Joseph Whidbey FRS (1757 – 9 October 1833) was a member of the

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 ...

who served on the Vancouver Expedition 1791–95, and later achieved renown as a naval engineer. He is notable for having been the first European to discover and chart Admiralty Island in the

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago (russian: Архипелаг Александра) is a long archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal m ...

in 1794. Little is recorded of Whidbey's life before his warranting as a sailing master in 1779. After years of service during the

War of American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, he received a peacetime appointment to , where with then-Lieutenant

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

, he conducted a detailed survey of

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and ...

. ''Europa'' paid off, but Whidbey soon gained a berth, along with Vancouver, in the newly built . During the

Nootka Crisis The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, the Spanish Empire, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the fledgling United States of America triggered ...

, both men were transferred to , but returned to ''Discovery'' and departed for the northwest coast of America. In 1792, Whidbey accompanied Lieutenant

Peter Puget Peter Puget (1765 – 31 October 1822) was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his exploration of Puget Sound. Midshipman Puget Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the Huguenots. His father, ...

in small boats to explore what was later named Puget Sound. On 2 June, the team discovered

Deception Pass Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington. It connects Skagit Bay, part of Puget Sound, with the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A pair of bridges known collectively ...

, establishing the insularity of the Sound's largest island, which Vancouver named Whidbey Island. Upon ''Discovery''s return to England, Whidbey served briefly in , but eventually turned to a shoreside career. In 1799, then-

Earl St Vincent Viscount St Vincent, of Meaford in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 27 April 1801 for the noted naval commander John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent, with remainder to his nephews William He ...

commissioned him to make of feasibility survey making

Tor Bay Tor Bay (sometimes written as Torbay) is a bay on the south-east coast of the county of Devon, England. Facing east into the English Channel, it is about wide from north to south. The settlements of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, which lie alo ...

a fleet anchorage; Whidbey recommended this be done by building a great

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...

. Surviving correspondence suggests that around this time he apparently struck up a lifelong friendly and professional relationship with the engineer John Rennie. Whidbey was appointed Master Attendant at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

in 1799. His innovative salvage of the was the subject of a paper read to the Royal Society in 1803. In 1804 he received the prestigious appointment as Master Attendant at Woolwich, one of the Royal Navy's greatest dockyards. In 1805, Whidbey became a Fellow of the Royal Society, sponsored by a long list of distinguished men of science:

Alexander Dalrymple Alexander Dalrymple FRS (24 July 1737 – 19 June 1808) was a Scottish geographer and the first Hydrographer of the British Admiralty. He was the main proponent of the theory that there existed a vast undiscovered continent in the South ...

, James Rennell, William Marsden, James Stanier Clarke,

Sir Gilbert Blane Sir Gilbert Blane of Blanefield, 1st Baronet FRSE FRS MRCP (29 August 174926 June 1834) was a Scottish physician who instituted health reform in the Royal Navy. He saw action against both the French and Spanish fleets, and later served as a Co ...

Mark Beaufoy Colonel Mark Beaufoy FRS (4 March 1764 – 4 May 1827) was an English astronomer and physicist, mountaineer, explorer and British Army officer. His father, Mark Beaufoy (1718–1782), who was originally from Evesham, established a vinegar fact ...

Joseph Huddart Joseph Huddart FRS (1741–1816) was a British hydrographer, engineer and inventor. He surveyed harbours and coasts but made a fortune from improving the design and manufacture of rope. He was highly regarded in his time, and his likeness featu ...

, and John Rennie. In 1806, as the Napoleonic Wars impended, Whidbey joined Rennie in planning the Plymouth Breakwater, at St Vincent's request; in 1811 came the order to begin construction and Whidbey was appointed Acting Superintending Engineer. This task required great engineering, organizational and political skills, as the many strictly technical challenges were complicated by the significant resources devoted to the project, from which various parties evidenced a desire for advantage. Nearly 4,000,000 (four million) ''tons'' of stone were quarried and transported, using about a dozen ships innovatively designed by the two men. Construction started on 8 August 1812; it was sufficiently completed by 1814 to shelter ships of the line, although work continued for over 50 years. Napoleon was reported as commenting that it was a grand thing, as he passed by it on the way to exile on

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

in 1815. Whidbey continued to work on the breakwater and other engineering projects, including the breakwater's lighthouse (designed by

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

), until retirement around 1830. His contribution to the Royal Society includes a paper on fossils found in the Plymouth quarries 1817.

Character

Records of the Vancouver Expedition suggest that Whidbey was an expert and reliable seaman, entrusted with difficult tasks. However, upon his return to England, he provided testimony for Sir Joseph Banks' campaign against

(Whidbey was at the time competing with Vancouver for the pay accrued as Astronomer for the voyage.) Vancouver soon died, perhaps mooting difficulties in their relationship. At any rate, Whidbey rose swiftly from his humble beginnings, undoubtedly due to his proven technical skill as much as to his connections. Correspondence between Whidbey and John Rennie suggests a close and honest working relationship, and an earthy sense of humor. For example, when Sir Francis Northwell pestered the two with the idea that a large hole in the floor of Plymouth bay might complicate construction, Whidbey wrote to Rennie that, should such a feature be discovered, it would be named ''Lady Northwell's Hole''.

Legacy

It is not known that Whidbey had children. Whidbey's house near Plymouth still stands, and is called Bovisand House. Numerous features around Whidbey Island bear the Whidbey name, such as Joseph Whidbey State Park and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. From the latter comes the name of the . In Britain, the Whidbey Automatic Light (Occulting Green) was constructed at the eastern end of Plymouth Sound in 1980. In what is now

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, Matthew Flinders in February 1802 named the following geographical features "after my worthy friend, the former master-attendant at Sheerness" – the Whidbey Isles and Point Whidbey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whidbey, Joseph Royal Navy officers Fellows of the Royal Society 1757 births 1833 deaths English hydrographers