Thomas Henry Tizard (1839 – 17 February 1924) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

oceanographer, hydrographic surveyor, and navigator. He was born in Weymouth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and educated at the Royal Hospital School, Greenwich, at that time noted for its advanced mathematical training. He entered 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 ...

by competitive examination as master's assistant in 1854 and served in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

during the

Crimean war The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. In 1860 he was promoted second master and commenced surveying in the Rifleman ''Reed'', during which time he commanded the tender ''Saracen'' for three years. Tizard was largely responsible for an important series of observations on the surface and under-currents in the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...

, which set at rest the vexed question of the movements of these waters. An

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

that Tizard surveyed in the 1860s from aboard HMS ''Rifleman'' was later named

Tizard Bank The Tizard Bank, is a partially sunken atoll and one of the significant maritime features of the north-western part of the Spratly Islands. It is claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam, and various parts of it ...

after him. Towards the end of 1872 Tizard transferred to . The appointment opened to him the greatest opportunity of his life in bringing him into contact with the leaders of the science of oceanography. The ''Challenger'' expedition resulted in a vast increase of knowledge of the physical condition of the oceans and of the distribution of marine life, and in the progressive improvement of apparatus and methods of research. Tizard remained with the ''Challenger'' until she paid off in 1876, and spent the next three years at the Admiralty writing the narrative of the voyage in association with Sir John Murray. In 1879 Tizard resumed surveying duties afloat, and took charge of the Home survey. He was at first in command of the hired vessel the ''Knight-Errant'' and then of , the first British ship to be built specifically for survey work. During the nine years that he held this command he wrote many papers of scientific value and interest. Among these may be mentioned a report on deep-sea exploration in the Faroe Channel; lectures on Marine Surveying and Hydrographic Surveying, and an article on the 'Thames Estuary' (Nature, 1890) which is of great permanent value. He was promoted to staff captain in 1889, and in 1891 was appointed assistant hydrographer of the navy, and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He was appointed Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) in the

1899 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1899 were announced on 3 June 1899 in celebration of the birthday of Queen Victoria. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in '' ...

. In 1881 Tizard married Mary Elizabeth Churchward. They had five children, including one son, Sir Henry Tizard.

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tizard, Thomas Henry 1839 births 1924 deaths People from Weymouth, Dorset Companions of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War English oceanographers English surveyors English hydrographers People educated at the Royal Hospital School