Joseph-René Bellot (18 March 1826 – 18 August 1853) was a French naval officer and

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 ...

Biography

Bellot was born in Paris, the son of a farrier, but moved to

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

with his family in 1831. With the aid of the authorities of Rochefort he was enabled at the age of 15 to enter the Ecole Navale at Brest, in which he studied two years and earned a high reputation. He then took part in the Anglo-French expedition of 1845 to Madagascar, and received the cross of the Legion of Honour for distinguished conduct. He afterwards took part in Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata, that of Parana to South America, which opened the Río de la Plata to commerce. In 1851, he joined the Arctic expedition under the command of Captain William Kennedy in search of Sir John Franklin. To harden himself for the Arctic winters, Bellot is said to have allowed himself only a thin mattress and one blanket on bare boards. When he met his first Inuit he endeared himself to them by constructing an artificial leg for a man who was disabled. In February 1852, Kennedy and Bellot set out from their winter quarters in

Batty Bay Batty Bay is a narrow bay in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of Prince Regent Inlet on the eastern side of Somerset Island. History It was an area frequented by Arctic explorers such as Sir John Franklin Sir John Fra ...

on a dog sledging journey, travelling south to

Brentford Bay Brentford Bay is an Arctic waterway in Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the west of the Gulf of Boothia. To the north of the bay is Somerset Island, to the west is the Murchison Promontory, to the south is the Boothia Peninsula ...

, where they discovered

Bellot Strait Bellot Strait is a strait in Nunavut that separates Somerset Island to its north from the Murchison Promontory of Boothia Peninsula to its south, which is the northernmost part of the mainland of the Americas. The and strait connects the G ...

, a strait between Boothia Felix and Somerset Island. They then continued west to cross Prince of Wales Island to

Ommanney Bay Ommanney Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Parry Channel and is a large inlet on the west side of Prince of Wales Island. It was named after the Victorian Arctic explorer and Royal Navy The ...

, returning to Batty Bay via Peel Sound and

Cape Walker Cape Walker () is an ice-covered cape which forms the southeast end of Thurston Island. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Captain Edward K. Walker, captain of the ''Canisteo'', a tanker in the Eastern Group of U.S. N ...

– a total trek of . Bellot's narrative of the expedition was published posthumously in 1854. Early in 1852, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and in the same year accompanied the Franklin search expedition under Captain

Edward Augustus Inglefield Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield (27 March 1820 – 4 September 1894) was a Royal Navy officer who led one of the searches for the missing Arctic explorer John Franklin during the 1850s. In doing so, his expedition charted previously unexpl ...

. As on the previous occasion, his intelligence, devotion to duty and courage won him wide admiration. While making a perilous journey with two comrades for the purpose of communicating with Sir Edward Belcher, he suddenly disappeared in an opening between the broken masses of ice in the Wellington Channel. A memorial grave was built on nearby

Beechey Island Beechey Island ( iu, Iluvialuit, script=Latn) is an island located in the Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada, in Wellington Channel. It is separated from the southwest corner of Devon Island by Barrow Strait. Other features include Wellington C ...

. A pension was granted to his family by the emperor Napoleon III.

Legacy

The young explorer was mourned widely, and £2,000 was raised by a

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 ...

committee – chaired by Sir

Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...

– after his death, of which £500 went towards a granite memorial obelisk, designed by Philip Hardwick and unveiled in 1855, in his memory on the Thames riverside, in front of Greenwich Hospital. The remainder of the money went towards supporting his five sisters. A nearby Greenwich street, Bellot Street SE10, also carries his name. In 1935, an impact crater on the moon, on the edge of the

Sea of Fecundity Mare Fecunditatis (Latin ''fēcunditātis'', the "Sea of Fecundity" or "Sea of Fertility") is a lunar mare in the eastern half of the visible Moon. The mare has a maximum diameter of 840 km. __NOTOC__ Description The Fecunditatis basin forme ...

, was named '' Bellot'' in his honour.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellot, Joseph Rene 19th-century French military personnel 1826 births 1853 deaths École Navale alumni Explorers of the Arctic French explorers of North America French naval attachés French Navy officers Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur People from Rochefort, Charente-Maritime