Henry Eld (June 2, 1814—March 12, 1850) was a United States Navy officer, geographer, and Antarctic explorer.

Biography

Eld was born in

Cedar Hill Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, on June 2, 1814, and lived in the area now known as View Street, but when it started becoming more populated he removed his house and relocated. Eld served as a

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

on the ship ''Peacock'', on the ship ''Vincennes'' at

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

, and joined Lieutenant George Emmons's overland journey through

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and California (while in California he was involved in the Mexican War). He produced 43 maps and 42 pencil sketches of the land between the Columbia River and the Sacramento Valley. Passed Midshipman Eld was one of the officers of 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 ...

under Capt.

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...

in 1838 and 1842 in search of the Antarctic continent, which Eld first descried and called out land from the crosstree of the sloop ''Peacock'' on January 16, 1840. From this the United States dates the first discovery of the Antarctic continent, and Capt. Wilkes named the highest mountain peak

Eld Peak Eld Peak () is a prominent peak, high, rising southeast of Reynolds Peak on the west side of Matusevich Glacier in Antarctica. Two conical peaks were sighted in the area from the ''Peacock'' on 16 January 1840, by Passed Midshipmen Henry Eld a ...

(which is part of what was later named the Lazarev Mountains). They proved that the Antarctic was a continent (Eld was the first to see the Antarctic mountains at a crucial stage of their survey of the ice fields). On January 10, 1840 Eld was part of a two-man landing party to investigate

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...

, one of the first men to do so. Splitting with his quarter-master, he explored a

penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

rookery alone, and was surprised by resistance the birds gave him.Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition”, Wilkes, Charles, vol 2, p.288-9. 1845 Eld kept journals and sketch books of the Wilkes Expedition, accompanied by letters, reports and orders, documenting his personal and professional life. Specimens were collected during the expedition - fifty thousand plants, and over 7 thousand mineral specimens, 3 thousand insects, innumerable shells, fish, reptiles, mammals, and hundreds of tribal artifacts- all these became scientific treasure. Also, Eld Inlet of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

was named after Eld by Capt. Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, to honor him. Henry Eld died at sea on board U. S. ship of war ''Ohio'' on March 12, 1850, bound home from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

after a three and a half years' cruise.

Tributes

A Sailor's Poem written in memory of Henry Eld's passing in 1854:''Ocean melodies, and seamen's companion: a collection of hymns and music: for the use of Bethels, chaplains of the Navy, and private devotion of mariners''
(1854) "...''thrice had weary sickness laid him low''
''Upon the troubled couch of feverish pain —''
''And days and nights of anguish measured slow''
''Their length upon the prostrate sufferer's chain;''
''Yet oft bright visions to his heart would come''..."

References

External links

Photos of some sketches by Henry Eld

''Narrative of the United States' exploring expedition, during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842''
(1845), Wilkes, Charles (1798–1877) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eld, Henry United States Navy officers American geographers Explorers of Antarctica Military personnel from New Haven, Connecticut 1814 births 1850 deaths People of the United States Exploring Expedition