Edward Sabine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Sabine
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Sabine in an 1850 portrait by Stephen Pearce
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| 30th President of the Royal Society | |
| In office 30 November 1861 – 30 November 1871 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Benjamin Brodie |
| Succeeded by | Sir George Airy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 October 1788 Dublin, Kingdom of Ireland |
| Died | 26 June 1883 (aged 94) East Sheen, London, England |
| Resting place | St Peter Churchyard, Tewin |
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Leeves (m. 1828)
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| Relatives |
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| Education | Royal Military Academy |
| Occupation | Astronomer, geophysicist |
| Expeditions |
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| Awards | |
| Military service | |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1803–1877 |
| Rank | Major-general |
| Wars | |
Sir Edward Sabine (born October 14, 1788 – died June 26, 1883) was an amazing Irish scientist. He was an Astronomer, a geophysicist (someone who studies Earth's physical processes), an ornithologist (bird expert), and an explorer. He was also a soldier and even became the 30th president of the Royal Society, a famous scientific group.
Edward Sabine worked hard to set up special magnetic observatories. These were places all over the British Empire where scientists could study Earth's magnetic field. He spent much of his life guiding these observatories and studying the information they collected. He also researched birds in Greenland, ocean temperatures, the Gulf Stream, how to measure heights with air pressure, and even volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands.
Contents
Early Life and Military Service
Edward Sabine was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family was well-known, and his brother, Joseph Sabine, became a famous naturalist. Edward's mother passed away when he was very young.
He went to school at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In 1803, when he was just 15, he joined the Royal Artillery. He became a captain ten years later and eventually a general in 1870.
Sabine saw his first real fighting during the War of 1812 against America. In 1813, his ship was attacked by an American privateer (a private ship allowed to attack enemy ships). Even though he was the ship's astronomer, he helped fight with a gun! Later, he helped defend Lower Canada from American attacks. He also fought in the Niagara campaign in 1814. After these battles, he returned to England and focused on science.
Exciting Scientific Expeditions
Edward Sabine became a member of the Royal Society in 1818. This led to him joining some very important expeditions.
Arctic Adventures with John Ross
In 1818, Sabine joined Captain John Ross on an Arctic expedition. Sabine was the astronomer, and his job was to help with scientific observations. The main goal was to find the Northwest Passage, a sea route through the Arctic.
Sabine also studied the Earth's north magnetic pole and how pendulums (swinging weights) behaved in cold places. He even observed birds! The expedition didn't find the Northwest Passage. Ross turned back, which upset Sabine and others. Sabine felt Ross didn't give him enough time to take important magnetic readings.
Sabine later published his findings on magnetism. He believed that to truly understand Earth's magnetism, many observations were needed from all over the world. He was a very careful scientist.
More Arctic Exploration with William Parry
The very next year, in 1819, Edward Sabine went back to the Arctic. This time, he joined Lieutenant William Edward Parry on another search for the Northwest Passage. The Admiralty (the British navy's leaders) wanted them to collect even more scientific data. They were especially interested in magnetic measurements and the aurora borealis (Northern Lights).
Parry also didn't find the passage, but he traveled further west than anyone before. To keep everyone entertained during the long Arctic winter, Sabine created a weekly newspaper called the North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle. It was so popular that it was even published when they returned to Britain!
During this trip, Sabine noticed that magnetic patterns had changed since his last visit. For all his hard work in the Arctic, the Royal Society gave him the Copley Medal in 1821. This is a very important award!
Measuring the Earth's Shape
After his Arctic trips, Sabine started studying geodesy. This is the science of measuring Earth's shape and size. He focused on measuring the length of a "seconds pendulum" (a pendulum that takes exactly one second to swing). By measuring this in different places, scientists can figure out how "flat" the Earth is at its poles.
Between 1821 and 1823, Sabine traveled all over the world with his pendulums. He took countless measurements in places like Africa, the Americas, and even back in the Arctic. He visited Little Pendulum Island and Spitsbergen. An island, Sabine Island, was named after him during this time.
His research, published in 1825, provided the most accurate measurements of Earth's shape ever made at that time. He continued these experiments for many years.
Return to Military and Science
In 1827, Sabine was promoted to captain. He was given time off from the army to focus on science. He even became a scientific advisor to the Admiralty. However, he was called back to military duty in Ireland in 1830.
Even with his military work, he kept up his scientific studies. He continued his pendulum experiments. In 1834, he started the first detailed magnetic survey of Ireland. He later extended this survey to Scotland and England.
Leading the Magnetic Crusade
During the 1800s, many British scientists were very interested in Earth's magnetism. They wanted to solve "the great remaining physical mystery" after Isaac Newton's work on gravity. They knew Earth's magnetic field was always changing, which affected compasses.
Sabine was a key leader in this effort, which some called the "Magnetic Crusade." He pushed the government to set up magnetic observatories across the British Empire. He also got other famous scientists, like Alexander von Humboldt and George Biddell Airy, to join the cause.
In 1839, the government agreed to the plan. Observatories were built in places like Toronto, St. Helena, Cape Town, and Tasmania. Sabine was put in charge of this huge project.
One of the most important observatories was founded by Sabine in Toronto in 1840. It was called the Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory. It was the first scientific institution in Canada! It was built from wood and copper so that no magnetic materials would interfere with the readings.
In the beginning, scientists had to take readings by hand every few minutes. Sabine carefully checked all these observations back in Britain. Later, new tools were invented that could record the magnetic movements automatically using photography.
In 1852, Sabine made an amazing discovery from the Toronto records. He realized that changes in Earth's magnetic field were linked to the number of sunspots on the Sun. He was the first to show that what happens on the Sun affects Earth's magnetic environment! He announced that the Sun's 11-year sunspot cycle was exactly like Earth's 11-year magnetic cycle.
The next year, he also found a link between the Moon and Earth's magnetic field. He thought the Moon had its own magnetic field, but he was mistaken. It's actually caused by gravity affecting the upper atmosphere.
Through the 1840s and 1850s, Sabine continued to oversee the magnetic observatories. His work resulted in a complete magnetic map of the globe, as much as was possible at the time.
Later Life and Legacy
Sir Edward Sabine received many awards for his scientific work. In 1849, the Royal Society gave him a gold medal. He was the president of the Royal Society from 1861 to 1871. He also helped standardize weights and measures in Britain. Both Oxford and Cambridge universities gave him honorary degrees. He was a member of many other important scientific groups.
In 1869, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, a high honor. He retired from the army in 1877 as a full general.
In 1879, his wife, Elizabeth Juliana Leeves Sabine, passed away. She was a talented woman who helped her husband with his scientific work for over 50 years. She translated important science books from German into English.
Sir Edward Sabine died on June 26, 1883, at the age of 94. He was buried in Tewin, England.
Namesakes
Many things are named after Edward Sabine because of his important contributions:
- Several birds: Sabine's gull, Sabine's puffback, and Sabine's spinetail.
- Geographical places: Sabine Land, the Sabine Islands, and Sabinebukta (all in Svalbard); Mount Sabine in Antarctica; Sabine Island in Greenland; and the lunar Sabine crater on the Moon.
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