''Alférez de Navío'' José María Sobral (April 14, 1880 – April 14, 1961) was an Argentine explorer,

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

, naval officer and author who rose to prominence by participating in the

Swedish Antarctic Expedition The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Background Otto Nordensk ...

(1901–1904) becoming the first Argentine to

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal acti ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. Later he pursued studies at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

becoming the first Argentine to obtain a geology degree. Sobral worked briefly as ambassador to Norway in 1930 before returning to Argentina to work at YPF.

Biography

Sobral was born in Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos. He joined the

on the ship '' Antarctic'' in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

at the end of 1901, when the group headed by

Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family th ...

asked the

Argentine Government The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Presiden ...

for supplies, to perform a series of meteorological, biological geological and geodesical studies. The expedition arrived at

Snow Hill Island Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped island, long and wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the north-east by Admiralty Sound and from Seymour Island to the north ...

at the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...

in 1902, where they were to spend one winter. But the ship that was to return to pick them up, the ''Antarctic'', under command of Captain Carl Larsen, was crushed by the ice and sank, leaving the expedition to spend a second winter on Snow Hill Island, with no communication with the mainland or the ''Antarctic'' party, which was stranded and spent the winter in rough shelter on

Paulet Island Paulet Island is a circular island about in diameter, lying south-east of Dundee Island, off the north-eastern end of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of its large penguin colony, it is a popular destination for sightseeing tours. Descripti ...

. A year later the Argentine corvette

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

rescued the survivors, including the Argentine officer. Upon return to Argentina Sobral left the navy and went to Sweden to study geology at the

, where he doctored in 1913. In 1906 he married Swedish Elna W. Klingström, with whom he would have 9 children. In 1914 he returned to Argentina, working as National Director of Mining and Hydrology until 1924. In 1930 he was named Argentine consul in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, but returned to Argentina a year later to work for Argentine national oil company YPF. He retired in 1935, but continued travelling around Argentina and giving geology lectures until his death in

in 1961, coincidentally on his 81st birthday.

Legacy

Sobral wrote a number of books on the Argentine army, Argentina-Chile relations, geology, and his antarctic adventure. He is considered the father of the

Argentine Antarctica Argentine Antarctica ( es, Antártida Argentina or Sector Antártico Argentino) is an area of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the ...

, a national hero and the first Argentine geologist. The Argentine summer Base Alférez de Navío Sobral was built in 1965 and is located at 81°05' S, 40°00' W, in

Edith Ronne Land Edith Ronne Land was the unofficial name of that portion of Antarctica which is bordered by Palmer Land and Ellsworth Land to the West, Coats Land to the East, and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf to the North. In December 2012, this region was officia ...

facing the Filchner Ice Shelf. It supported the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

's overland expedition to the South Pole in 1965. A stamp bearing Sobral's image and Snow Hill Island is Argentina Scott #1070, 1975. The Argentine Navy patrol boat ARA ''Alferez Sobral'' (A-9) was named after him.

Distinctions

* :

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

* :

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

References

*''Antarctica''. Sydney: Reader's Digest, 1985, pp. 152–153 *Child, Jack. ''Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum''. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988, p. 69. *Stewart, Andrew, ''Antarctica: An Encyclopedia''. London: McFarland and Co., 1990 (2 volumes), p. 933. *U.S. National Science Foundation, ''Geographic Names of the Antarctic'', Fred G. Alberts, ed. Washington: NSF, 1980.

External links

*
Sobral's Biography
-

Marambio Base ("Antarctica's Entrance Door") , motto = , anthem = , pushpin_map = Antarctica , pushpin_map_alt = Location within Antarctica , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Antarctica , ...

site
Centenary

- extract of Sobral's book and other texts
"Corbeta Uruguay"
Argentine Army site

Teína Magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobral, Jose Maria 1880 births 1961 deaths People from Entre Ríos Province Ambassadors of Argentina to Norway Argentine Navy officers Servicio Geológico Minero personnel Argentine scientists Argentine geologists Argentine people of Portuguese descent Argentine explorers Argentine expatriates in Sweden Petrologists Uppsala University alumni Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Order of the Sword 20th-century geologists

Biography

Legacy

Distinctions

See also

References

External links