Vice-Admiral Archibald McMurdo (24 September 1812 – 11 December 1875) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

naval officer and polar explorer after whom

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 contine ...

's McMurdo Sound,

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...

McMurdo Ice Shelf The McMurdo Ice Shelf is the portion of the Ross Ice Shelf bounded by McMurdo Sound and Ross Island on the north and Minna Bluff on the south. Studies show this feature has characteristics quite distinct from the Ross Ice Shelf and merits indiv ...

, McMurdo Dry Valleys and

McMurdo–South Pole Highway The South Pole Traverse, also called the South Pole Overland Traverse, is an approximately flagged route over compacted snow and ice in Antarctica that links McMurdo Station on the coast to the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, both operat ...

are named.

Early life

Archibald William McMurdo was born on September 24, 1812 in Scotland. He was the son of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Archibald McMurdo and grandson of

John McMurdo John McMurdo (1743–1803) was a friend of Robert Burns who became the chamberlain to the Duke of Queensberry at Drumlanrig Castle where the poet was a frequent visitor. His eldest daughter Jean (1777-1839) was also a close friend of Burns, who ...

, a chamberlain at

Drumlanrig Castle Drumlanrig Castle is situated on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The category A listed castle is the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry. It is open to the public at set times. Con ...

Career

McMurdo joined 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 F ...

on 6 October 1824, at the age of 12.William Loney RN - Background: "Archibald McMurdo, RN"
/ref> He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1836 for his skill and courage in saving the crew of a shipwrecked whaler from hostile New Zealand natives. He achieved the rank of Commander in 1843 and Captain in 1851. His career included two discovery expeditions aboard HMS ''Terror'', the first to

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

(1836-1837), the second to

(1839-1842). In 1836 he served on HMS Volage during its voyage to

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

. During the Antarctica voyage, McMurdo Sound was discovered in February 1841, and named after McMurdo by Captain James Clark Ross. Ross also wrote a letter to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

recommending McMurdo for promotion. In 1845, McMurdo expressed doubt that Captain John Franklin would return from his ill-fated

Northwest Passage expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest ...

, which ended with the loss of all 129 crewmen in mysterious circumstances. McMurdo achieved command of HMS ''Contest'' in 1846, which was detailed to the coast of West Africa. He retired as a rear-admiral, and was promoted in retirement to vice-admiral in 1873.

Death

McMurdo died on December 11, 1875 in Scotland. His estate was probated in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

on February 3, 1876. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861–1941.

References

Explorers of Antarctica Royal Navy vice admirals 1812 births 1875 deaths {{Authority control

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References