Person
Denham, Henry Mangles (1800 - 1887)
Kt FRS
- Born
- 28 August 1800
- Died
- 3 July 1887
Sherborne, Dorset, United Kingdom - Occupation
- Hydrographer, Marine surveyor and Naval officer
Summary
Henry Denham was a naval officer and hydrographer of considerable note. His early career was spent surveying the harbours and waters around the British Isles and, from 1845 to 1846, the west coast of Africa. Between 1851 and 1860 he commanded H.M.S. Herald, during which time he made extensive surveys in the southwest Pacific Ocean, continuing the work undertaken by H.M.S. Rattlesnake. His instructions were to explore the islands and reefs between Australia and the Isle of Pines (New Caledonia). Visits were made to Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Norfolk Island: Herald was involved in the resettlement of Pitcairn Islanders on Norfolk Island. Australian surveys included Port Jackson, King George Sound, Shark Bay, and the Great Barrier Reef, and three visits to the reefs in the Coral Sea. This was the last major naval hydrographic survey undertaken in Australian waters, and resulted in 200 charts and plans. Naturalists on the expedition were John MacGillivray and William Grant Milne, who made significant collections of botanical and ornithological specimens, and Assistant Surgeon-zoologist Denis Macdonald. After the expedition Denham became Commander-in-Chief, of the Royal Navy's Pacific station. In 1866 he was knighted for his services to hydrography. He retired in 1871 with the rank of Vice-Admiral.
Details
Chronology
- 1812
- Career event - Joined the Royal Navy
- 1822
- Career event - Promoted to Lieutenant, Royal Navy
- 1835
- Career event - Promoted to Commander, Royal Navy
- 1839 - 1887
- Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
- 1846
- Career event - Promoted to Captain, Royal Navy
- 1851 -
- Career position - Associate Member, Institution of Civil Engineers
- 1852 - 1861
- Career position - Commander, H.M.S. Herald
- 1864
- Career event - Promoted to Rear Admiral, Royal Navy
- 1864 - 1866
- Career position - Commander-in-Chief, Pacific station, Royal Navy
- 1866
- Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt)
- 1871
- Career event - Retired from the Royal Navy with rank of Vice Admiral
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Books
- David, Andrew, The Voyage of HMS Herald to Australia and the South-west Pacific 1852-1861 under the command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press at Miegunyah Press, 1995), 549 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Henry Mangles Denham', Minutes of the proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 91 (1888), 460-2. Details
- Anon, 'Obituary notices of Fellows deceased: Henry Mangles Denham', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 43 (258/65) (1888). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspl.1887.0109. Details
- Denham, Henry Mangles, 'The Herald's voyage, 1852-61', Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 6 (5) (1862), 197-200. https://doi.org/10.2307/1798797. Details
- Morgan, Kenneth, 'Navigating the Great Barrier Reef: the inner and outer routes, 1815 - 1860', International journal of maritime history, 31 (1) (2021), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0843871421991164. Details
Theses
- Jensen, Sophie Alice, 'On such a full sea: John MacGillivray (1821 - 1867)', PhD thesis, Australian National University, 2010, 339 pp. Details
See also
- Bowen, James; Bowen, Margarita, The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 454 pp. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 29 March 2022, Last modified: 27 June 2022