Neale William Henry
(? –1939)
English arctic researcher, doctor.
He entered the history of Arctic research as a member of two
expeditions to the archipelago of
Franz-Josef Land
under the command of B.
Lee-Smith on the
"Eyre" steam yacht.
The first expedition set off in the summer of 1880 with the
intention of studying the ice conditions in the North Atlantic, and
then trying to advance north as far as ice conditions would allow. The
expedition consisted of 25 people, Niel served as a physician and
naturalist. It
is known that this expedition Lee-Smith has achieved excellent
results. The
vessel called at the island of Jan Mayen, then, having failed to
reach the coast of Greenland, sailed around Spitsbergen from the
south and approached theFranz
Josef Land archipelago ,
thus making the third visit to the archipelago. A
number of islands were discovered and surveyed, and numerous
materials were collected that were a significant contribution to the
body of knowledge about this region, which was little studied at
that time.
The second voyage took place next year and turned out to be
significantly less successful due to the most severe ice conditions. Near Cape
Flora on the island of Northbrook, "Eyre"
was trapped and crushed by ice. The
tragedy occurred disastrously quickly, all scientific materials
died, a significant part of the products, Niel was especially upset
by the loss of lemon juice, which he justly considered an excellent
remedy for scurvy. Having
built a hut out of improvised means, polar explorers spent 10
exceptionally difficult months in it. Nevertheless,
the excellent organization of life, classes, food allowed to
preserve the life and health of all crew members. Great
in this is the role of the doctor of the expedition, who established
regular feeding of people with fresh meat of bears and walruses. In
addition, Niel found time to conduct natural scientific
observations, the results of which he later published in the
writings of the Zoological Society.
In June 1882 on four boats, the sailors made the most dangerous
42-day voyage to Novaya
Zemlya. On
the way every night they landed on the ice and pulled the bots out
of the water to minimize the risk of death from ice compression. At
the western entrance to the
Matochkin Strait,
the valiant travelers
were met by the ships of the expedition of Allen
Jung sent to rescue
them. Later,
the Jackson - Kharmsouurt
expedition found and
returned to Nil his stethoscope and camera “in good condition after
fourteen years of freezing in Cape Flora on ice”.
In the following years for nearly half a century,
Niel led a medical practice in St. John's Wood and South Hempstead,
gaining a reputation as a talented and skilled doctor.
Cape Niel
(Photo from http://yablor.ru/blogs/zfi/683463) |
Cape in
the west of the island of George Land in the archipelago
of Franz-Josef Land. Opened
and named by the expedition of Lee-Smith in 1880. |