Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Archibald William McMurdo (24 September 1812 – 11 December 1875) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

naval officer and polar explorer after whom

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

McMurdo Sound The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant ...

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is ...

McMurdo Ice Shelf The McMurdo Ice Shelf is the portion of the Ross Ice Shelf bounded by McMurdo Sound and Ross Island on the north and Minna Bluff on the south. Studies show this feature has characteristics quite distinct from the Ross Ice Shelf and merits individ ...

McMurdo Dry Valleys The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely Antarctic oasis, snow-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ...

and McMurdo–South Pole Highway are named.

Early life

Archibald William McMurdo was born on 24 September 1812 in Scotland. He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald McMurdo and grandson of John McMurdo, a chamberlain at

Drumlanrig Castle Drumlanrig Castle is situated on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The category A listed castle is the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. As of September 2023, the castle itself is open to t ...

Career

McMurdo joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

on 6 October 1824, at the age of 12.William Loney RN – Background: "Archibald McMurdo, RN"
/ref> He was promoted to lieutenant in 1836 for his skill and courage in saving the crew of a shipwrecked

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

from hostile New Zealand natives. He achieved the rank of commander in 1843 and captain in 1851. His career included two discovery expeditions aboard HMS ''Terror'', the first to

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

(1836–1837), the second to

(1839–1842). In 1836 he served on HMS ''Volage'' during its voyage to

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

. During the Antarctica voyage,

was discovered in February 1841, and named after McMurdo by Captain

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...

. Ross also wrote a letter to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

recommending McMurdo for promotion. In 1845, McMurdo expressed doubt that Captain

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

would return from his ill-fated

Northwest Passage 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 ...

that resulted in the loss of all 129 crewmen in mysterious circumstances (it is now known that his ships were inextricably trapped in ice). McMurdo achieved command of in 1846, which was detailed to the coast of West Africa. He retired as a rear-admiral, and was promoted in retirement to vice-admiral in 1873.

Death

McMurdo died on 11 December 1875 in Scotland. His estate was probated in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

on 3 February 1876. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861–1941.

References

British explorers of Antarctica Royal Navy vice admirals 1812 births 1875 deaths {{Authority control

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References