Christopher Middleton ( – 12 February 1770) was a British navigator with the Hudson's Bay Company and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

on 7 April 1737.

Career

Privateer in Queen Anne's War

Middleton described serving aboard a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

in Queen Anne's War. The war was fought between 1701 and 1713.

Hudson's Bay Company service

Middleton was appointed second mate of the ''Hannah'', in 1721, and appointed her captain in 1725. He eventually made 16 annual voyages on ships supplying Hudson Bay Company outposts. Middleton was a scientific sailor, and he methodically observed compass deviations, on his voyages. Hudson's Bay was close to the location of the North Magnetic Pole. Middleton published a paper, describing his observations, in the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

's '' Philosophical Transactions''. Middleton's scientific endeavours earned him a Fellowship in the Royal Society.

Northwest Passage

Wager Bay was just a deep bay, not an outlet to the Pacific Ocean" width=242 height=180 zoom=6 latitude=65.5 longitude=-89/> On 5 March 1741, Middleton was appointed to the command of , a Royal Navy bomb vessel which was refitted at Deptford Dockyard and rigged as a three-masted ship. In May, he left England on ''Furnace'', accompanied by a smaller vessel, the purchased , under the command of William Moor, and sailed to

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

in search of a

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

. He spent the winter at Fort Churchill, and then proceeded north, into Roes Welcome Sound and discovered

Wager Inlet Wager Bay or Ukkusiksalik Bay is long narrow inlet in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada, which opens east into Roes Welcome Sound at the northwest end of Hudson Bay. Ukkusiksalik National Park surrounds it. History Wager Bay was first ch ...

where he was iced in for three weeks. At the head of the sound he found himself blocked by ice, and named the place Repulse Bay. Middleton returned to England in 1742, where he was presented with the Royal Society's Copley Medal, to whom he presented a paper entitled "The effects of cold; together with observations of the longitude, latitude, and declination of the magnetic needle, at Prince of Wales's fort, upon Churchill-River in Hudson's Bay, North America". Middleton was given command of , in May 1745, and commanded her until 1748, when peace was negotiated with Spain. Royal Navy officers were entitled to half-pay when not employed, and Middleton spent the rest of his life on half-pay. He went back to the Hudson's Bay Company and requested a command, without success.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* *
"Christopher Middleton, North-West Passage expedition, 1741–42"
at

Royal Museums Greenwich Royal Museums Greenwich is an organisation comprising four museums in Greenwich, east London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Tha ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Christopher 18th-century English people 18th-century Royal Navy personnel 1690s births 1770 deaths Date of birth uncertain English explorers of North America English navigators English polar explorers Explorers of Canada Explorers of the Arctic Fellows of the Royal Society Hudson's Bay Company people People from the Borough of Hartlepool Recipients of the Copley Medal Royal Navy officers