Beaufort Francis
(07.05.1774-17.12.1857)

English naval sailor, hydrograph, rear admiral.
Born in Navana, Ireland. He received his first education at home from his father, and then at school in Dublin. The boy grew up brave, kind, enterprising, and these qualities made him a universal favorite. After graduation, he began to work under the direction of Professor Usher of Astronomy, where his outstanding abilities in marine sciences quickly manifested. As early as 13 years of age, Beaufort's knowledge was so great that they allowed him to start serving in the East Indian company, where he served all the ship instruments and tools, making a large contribution to the successful filming of the Java Sea. In 1789, his ship was wrecked, hitting the underwater reefs. The team was forced to escape in boats, and in this situation Beaufort showed a rare dedication. Having lost all his personal belongings, he saved the tools entrusted to him. After many days of painful wanderings in the sea, the boat was seen by a ship going to Canton. In March 1790, Beaufort returned to England.
In 1791, his career nearly ended. Once, while serving on the signal vessel Aquilon, a sailor who carried out repairs under the command of Beaufort dropped a hammer into the water, and Beaufort, completely forgetting about his inability to swim, jumped overboard and began to sink. Fortunately, he was saved by a nearby lieutenant Oliver, also an Irishman.
In 1794, Beaufort led the signaling in the famous battle with the French, and his successful work largely contributed to the defeat of the enemy. In the same battle, Aquilon performed the dangerous duty of towing under the fire of the mast ship lost to Admiral Thomas Peckenham. He later served on the Phaeton, in which he participated in a workshop of a series of combat maneuvers, known as the "Cornish retreat".
After nine years of active service, Beaufort was promoted to lieutenant. He continued to participate in the permanent wars of Britain for maritime rule. In 1800, during the boarding and capture of the Spanish vessel “San Joseph”, Beaufort was wounded, received a pension and the title of Commodore.
In 1803–1804, Beaufort volunteered to arrange telegraph between the eastern (Dublin) and western (Galway) coasts of Ireland.
Since 1805, he has again been in service as the commander of the military transport "Vulvich", where in four years he sailed to Eastern India, South America, to the Cape of Good Hope, having covered a total of 60 thousand miles.
Since 1809, Beaufort on the ship "Frederikstein" led the hydrographic work on the coast of Asia Minor. In 1812, during a land route, he was wounded by a Turkish fanatic and was forced to stop participating in the voyages. For several years, on the instructions of the Admiralty, Beaufort was engaged in the creation of nautical charts.
In 1829, he became head of the hydrographic department established by him at the Admiralty, holding this position until 1855. For 26 years he managed to turn this department into a center of world importance. In 1845, Beaufort was given the rank of Rear Admiral and elected a member of the Royal Geographical and Astronomical Societies.
Beaufort was a rare diligence. During the long years of his life, he got up at 5 am and went to work. Being an excellent navigator, astronomer, mathematician, historian and writer, Beaufort enjoyed unquestioned authority among sailors and was often appointed a member of commissions to investigate accidents and shipwrecks caused by navigation reasons. He corresponded with many distinguished sailors, one of whom was I.F. Krusenstern.

However, the main fame all over the world, Beaufort did not acquire its combat or hydrographic achievements. Even as a midshipman, an inquisitive young man began to keep a diary with short daily notes about the weather, on the "Vulvich" noted the state of the weather every two hours. In 1806, based on his observations, he developed a scale of wind strength, which he used in his campaigns. Only in 1838 this scale was officially adopted by the English Admiralty, and in 1874, after the death of Beaufort, it was accepted by the Standing Committee of the First Meteorological Congress for use in international synoptic practice. In subsequent years, the scale was repeatedly corrected and changed, but is still widely used in navigation under the name "Beaufort scale".

Awarded the Order of the Bath.
He died in Hove near Brighton. He was buried in the garden of St. John’s Church in northeast London Hackney.
Mountain in the north-east of Ellesmere Island on the banks of the Robson Channel.

Cape in the southeast of the Simpson Peninsula in Committi Bay in northern Canada.

River on the Kent Peninsula in northern Canada in the Beaufort Sea.

Sea of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of North America between Cape Barrow and the western islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.