* Coleman, E.C. (2006). ''The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration from Franklin to Scott''. Tempus. * Osborn, S.; McDougall, G.F. ed. (1852). ''Facsimile of the Illustrated Arctic News, Published on Board H.M.S. Resolute''. London: Ackerman.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Horatio Thomas 1800 births 1865 deaths English polar explorers English explorers of North America Explorers of Canada Explorers of the Arctic Royal Navy officers