Benjamin Leigh-Smith
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Benjamin Leigh Smith (12 March 1828 – 4 January 1913) was an English
Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...
and yachtsman. He is the grandson of the Radical abolitionist William Smith.


Early life

He was born in Whatlington,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, the extramarital child of Anne Longden, a milliner from
Alfreton Alfreton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 7,971 at the 2011 Census. The villages of Ir ...
, and the Whig politician Benjamin Smith (1783–1860), the only son of William Smith, a Radical abolitionist. On a visit to his sister in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
in 1826, Benjamin senior met Anne Longden. She became pregnant by him and he took her to a rented lodge at Whatlington, a small village near
Battle, East Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Batt ...
. There she lived as "Mrs Leigh", the surname of his relations on the nearby
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
. The birth of their first child, Barbara Leigh Smith, created a scandal because the couple did not marry, and within eight weeks Anne was pregnant again. When their son Benjamin was born, the four of them went to America for two years, during which time another child was conceived. After their return to Sussex, they lived openly together at Brown's and had two more children. Subsequently, Anne became ill with tuberculosis and died in
Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...
, Isle of Wight, in 1834. Ben was only five years old.


Explorations

Between 1871 and 1882, Leigh Smith undertook five major scientific expeditions to
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
,
Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...
, and
Franz Josef Land , native_name = , image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg , image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land , image_size = , map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg , map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...
. He brought back specimens for the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
and Royal Botanic Gardens, as well as live polar bears for the
London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...
.


1871 expedition to Svalbard

On 19 May 1871, Leigh Smith sailed from
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...
on board the ''Sampson'', an 85-ton schooner built in 1852. The captain Erik Andreas Ulve and the 12 other crew members were Norwegian. The expedition stopped at
Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...
before heading to Svalbard, which was reached on 7 July. ''Sampson'' navigated through the ice around the west and north coast of
Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
into
Hinlopen Strait The Hinlopen Strait ( no, Hinlopenstretet) is the strait between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet in Svalbard, Norway. It is long and wide. The strait is difficult to pass because of pack ice. It is believed to have been named after Thijmen J ...
. Here Leigh-Smith surveyed what was later named
Wilhelm Island Wilhelm Island ( no, Wilhelmøya) is an island in the Svalbard archipelago. It is situated northeast of Olav V Land on Spitsbergen, in Hinlopen Strait. Its area is 120 km². About 33.5 % of the island is covered with ice. The island was nam ...
, establishing that it was an island. He then continued along the north coast of Nordaustlandet, making the first confirmed sightings of 22 islands including
Brochøya Brochøya is an island off the north coast of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The island is named after politician and physicist Ole Jacob Broch. Brochøya is located west of Foynøya, is part of Orvin Land and is included in the Nordaust-Svalbard Nat ...
,
Foynøya Foynøya is an island off the coast of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. Sources give the size as about or about . The island is named after whaling pioneer Svend Foyn. Previous names include ''Walrus Eyland'', ''Föyen's Island'' and ''Foyn Island''. Th ...
, and Schübelerøya. Throughout the voyage, Leigh Smith made a series of temperature measurements, by which he realised that the temperatures increased significantly below the surface and that the oceanic currents around Svalbard make the West side favourable for exploration. On 27 September the expedition returned to Tromsø.


1872 expedition to Jan Mayen and Svalbard

The 2nd expedition consisted of 17 men including Leigh Smith and captain John C. Wells. Crew members were signed up from
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...
and the Shetland Islands. The expedition left Hull on 13 May 1872. The expedition reached Jan Mayen on 3 June. Temperature measurements at depth were taken by Wells as the crew hunted whales and seals which partly covered the expedition's cost to Leigh Smith. ''Sampson'' then continued along the edge of the ice pack to Svalbard. Here further deap sea temperature soundings by Wells further corroborated the supposed warm deep-sea current. By the island
Moffen Moffen is a small, low island north of the mouth of Wijdefjorden, on the northern coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. The island lies just north of 80° so has become a popular target for vessels touring the arc ...
, the ship was damaged by ice and needed to be beached for repairs in
Wijdefjorden Wijdefjord is the longest fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Wijdefjord is located in the northern portion of the island of Spitsbergen, which lies in the Arctic Ocean about midway between Norway and the North Pole, and is the largest island ...
. Afloat once more, the ''Sampson'' encountered at
Fuglefjorden Fuglefjorden is a fjord in Albert I Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is located on the northern side of the peninsula Vasahalvøya Vasahalvøya is a peninsula in Albert I Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The peninsula is named after Gustav Vasa ...
Nordenskiöld's Swedish polar expedition on their way North. Leigh Smith returned to Hull on 26 September.


1873 expedition to Svalbard

For the 3rd expedition Leigh Smith chartered James Lamont's Arctic exploration vessel ''Diana'' (crew of 17) and used ''Sampson'' (crew of 13) as a reserve supply tender. It was joined by
Herbert Chermside Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Charles Chermside, (31 July 1850 – 24 September 1929) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of Queensland from 1902 to 1904. Early life and education Chermside wa ...
, who was in charge of logkeeping, and naturalist
Alfred Edwin Eaton Alfred Edwin Eaton (1845 - 1929) was an English clergyman and entomologist. He served as the vicar of Shepton Montague in Somerset. His main interests among insects were the Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being de ...
. The objective was to venture beyond the northeast edge of Svalbard and also to search for Nordenskiöld's expedition which had not yet returned. On 13 June, ''Diana'' learned from a Norwegian fishing vessel at
Danes Island Danes Island ( no, Danskøya) is an island in Norway's Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean with an area of . It lies just off the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the archipelago, near to Magdalenefjorden. Just to the n ...
that Nordenskiöld's expedition had been frozen in at
Mosselbukta Mosselbukta is a bay in Ny-Friesland at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It has a length of about five kilometers, and is located at the mouth of Wijdefjorden, east of the peninsula Mosselhalvøya Mosselhalvøya is a peninsula in Ny-Friesland at Spitsbergen ...
and was starving. Leigh Smith reached the 3 beset ships on the same day and aided them with his provisions. For this act of salvation he later received the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star. The expedition undertook some exploring, but did not succeed in reaching much further than previously.


