Admiral Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, (18 November 1810 – 1 January 1890) was a British naval officer and

hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

. He was a leading advocate of the value of nautical surveying in relation to naval operations. Sulivan was born at Mylor, Cornwall, near Falmouth,''1871 England Census'' the son of Rear Admiral

Thomas Ball Sulivan Rear Admiral Thomas Ball Sulivan CB (5 January 1781 – 17 November 1857) was a Royal Navy officer who became Senior Officer, South East Coast of America Station. Biography Sulivan was born in Cawsand, Cornwall on 5 January 1780. By 1786, he ...

.J. K. Laughton, 'Sulivan, Sir Bartholomew James (1810–1890)’, rev. Andrew Lambert, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 18 Jan 2009
/ref> His early career included service under Robert FitzRoy on the

second voyage The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

of HMS ''Beagle'' from 1831 to 1836 with Charles Darwin, during which

Bartolomé Island Bartolomé Island ( es, Isla Bartolomé) is a volcanic islet in the Galápagos Islands group, just off the east coast of Santiago Island. It is one of the "younger" islands in the Galápagos archipelago. This island, and Sulivan Bay on Santiago ...

in the Galapagos Islands was named after him. From 1842 to 1846 he commanded HMS ''Philomel'' on the South American Station and surveyed the Falkland Islands. He was the commander of the combined Anglo-French fleet at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado which took place on 20 November 1845. During the Crimean War he was sent by Sir

Francis Beaufort Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (; 27 May 1774 – 17 December 1857) was an Irish hydrographer, rear admiral of the Royal Navy, and creator of the Beaufort cipher and the Beaufort scale. Early life Francis Beaufort was descended f ...

, Hydrographer of the Navy, to the Baltic to assist the fleet commanded by Sir Charles Napier. Sulivan, commanding the paddle steamer HMS ''Lightning'', made many invaluable surveys and charts of the shallow waters in which the fleet had to operate, and led the bombardment ships into position during the capture of Bomarsund. From 1856 to 1865 he was the naval professional member of the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1870, and Admiral in 1877. After Robert FitzRoy took his own life in 1865, leaving his wife and daughter destitute, Sulivan convinced the British government to provide them with £3000, to which Charles Darwin contributed another £100 of his own money. He was created a CB in July 1855, and a KCB in the June

1869 Birthday Honours The 1869 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

. The Falkland Islands issued a set of stamps in 1985 for "Early Cartographers maps", the ship ''Philomel'' is featured on the fourth in set, 54p stamp along with a portrait of Admiral Sir B. J. Sulivan K.C.B.

References

External links

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Book ''Life and letters of the late Admiral Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, K. C. B., 1810–1890''
published in 1896, available online 1810 births 1890 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy admirals English hydrographers Scientists from Cornwall People from Flushing, Cornwall Sailors from Cornwall {{UK-explorer-stub