Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim (12 June 1826 – 30 September 1886) was a

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 F ...

officer, Arctic explorer, barrister, and author. He was the first man who travelled from a ship on the eastern side of the

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 ...

to one on the western side.

Early years

Pim was born in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, son of Edward Bedford Pim of Weirhead,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, a

British 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 F ...

officer who died of yellow fever in 1830 off the coast of Africa while engaged in the suppression of the slave trade, and Sophia Soltau Harrison, eldest daughter of John Fairweather Harrison, Esquire of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

. Educated at the

Royal Naval School The Royal Naval School was an England, English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a Charitable cause, charitable institution, established as a board ...

, the younger Pim went to India in the

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

, and in 1842, upon return to England, was appointed a volunteer in the Royal Navy.

Career

In 1845, Pim was posted to the

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...

, HMS ''Herald'', under Captain

Henry Kellett Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, (2 November 1806 – 1 March 1875) was a British naval officer and explorer. Career Born at Clonacody in Tipperary County, Ireland, on 2 November 1806, Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822. He spent three yea ...

. For the next six years he took part in surveys in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

, the western coast of South America, and north to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. During this time he took part in three detours to search for the missing Sir

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through ...

expedition. He transferred from ''Herald'' to HMS ''Plover'', wintering at

Chamisso Island Chamisso Island is a small island in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. It is located off Spafarief Bay at the mouth of Eschscholtz Bay, just south of the Choris Peninsula. The island is roughly triangular. It is long and an wide. The highest point on Ch ...

Kotzebue Sound Kotzebue Sound (russian: Залив Коцебу) is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded on the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and w ...

during 1849/50, spending considerable time with the local Malimiut, before returning to ''Herald''. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1851, and in April 1852 he returned to the Arctic, taking part in the rescue of

Robert McClure Vice-Admiral Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure (28 January 1807 – 17 October 1873) was an Irish explorer of Scots descent who explored the Arctic. In 1854 he traversed the Northwest Passage by boat and sledge, and was the first to ci ...

and the crew of . Pim was the first man to travel from a ship on the eastern side of the

to one on the western side. San Juan del Sur (1859)

Pim served in the Baltic in 1855 during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

commanding HMS ''Magpie'' where he was wounded. The war in China - attack on the

He was wounded again in 1857 while commanding HMS ''Banterer'' in Chinese waters. He was made a commander in 1858. The following year, he investigated the possibility of a transoceanic canal and became a proponent of the

Nicaragua Canal The Nicaraguan Canal ( es, Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) was a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect th ...

. Pim went to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

in command of HMS ''Gorgon'' in 1860 and returned home on HMS ''Fury''. He made post captain in 1868 and was compulsorily retired in 1870. He studied law after retirement and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1873. Pim practiced law in Bristol, mainly on admiralty cases, and became a magistrate for the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. He wrote, ''When Do Sheriffs Take Office?'' in 1879. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, Pim stood unsuccessfully for election in

in July 1865 and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

in December 1868. He was elected Member of Parliament for Gravesend in 1874. Pim was made rear-admiral in 1885. Pim wrote several articles, books, and pamphlets. "Remarks on the

Isthmus of Suez The Isthmus of Suez is the land bridge"Suez Canal ...

, with Special Reference to the Proposed Canal" was published in the ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London'' in 1859, and ''Proposed Transit-Route across Central America, from a New Harbour in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

'' was published three years later. His 1839 ''A Brief sketch of the life of the late

Zachary Macaulay Zachary Macaulay ( gd, Sgàire MacAmhlaoibh; 2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a Scottish statistician and abolitionist who was a founder of London University and of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and a Governor of British Sierra Leone. ...

, Esq., F.R.S. As connected with the subjects of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery'' was his only biography. His journals as a

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

aboard the ''

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

'' provided most of the discussion for the Arctic portions of the six-year cruise.

Organisations

Pim belonged to several scientific organisations. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 1854. In 1861, he became an associate of the

Institute of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, wh ...

. He was also an honorary member of the

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

Science Society.

Personal life

Pim was a major landowner in Central America and the Caribbean. He married Susanna Locock on 3 October 1861 and they had two sons, including the Rev. Henry Bedford Pim. They lived for a time at Belsize and

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

. Pim died at

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchora ...

, England, on 30 September 1886. A brass plaque honoring Pim was moved in 1981 from The Missions to Seamen Institute to St. Nicholas Church,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. Pim was a virulent racist. In both ''The Negro and Jamaica'' and ''Dottings on the Roadside'' he articulated personal concerns with the supposed "savagery" of African peoples. Despite the acclaim Pim has garnered for his explorations, many of his personal observations of Africans in Jamaica perpetuated falsely racist claims about cannibalism and profligacy.

Legacy

Pim Island (2005) *

Pim Island Pim Island (previously Bedford Pim Island) is located off the eastern coast of Ellesmere Island, part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Located within the Arctic Archipelago, it is a part of the Queen Elizabeth ...

, Nunavut, Canada. * Pim's Bay (variant Monkey Point), of

Greytown, Nicaragua San Juan de Nicaragua, formerly known as San Juan del Norte or Greytown, is a town and municipality in the Río San Juan Department of Nicaragua. History San Juan del Norte was founded by the Spanish and was a small fort and customs station. ...

Partial works

* (1857) ''An earnest appeal to the British public on behalf of the missing Arctic Expedition.'' * (1858) ''Notes on Cherbourg.'' * (1863) '' The Gate of the Pacific.'' * (1868) ''The negro and Jamaica. Read before the Anthropological Society of London, etc.'' * (1869) ''Dottings on the Roadside in Panama, Nicaragua, and Mosquito ... Illustrated with plates and maps.'' * (s.d.) ''War chronicle, with memoirs of the emperor Napoleon III, the emperor-King William I, map and official documents, from the breaking out of the war to the final evacuation of French territory by the German troops.'' *I''n the 1870s he was the proprietor of a newspaper "The Navy Royal and Mercantile". Edition no.38 volume II bears the date "Saturday, Feb 13, 1875".'' * (1876) ''

British Manufacturing Industries series George Phillips Bevan (1829 – 1889) FSS FGS was a Welsh statistician, geographer and author, and the brother of William Latham Bevan. His father was William Hibbs Bevan (1788-1846), who was high sheriff for Breconshire in 1841, and his brothe ...

'', vol. 10: "Ship-building" * (1877) ''The Eastern question, past, present and future : with official documents.'' * (1881). ''Gems from Greenwich Hospital.'' * (1883). ''Transit across Central America.''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pim, Bedford 1826 births 1886 deaths British polar explorers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Members of the Inner Temple Writers from Bideford Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War UK MPs 1874–1880 Military personnel from Bideford