Adrien de Gerlache facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adrien de Gerlache
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| Born |
Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery
2 August 1866 Hasselt, Belgium
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| Died | 4 December 1934 (aged 68) Brussels, Belgium
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| Nationality | Belgian |
| Alma mater | Free University of Brussels |
| Occupation | Naval officer |
| Known for | Commander of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition |
| Spouse(s) | Suzanne Poulet (1904-1913) Elisabeth Höjer (1918-1934) |
| Children | Philippe Marie-Louise Gaston |
Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (born August 2, 1866 – died December 4, 1934) was a brave Belgian naval officer. He is famous for leading the Belgian Antarctic Expedition from 1897 to 1899. This was the first time anyone had spent a winter in the Antarctic region.
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Adrien de Gerlache's Early Life
Adrien de Gerlache was born in Hasselt, Belgium. His father was an army officer. From a young age, Adrien loved the sea. He sailed to the United States three times as a cabin boy when he was just a teenager.
He studied engineering at the Free University of Brussels. But his love for the sea was stronger. In 1885, he left the university to join the Belgian Navy.
After graduating from a nautical college, he worked on ships that protected fishing areas. He also sailed on an English ship to San Francisco. Later, he worked for a shipping company before becoming a lieutenant in the Belgian Navy. By 1894, he became a captain.
Adrien found his work on ferries boring. He dreamed of exploring. He tried to join expeditions to the Congo and the North Pole, but it didn't work out. So, he decided to plan his own adventure to Antarctica. In 1894, he presented his idea to the Belgian Royal Geographical Society.
The First Antarctic Expedition
Preparing for the Journey
In 1896, de Gerlache bought a ship called Patria. It was a whaling ship built in Norway. He had it completely rebuilt and renamed it Belgica.
The crew was made up of people from many different countries. Famous explorers like Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook were part of his team. On August 16, 1897, the Belgica set sail from Antwerp, Belgium.
Exploring Antarctica
In January 1898, the Belgica reached the coast of Graham Land in Antarctica. Adrien de Gerlache sailed his ship through a passage between the coast and some islands. He named this passage Belgica Strait. Today, it is known as Gerlache Strait, named in his honor.
The expedition explored and named many islands. They made about 20 landings. On February 15, 1898, they crossed the Antarctic Circle. This was a big step into the unknown icy continent.
Trapped in the Ice
On February 28, 1898, the Belgica became stuck in the ice of the Bellingshausen Sea. The crew tried hard to free the ship, but they couldn't. They soon realized they would have to spend the winter in Antarctica.
Total darkness arrived on May 17 and lasted until July 23. The crew faced many challenges. Some men became very ill with scurvy. One sailor even left the ship, saying he was going back to Belgium.
The crew worked for seven more months to free the ship from the ice. On February 15, 1899, the ship finally started to move through a channel they had cleared. It took them almost a month to travel just 7 miles. On March 14, they were finally free of the ice.
The expedition returned to Antwerp on November 5, 1899. In 1902, Adrien de Gerlache's book about the journey, Quinze Mois dans l'Antarctique (Fifteen Months in Antarctica), won an award.
Later Expeditions and Family Life
Adrien de Gerlache went on several other expeditions after his famous Antarctic journey.
- He explored the Persian Gulf in 1901.
- He joined the first Antarctic expedition of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1903-1905). However, he returned to Belgium early in the trip.
- He sailed to the Greenland Sea on the Belgica in 1905.
- He explored the Barents Sea and Kara Sea in 1907.
- He went to Greenland, Spitsbergen, and the Franz Jozef archipelago on the Belgica in 1909.
Adrien de Gerlache married Suzanne Poulet in 1904. They had two children, Philippe and Marie-Louise. After their marriage ended in 1913, he married Elisabeth Höjer from Sweden. With Elisabeth, he had another son named Gaston de Gerlache in 1919. Gaston later followed in his father's footsteps. In the 1950s, Gaston also explored Antarctica.
Adrien de Gerlache passed away in Brussels in 1934, at the age of 68.
Tributes
Many places around the world are named after Adrien de Gerlache, especially in Antarctica. These include:
- Cape Gerlache
- Mount Gerlache
- Gerlache Inlet
- Gerlache Island
- Gerlache Strait
- The de Gerlache seamounts (underwater mountains)
There is also Pic de Gerlache in Greenland. A crater near the Moon's south pole is called de Gerlache crater. One of the quays (docks) in Antwerp is named De Gerlachekaai.
See also
In Spanish: Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery para niños
