Henry Foster (1797 – 5 February 1831) was a British naval officer and scientist who took part in expeditions to both the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

, and made various notable scientific observations.

Career

Foster was born in

Woodplumpton Woodplumpton is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, located north of Preston. Geography It is part of the Fylde, a flat area of land between the Forest of Bowland and the Lancashire coast. Community The vi ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

in 1797, and at an early age joined the Royal Marines. In his early career, Foster served aboard HMS ''York''. Later, he served aboard HMS ''Griper'' in 1823 as part of the British Naval Scientific Expedition to the

led by

Douglas Clavering Captain Douglas Charles Clavering RN FRS (8 September 1794 – mid-1827) was an officer of the British Royal Navy and Arctic explorer. Biography Early life and career Clavering was born at Holyrood House, the eldest son of Brigadier-General ...

. He assisted the astronomer

Edward Sabine Sir Edward Sabine ( ; 14 October 1788 – 26 June 1883) was an Irish astronomer, geophysicist, ornithologist, explorer, soldier and the 30th president of the Royal Society. He led the effort to establish a system of magnetic observatories in ...

. He became a Fellow of 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, re ...

. In 1824 as a lieutenant, he joined 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 ...

expedition led by Captain

William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was an Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Pass ...

, aboard HMS ''Hecla''. He made various scientific observations in

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and

pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

measurements of

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

, for which he shared the

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...

in 1827 and received the rank of commander. Later in 1827 he joined the British Naval North Polar Expedition, again under the leadership of Parry. From 1828 to 1831, he was commander of HMS ''Chanticleer'' and led the British Naval Expedition to the South Atlantic, surveying the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

and notably

Deception Island Deception Island is an island in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbor, which is occasionally troubled by the underlying active volcano. This island is the caldera of an act ...

off the

Peninsula. The expedition was to survey the coasts and land formations, as well as to determine the direction of ocean currents in both hemispheres. He named the

Wollaston Islands The Wollaston Islands () are a group of islands in Chile south of Navarino Island and north of Cape Horn and east of the Hoste Island. The islands are ''Grevy'', ''Bayly'', ''Wollaston'' and ''Freycinet'', as well as the islets ''Dédalo'', ''S ...

of present-day Chile, in the

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

archipelago, after the British chemist

William Hyde Wollaston William Hyde Wollaston (; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingo ...

. As well as surveying coasts and ocean currents, Foster used a Kater invariable pendulum to make observations on gravity. The survey included the archipelago and island of

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha () is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and islets, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is inha ...

. Foster was given considerable assistance by the Governor, who let Foster use part of his own house for the pendulum experiments.FitzRoy, R. (1839) ''Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836'', London: Henry Colburn, pp
24–26
He published his research in an 1834 book, released posthumously. He drowned in the Chagres River in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

in 1831 after slipping and falling overboard. His book, published posthumously, was considered very important because of his observations on the southern hemisphere. It was translated into French and republished in 1849.

Books

* ''Relation of a Journey through the South Atlantic, made upon the Royal Corvette 'Chanticleer' during the Years 1828-1831'' (London, 1834).

Legacy and honours

Port Foster Port Foster is one of the safest harbours in Antarctica, located in Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands. History The harbour was known to sealers as early as 1820, and in its early history was called ''Port Williams'', after Captain ...

and

Mount Foster Mount Foster is a peak rising to in the Imeon Range on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is the highest point of the South Shetland Islands archipelago. Mount Foster has triple peaks of which Mount Foster proper is the s ...

on Smith Island are named after him. Also a middle school in Longview, Texas was named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Henry 19th-century Royal Navy personnel 1797 births 1831 deaths Accidental deaths in Panama British scientists Date of birth missing Deaths by drowning Fellows of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal Royal Navy officers