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Jules d'Urville
1790 - 1842
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Biography
Dumont d'Urville spoke fluent English, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, as well as Hebrew, and before he sailed for Antarctica, he had already circumnavigated the earth twice. King Louis Philippe's orders to d’Urville were to sail as far south as he possibly could into the Weddell Sea, so they sailed from Toulon, France, on 7 September 1837 with the "Astrolabe" and the "Zélée". By 10 December 1837 the ships were still north of the Straits of Magellan, and by 8 January 1838, the ships were led out of the straits, along the coast of Tierra del Fuego. It was impossible for d'Urville to attain what Weddell had achieved, as they were too far north. On 27 February 1838, he discovered Louis Philippe Land and Joinville Island (which was at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. For the next eight months, d'Urville spent the time exploring the southern waters. In January of 1840 they spotted land, but were unable to go ashore - the crew hacked a few pieces of granite off the cliff, proof that they had found "terra firma". D'Urville named his findings after his wife, calling it "Terre Adélie".
After spending 38 months at sea, they returned home to France - d'Urville was later promoted to the rank of rear admiral, and earned the Gold Medallion (the Geographical Society's highest honour) as an award.
Te Papa Whale exhibition in Washington, DC