Bedford Pim | |
|---|---|
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| Member of Parliament for Gravesend | |
| In office 6 February 1874 – 3 April 1880 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Charles Wingfield |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Bevan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim 12 December 1826 Bideford, Devon, England |
| Died | 30 September 1886 (aged 59) Deal, Kent, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Susanna Locock (m. 1861) |
| Education | Royal Naval School |
| Military service | |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1842–1870 |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Commands |
|
| Wars | |
Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim FRGS (12 June 1826 – 30 September 1886) was a Royal Navy officer, Arctic explorer, barrister, and author. He was the first man who travelled from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage to one on the western side.
Pim was born in Bideford, Devon, England, son of Edward Bedford Pim of Weirhead, Exeter, a British navy officer who died of yellow fever in 1830 off the coast of Africa while engaged in the suppression of the slave trade, and Sophia Soltau Harrison, eldest daughter of John Fairweather Harrison, Esquire of Totnes. Educated at the Royal Naval School, the younger Pim went to India in the British Merchant Navy, and in 1842, upon return to England, was appointed a volunteer in the Royal Navy.[1]
In 1845, Pim was posted to the survey ship, HMS Herald, under Captain Henry Kellett. For the next six years he took part in surveys in the Falkland Islands, the western coast of South America, and north to British Columbia. During this time he took part in three detours to search for the missing Sir John Franklin expedition. He transferred from Herald to HMS Plover, wintering at Chamisso Island in Kotzebue Sound during 1849/50, spending considerable time with the local Malimiut, before returning to Herald. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1851, and in April 1852 he returned to the Arctic, taking part in the rescue of Robert McClure and the crew of HMS Investigator.[1][2] Pim was the first man to travel from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage to one on the western side.[3][discuss]
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Pim served in the Baltic in 1855 during the Crimean War commanding HMS Magpie where he was wounded.
He was wounded again in 1857 while commanding HMS Banterer in Chinese waters.
He was made a commander in 1858.[4] The following year, he investigated the possibility of a transoceanic canal and became a proponent of the Nicaragua Canal.[5]
Pim went to the West Indies in command of HMS Gorgon in 1860 and returned home on HMS Fury. He made post captain in 1868 and was compulsorily retired in 1870.[6] He studied law after retirement and was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple in 1873. Pim practiced law in Bristol, mainly on admiralty cases, and became a magistrate for the county of Middlesex.[6] He wrote, When Do Sheriffs Take Office? in 1879.
A Conservative, Pim stood unsuccessfully for election in Totnes in July 1865 and Gravesend in December 1868.[7] He was elected Member of Parliament for Gravesend in 1874.[6] Pim was made rear-admiral in 1885.[4]
Pim wrote several articles, books, and pamphlets. "Remarks on the Isthmus of Suez, with Special Reference to the Proposed Canal" was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1859, and Proposed Transit-Route across Central America, from a New Harbour in Nicaragua was published three years later. His 1839 A Brief sketch of the life of the late Zachary Macaulay, Esq., F.R.S. As connected with the subjects of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery was his only biography. His journals as a Midshipman aboard the Herald provided most of the discussion for the Arctic portions of the six-year cruise.[2]
Pim belonged to several scientific organisations. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1854. In 1861, he became an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers.[4] He was also an honorary member of the Dulwich College Science Society.
Pim was a major landowner in Central America and the Caribbean.[8] He married Susanna Locock on 3 October 1861 and they had two sons, including the Rev. Henry Bedford Pim. They lived for a time at Belsize and Dulwich. Pim died at Deal, Kent, England, on 30 September 1886.[4] A brass plaque honoring Pim was moved in 1981 from The Missions to Seamen Institute to St. Nicholas Church, Bristol, England.[9]
Pim was a virulent racist. In both The Negro and Jamaica and Dottings on the Roadside he articulated personal concerns with the supposed "savagery" of African peoples. Despite the acclaim Pim has garnered for his explorations, many of his personal observations of Africans in Jamaica perpetuated falsely racist claims about cannibalism and profligacy.
