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| ==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
| Pullen |
Pullen was born in ], the son of ] Lieutenant William Pullen and Amelia Mary Haswell. After an education at the ], he entered the Royal Navy in 1828,<ref>Hugh Frances Pullen, "Pullen, William John Samuel", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' online, </ref> but in 1836 was enticed to leave and go to ] as one of Colonel ]'s Survey Staff, arriving in the colony in August 1836. He was employed in exploring and surveying the mouth of the Murray river, and may be regarded as the discoverer of Port Adelaide, into which he sailed on September 28th, 1836, three months before the arrival of the first Governor. He also surveyed Port Elliot, and did much to elucidate the geography of the South Australian coast.<ref name=Mennell/> He returned to the navy in 1842, and was stationed on ''HMS Columbia'' surveying the Saint John River and Bay of Fundy, being promoted to Lieutenant in the process in 1846. He married Abigail Louisa Berton at ] in 1845.<ref>Hugh Frances Pullen, "Pullen, William John Samuel", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' online, </ref> | ||
| ==Arctic== | ==Arctic== | ||
| By 1848 it was clear that Franklin was lost in the Arctic. Three expeditions were sent out: ] through the ], the ] down the Mackenzie River and one through the Bering Strait. The ''HMS Plover'' under Commander Thomas Moore was sent from England to join the ''HMS Herald'' under ] which was already in the Pacific. The ''Plover'' was a poor sailer, did not make rendezvous and wintered in ] where ] made ethnographic observations. The ''Herald'' picked up supplies in Panama, went to Kamchatka, waited for the ''Plover'' at ] and on 29 September returned south. Next year, on 15 July 1849, the two ships came together at Kotzebue Sound. What happened to them after is not clear from the sources below. | By 1848 it was clear that Franklin was lost in the Arctic. Three expeditions were sent out: ] through the ], the ] down the Mackenzie River and one through the Bering Strait. The ''HMS Plover'' under Commander Thomas Moore was sent from England to join the ''HMS Herald'' under ] which was already in the Pacific. The ''Plover'' was a poor sailer, did not make rendezvous and wintered in ] where ] made ethnographic observations. The ''Herald'' picked up supplies in Panama, went to Kamchatka, waited for the ''Plover'' at ] and on 29 September returned south. Next year, on 15 July 1849, the two ships came together at Kotzebue Sound. What happened to them after is not clear from the sources below. | ||
| Pullen |
Pullen was just returning from a survey of the Bay of Fundy when Bathurst asked him to join the ''Plover''. He took a mail steamer to ], crossed the isthmus, waited a month for the ''Plover'' and then joined the ''Asia''. In May 1849 he joined the ''Plover'' at Honolulu. After the boats reached Kotzebue Sound, on 27 July Moore ordered Pullen, 2 officers, 22 men and 4 boats to explore the coast as far at the Mackenzie River. At Point Barrow the ice was so bad that he sent the two largest boats back. He now had 13 men, two whale boats and a purchased ]. He reached the mouth of the Mackenzie River on 2 September. (Although in 1826 ] had reached ] from the west by ship and then small boat and in 1837 ] had reached it from the east by boat and then on foot, Pullen was the first to sail the whole Alaska coast in one voyage.) From the river mouth he went upstream and left most of his exhausted crew at the Hudson's Bay Company post at ]. In early October he reached ] where he met ]. Rae remarked that they were lucky to have had fine weather since they had no proper winter clothing. Next spring his men rejoined him and he headed upriver for York Factory and England. Near the Great Slave Lake he met a canoe with a message from the Admiralty promoting him to commander and ordering him to return and explore Banks Island and Victoria Island. His men volunteered to join him. That summer he took a ] called ''Try Again'' and a ] downriver and east along the coast until near ] he found the sea filled with an impassible mass of jumbled and broken ice. On 15 August he turned back and spent the winter of 1850-51 at Fort Simpson. Next spring he joined the regular HBC brigade to York Factory and reached London in October of 1851. | ||
| On his return to England, Pullen learned he had been promoted to Commander, and in February 1852, he was placed in command of the depot ship ''North Star'' as part of ]'s expedition in search of ]. Placed at ] during the next several years, this ship ended up being the sole survivor of the expedition after Belcher ordered the other four ships abandoned in the polar ice. They returned to England in October 1854. | |||
| Pullen later commanded the depot ship ''North Star'' at Beechey Island during ]'s expedition. | |||
| ==Later career== | |||
| In 1855 Pullen was placed in command of ''HMS Falcon'' in the Baltic Sea, and was promoted to Captain the next year. His subsequent active commands mostly involved him in surveying: the ] with and ] with ''HMS Cyclops'', and ] with ''HMS Terror''. After several years in Coast Guard posts, he was placed in the retired list in 1870, and in retirement was promoted, first to Rear Admiral, then to Vice Admiral. He received a ]. in 1886, and died the next year at ].<ref>J. K. Laughton, R. O. Morris, "Pullen, William John Samuel", <nowiki>''</nowiki>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography<nowiki>''</nowiki> online.</ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 02:07, 21 August 2013
William John Samuel Pullen (4 December 1813 – 22 January 1887) was the first European to sail along the north coast of Alaska from the Bering Strait to the Mackenzie River in Canada. His 1849 journey was one of the many unsuccessful expeditions to rescue Sir John Franklin and explore the Northwest Passage.