''Eira''

By his fourth expedition, Leigh Smith's enthusiasm for Arctic exploration had advanced to the point that he had his own vessel—''Eira''—specially built. ''Eira'' was built at the Scottish shipyard of Stephen & Forbes at Peterhead as a three-masted, steam-equipped screw
barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...
from 1879 to 1880. John and David Gray pioneered steam engine ships and the ''Eira'' was designed along the lines of the whaler ''Hope'' and ''Windward''. At long and 360 tons the ''Eira'' was seven feet longer and forty tons heavier that the ''Windward''—built in 1866 with a 30 hp steam engine—but an otherwise close copy. The ship's hull was three feet thick and the bow had a thickness of eight feet. After launching the ''Eira'' was towed to
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
where a 50 hp steam engine was installed.


1880 expedition to Franz Josef Land

On 19 June 1880, the ship left Aberdeen with Captain William Lofley from
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...
as ice master, surgeon William Neale, photographer William John Alexander Grant, two mates, two engineers, and 17 men. On 20 June, four Shetlanders were picked up at
Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...
for the voyage and exploration of Svalbard. On 11 July, John Gray's ''Hope'' and David Gray's ''Eclipse'' met up with the ''Eira'' and Leigh Smith. Grant took a photograph aboard the ''Eira'' that included
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
along with Leigh Smith, the Gray brothers, and Dr. Neale. After finding the northern coast of Svalbard in thick ice, Leigh Smith decided to explore
Franz Josef Land , native_name = , image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg , image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land , image_size = , map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg , map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...
, discovered 7 years earlier by the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition. On 14 August the expedition sighted May Island which lies in the Western part of Franz Joseph Land that had not previously been explored. The expedition discovered several other islands namely
Hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...
, Etheridge, Northbrook, Bell,
Mabel Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...
,
Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
, Eaton, and
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
Island. The expedition also resulted in the naming of Eira Harbour, Cape Flora, Gratton Glacier, Nightingale Sound, and De Bruyne Sound. The name Alexandra Land was coined to refer to the land to the North, today's Prince George and
Alexandra Land Alexandra Land (russian: Земля Александры, ''Zemlya Aleksandry'') is a large island located in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian Federation. Not counting detached and far-lying Victoria Island, it is the westernmost i ...
. On 1 September, ''Eira'' left Franz Josef Land, briefly returning to Svalbard, before arriving in Peterhead on 12 October.


1881-1882 expedition to Franz Josef Land

The following year the ship departed on a second voyage, leaving Peterhead on 14 June 1881 with a crew of 25. The intention was to establish a base camp in the newly discovered area and exploring further north. Sighting Franz Josef Land on 23 July, the crew constructed a storehouse on Bell Island which they called Eira Lodge. The ship then steamed to Cape Flora of Northbrook Island, where it was crushed by ice on 22 August. The expedition was forced to abandon ship, though many supplies and 5 boats could be salvaged during its sinking. As the ice initially made it impossible to reach Eira Lodge, they constructed a hut at Cape Flora from stones, planks, spars, and sails they called Flora Cottage. On 1 September one boat managed to reach Eira Lodge and brought additional supplies to Flora Cottage. The expedition survived the Arctic winter supplementing their stored food with hunted bears, birds, and walrus such that they had 2 months worth of provisions left for the planned boat journey south. On 21 June 1882, the sea being sufficiently clear of ice, Leigh Smith ordered the boats into the sea. They made slow progress initially, often being forced to wait for ice channels to form or to haul the boats over ice. On 1 August they got to the opean sea not far from
Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
. The following day they reached the land and where spotted by the Dutch Arctic exploration ship ''Willem Barentsz''. The expedition members were brought home in the ship ''Hope'' of the privately organised "''Eira'' Search and Relief Expedition" under the command of Allen Young, reaching Aberdeen on 20 August. In August 2017, the sunken ''Eira'' was found by the crew of the research vessel ''Alter Ego'' during the "Open Ocean: Arctic Archipelagos 2017" expedition using
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
at a depth of about , off Northbrook Island.


Reputation and legacy

Despite his expertise in the Arctic, Leigh Smith's work has received little attention, although he received the Royal Geographical Society's Patron's Medal in 1881. Ostrov Li-Smita (Leigh-Smith Island), lying east of Hooker Island (Franz Josef Land), is named after Leigh Smith, as are the glacier
Leighbreen Leighbreen is a glacier on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. It is located near the northeastern coast. The glacier is named after British explorer Benjamin Leigh Smith Benjamin Leigh Smith (12 March 1828 – 4 January 1913) was an English Arctic ...
and Kapp ( Cape) Leigh Smith on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard,


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh Smith, Benjamin 1828 births 1913 deaths English male sailors (sport) English polar explorers Explorers of Svalbard Explorers of the Arctic People from Rother District