Person
Bernacchi, Louis Charles (1876 - 1942)
OBE FRGS
- Born
- 8 November 1876
Belgium - Died
- 24 April 1942
Paddington, London, England - Occupation
- Physicist and Antarctic explorer
Summary
Louis Bernacchi, having become interested in Antarctica while studying terrestrial magnetism and astronomy at the Melbourne Observatory from 1895 to 1897, was in 1898 appointed physicist and astronomer to the British Antarctic Expedition (Southern Cross Expedition) under the leadership of Carl Borchgrevink. The landing party was the first to overwinter on the Antarctic continent, and reached further south than any previous expedition. His vivid account of the Expedition was published in 1901. In that year he joined the British National Antarctic Expedition (Discovery expedition) under Robert Scott. Bernacchi was physicist to the Expedition, primarily concerned with magnetic observations. He was also the only person on Discovery with any Antarctic experience, and the first Australian to work in Antarctica. Over the years he published a number of books and papers on scientific results of polar expeditions, and on terrestial magnetism, meteorology, seismology, and gravity. His attempts to mount his own expedition failed because of the difficulty of raising funds. Bernacchi's later career included exploring in Africa and Peru, and as a rubber planter in Malaya. He was heavily involved in the Royal Geographical Society, serving on council for several years. Geographic features in Antarctic named after Bernacchi include Cape Bernacchi and Bernacchi Bay, both in Victoria Land.
Details
Burial Memorial at Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, England.
Commemorated by a bronze statue and plaque "Self Portrait Louis and Joe" on the foreshore at Sullivans Cove, Hobart Tasmania.
Chronology
- 1888
- Life event - Migrated to Tasmania with his family
- 1889 - 1891
- Education - Attended Hutchins School, Hobart
- 1895 - 1897
- Career position - Assistant, Melbourne Observatory
- 1898 - 1900
- Career position - Astronomer and physicist, British Antarctic Expedition [II]
- 1901 - 1904
- Career position - Physicist, British National Antarctic Expedition
- 1901 - 1942
- Award - Fellow, Royal Geographical Society
- 1904
- Award - Polar Medal
- 1905 - 1906
- Career event - Exploring in Africa and Peru
- 1906
- Award - French Cross of the Légion d'honneur
- 1906
- Award - King's Antarctic Medal
- 1906
- Award - Royal Geographical Society Medal
- 1907 - 1914
- Career event - Rubber planter in Malaya
- 1914 - 1919
- Career event - Served successively as Lieutenant Commander, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve; anti-submarine division, Naval Staff, Admiralty; and United States Navy
- 1919
- Award - United States Navy Cross
- 1919
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military)
- 1928 - 1932
- Career position - Member of Council, Royal Geographical Society
- 1930
- Career event - Organised the British Polar Exhibition
- 1931 - 1932
- Career position - Member, organising committee, 2nd International Polar Year
- 1932
- Career position - President, Antarctic Club
- 1939 - 1942
- Career position - Lieutenant Commander, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, working on the organisation of 'Q' ships
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Bernacchi, L., To the South Polar regions: expedition of 1898 - 1900 (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1901), 348 pp. Details
- Bernacchi, L. C., Saga of the "Discovery" (London, Glasgow: Blackie and Son, 1938), 240 pp. Details
- Crawford, Janet, That First Antarctic Winter: the Story of the Southern Cross Expedition of 1898-1900 as Told in the Diaries of Louis Charles Bernacchi (Christchurch, NZ: Southern Latitude Research in association with Peter J. Skellerup, 1998), 270 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Swan, R. A., 'Bernacchi, Louis Charles (1876-1942), scientist and Antarctic explorer' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds, vol. 7 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 275-276. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070278b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Atkin, Andrew, 'Louis Bernacchi, a pioneer Antarctic scientist', Antarctic: Magazine of the New Zealand Antarctic Society, 28 (3/4) (2010), 64-8. Details
- Atkin, Andrew, 'Louis Charles Bernacchi, Pioneer Antarctic Scientist and Explorer', Records of the Canterbury Museum, 25 (2011), 1-11. Details
- Bernacchi, L.. C., 'Antarctic exploration, past and present', Geography, 20 (3) (1935), 176-90. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40561484. Details
- Bernacchi. L., 'Topography of South Victoria Land (Antarctic)', Geographical journal, 17 (5) (1901), 478-92. https://doi.org/10.2307/1775830. Details
- Swan, R. A., 'The First Australian Scientist to Work and Winter on the Antarctic Continent', Victorian Historical Magazine, 33 (1963), 379-398. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q19999. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/70601916. Details
- 'Bernacchi, Louis Charles (1876-1942)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-792389. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Bernacchi, Louis Charles', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001408p.htm. Details
See also
- Federation and Meteorology, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/index_b.html. Details
- Chester, Jonathan, Going to extremes: Project Blizzard and Australia's Antarctic heritage (Sydney: Auckland: Doubleday Australia, 1986), 308 pp. Details
- Mawer, Granville Allen, South by Northwest: the Magnetic Crusade and the Contest for Antarctica (Kent Town: Wakefield Press, 2006), 319 pp. Details
Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education