Early life
Pullen was born in Devonport, Devon, the son of Royal Navy Lieutenant William Pullen and Amelia Mary Haswell. After an education at the Greenwich School, he entered the Royal Navy in 1828, but in 1836 was enticed to leave and go to South Australia as one of Colonel William Light's Survey Staff, arriving in the colony in August 1836. He was employed in exploring and surveying the mouth of the Murray river, and may be regarded as the discoverer of Port Adelaide, into which he sailed on September 28th, 1836, three months before the arrival of the first Governor. He also surveyed Port Elliot, and did much to elucidate the geography of the South Australian coast. He returned to the navy in 1842, and was stationed on HMS Columbia surveying the Saint John River and Bay of Fundy, being promoted to Lieutenant in the process in 1846. He married Abigail Louisa Berton at Saint John, New Brunswick in 1845.
Arctic
By 1848 it was clear that Franklin was lost in the Arctic. Three expeditions were sent out: John Ross (Arctic explorer) through the Parry Channel, the Rae-Richardson Arctic Expedition down the Mackenzie River and one through the Bering Strait. The HMS Plover under Commander Thomas Moore was sent from England to join the HMS Herald under Henry Kellett which was already in the Pacific. The Plover was a poor sailer, did not make rendezvous and wintered in Providence Bay, Siberia where William Hulme Hooper made ethnographic observations. The Herald picked up supplies in Panama, went to Kamchatka, waited for the Plover at Kotzebue Sound and on 29 September returned south. Next year, on 15 July 1849, the two ships came together at Kotzebue Sound. What happened to them after is not clear from the sources below.
Pullen was just returning from a survey of the Bay of Fundy when Bathurst asked him to join the Plover. He took a mail steamer to Panama, crossed the isthmus, waited a month for the Plover and then joined the Asia. In May 1849 he joined the Plover at Honolulu. After the boats reached Kotzebue Sound, on 27 July Moore ordered Pullen, 2 officers, 22 men and 4 boats to explore the coast as far at the Mackenzie River. At Point Barrow the ice was so bad that he sent the two largest boats back. He now had 13 men, two whale boats and a purchased umiak. He reached the mouth of the Mackenzie River on 2 September. (Although in 1826 Frederick William Beechey had reached Point Barrow from the west by ship and then small boat and in 1837 Thomas Simpson (explorer) had reached it from the east by boat and then on foot, Pullen was the first to sail the whole Alaska coast in one voyage.) From the river mouth he went upstream and left most of his exhausted crew at the Hudson's Bay Company post at Fort McPherson. In early October he reached Fort Simpson where he met John Rae (explorer). Rae remarked that they were lucky to have had fine weather since they had no proper winter clothing. Next spring his men rejoined him and he headed upriver for York Factory and England. Near the Great Slave Lake he met a canoe with a message from the Admiralty promoting him to commander and ordering him to return and explore Banks Island and Victoria Island. His men volunteered to join him. That summer he took a york boat called Try Again and a Halkett boat downriver and east along the coast until near Cape Bathurst he found the sea filled with an impassible mass of jumbled and broken ice. On 15 August he turned back and spent the winter of 1850-51 at Fort Simpson. Next spring he joined the regular HBC brigade to York Factory and reached London in October of 1851.
On his return to England, Pullen learned he had been promoted to Commander, and in February 1852, he was placed in command of the depot ship North Star as part of Edward Belcher's expedition in search of John Franklin. Placed at Beechey Island during the next several years, this ship ended up being the sole survivor of the expedition after Belcher ordered the other four ships abandoned in the polar ice. They returned to England in October 1854.
Later career
In 1855 Pullen was placed in command of HMS Falcon in the Baltic Sea, and was promoted to Captain the next year. His subsequent active commands mostly involved him in surveying: the Red Sea with and Ceylon with HMS Cyclops, and Bermuda with HMS Terror. After several years in Coast Guard posts, he was placed in the retired list in 1870, and in retirement was promoted, first to Rear Admiral, then to Vice Admiral. He received a Greenwich pension. in 1886, and died the next year at Torquay.
References
- ^ Mennell, Philip (1892). "Pullen, Admiral William John" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
- Hugh Frances Pullen, "Pullen, William John Samuel", Dictionary of Canadian Biography online,
- Hugh Frances Pullen, "Pullen, William John Samuel", Dictionary of Canadian Biography online,
- J. K. Laughton, R. O. Morris, "Pullen, William John Samuel", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' online.
- Glyn Williams, "Arctic Labyrinth", 2009
- Anthony Brandt, "The Man Who Ate His Boots", 2010
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Pullen, William John Samuel (DNB00)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.