Francis Beaufort

"Admiral Beaufort" redirects here. For other uses, seeAdmiral Beaufort (disambiguation).

For other people with similar names, seeFrancis Beaufort (disambiguation).

Sir Francis Beaufort KCBFRSFRGSFRASMRIA
Beaufortc. 1851
Hydrographer of the Navy
In office 19 May 1829 – 25 January 1855(1829-05-19–1855-01-25)
Preceded by	Sir Edward Parry
Succeeded by	John Washington
Personal details
Born	(1774-05-27)27 May 1774 Navan,County Meath,Ireland
Died	17 December 1857(1857-12-17)(aged 83) Hove,Sussex,England
Resting place	St John's Church Gardens
Spouses	Alicia Wilson (1815–1834) Honora Edgeworth (1838–1857)
Children	Francis Lestock Beaufort Emily Anne Beaufort
Parent	Daniel Augustus Beaufort
Relatives	Frances Beaufort(sister) Henrietta Beaufort(sister) Daniel de Beaufort(grandfather)
Occupation	Hydrographer,mariner
Known for	Beaufort cipher,Beaufort scale
Awards	Knight Commander of theOrder of the Bath(1848)
Military service
Branch	Royal Navy
Service years	1790–1855
Rank	Rear admiral
Wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars

Sir Francis BeaufortKCBFRSFRGSFRASMRIA(/ˈboʊfərt/;27 May 1774 – 17 December 1857) was anIrishhydrographer,the creator of theBeaufort cipherand theBeaufort scale,and a naval officer.

Early life

Francis Beaufort was descended from French ProtestantHuguenots,who fled theFrench Wars of Religionin the sixteenth century. His parents moved to Ireland fromLondon.His father,Daniel Augustus Beaufort,was aProtestantclergyman fromNavan,County Meath,Ireland, and a member of the learnedRoyal Irish Academy.His mother Mary was the daughter and co-heiress of William Waller, ofAllenstown House.Francis was born in Navan on 27 May 1774.He had an older brother, William Louis Beaufort and three sisters,Frances,Harriet,and Louisa. His father created and published a new map of Ireland in 1792.Francis grew up in Wales and Ireland until age fourteen.He left school and went to sea, but never stopped his education.By later in life, he had become sufficiently self-educated to associate with some of the greatest scientists and applied mathematicians of his time, includingMary Somerville,John Herschel,George Biddell Airy,andCharles Babbage.

Francis Beaufort had a lifelong keen awareness of the value of accurate charts for those risking the seas, as he was shipwrecked at the age of fifteen due to a faulty chart. His most significant accomplishments were innautical charting.

Career

Early naval career

Beaufort first went to sea in 1789 on theBritish East India CompanyEast IndiamanVansittart.She was wrecked, but all but one man of her crew survived and Beaufort returned home.

Beaufort commenced his naval career in 1790 by joiningHMSLatonaas amidshipman.She was paid off late in the year and Beaufort transferred in 1791 to thefifth ratefrigateHMSAquilon.After the commencement ofwar with Francehe was onAquilonduring the Battle of theGlorious First of JuneoffUshantinBrittanyin 1794, whenAquilonrescued the dismastedHMSDefenceand exchanged broadsides with theFrench ship-of-the line,Impétueux.

He was promoted to Lieutenant on 10 May 1796 onHMSPhaeton.While serving onPhaeton,Beaufort was badly wounded leading a cutting-out operation offMálagain 1800; the action resulted in the capture of the 14-gunpolaccaCalpe.Beaufort was promoted to the rank of Commander on 13 November 1800.

While recovering from his wounds, during which he received a "paltry" pension of £45 per annum, he helped his brother-in-law,Richard Lovell Edgeworth,to construct asemaphore linefromDublintoGalway.He spent two years at this activity, for which he would accept no remuneration.

Command

Beaufort returned to active service and was appointed acaptainin theRoyal Navyon 30 May 1810. Whereas other wartime officers sought leisurely pursuits, Beaufort spent his leisure time takingdepth soundingsandbearings,making astronomical observations to determinelongitudeandlatitude,and measuring shorelines. His results were compiled in new charts.

TheAdmiraltygave Beaufort his first ship command,HMSWoolwich.He sailed her to the East Indies and escorted a convoy ofEast Indiamenback to Britain. The Admiralty then tasked him with conducting ahydrographic surveyof theRio de la Plataestuary in South America. Experts were very impressed by the survey Beaufort brought back. Notably,Alexander Dalrympleremarked in a note to the Admiralty in March 1808, that "we have few officers (indeed I do not know one) in our Service who have half his professional knowledge and ability, and in zeal and perseverance he cannot be excelled."

Anatolia

After theWoolwich,Beaufort received his firstpost-captaincommission, commandingFrederickstein.

Throughout 1811–1812, Beaufort charted and explored southernAnatolia,a region he referred to asKaramania,locating manyclassicalruins, includingHadrian's Gate.An attack on the crew of his boat (atAyas,nearAdana), byTurksinterrupted his work and he received a serious bullet wound in the hip. He returned to England and drew up his charts.

In 1817, he published his bookKaramania; or a brief description of the South Coast of Asia Minor, and of the Remains of Antiquity.

Hydrographer of the Navy

In 1829, Beaufort was elected as a Fellow of theRoyal Astronomical Society,and in the same year, at the age of 55 (retirement age for most administrative contemporaries), Beaufort was appointed as theBritish AdmiraltyHydrographer of the Navy.He served in that post for 26 years, longer than any other Hydrographer.G.S. Ritchie,himself Hydrographer (1966–1971) described this period as the "High Noon" of Admiralty surveying.The geographical scope of surveying was greatly increased, both in home waters and overseas. The production of new charts increased from 19 in 1830 to 1230 in 1855.

In 1831, a Scientific Branch of the Admiralty was formed, which as well as theHydrographic Departmentincluded the great astronomicalobservatoriesatGreenwich,England, and theCape of Good Hope,Africa, and the Nautical Almanac and Chronometer Offices, and Beaufort was responsible for the administration.Beaufort directed some of the major maritime explorations and experiments of that period. He played a leading role in the search for the explorer,Sir John Franklin,who was lost during his last polar voyage to search for the legendaryNorthwest Passage.

Beaufort was interested in scientific affairs beyond the confines of navigation. As a council member of theRoyal Society,theRoyal Observatory,and theRoyal Geographical Society(which he helped found), Beaufort used his position and prestige as a top administrator to act as a "middleman" for many scientists of his time. Beaufort represented the geographers, astronomers,oceanographers,geodesists,andmeteorologiststo that government agency, the Hydrographic Office, which could support their research. In 1849 he assisted in the publication of the AdmiraltyManual of Scientific Enquiry,to assist both Navy personnel and general travellers in scientific investigations, ranging fromastronomytoethnography.

Beaufort trainedRobert FitzRoy,who was put in temporary command of the survey shipHMSBeagleafter her previous captain committed suicide. When FitzRoy was reappointed as commander for what became the famoussecond voyage of theBeagle,he requested of Beaufort "that a well-educated andscientific gentlemanbe sought "as a companion on the voyage.Beaufort's enquiries led to an invitation toCharles Darwin,who later drew on his discoveries in formulating thetheory of evolutionhe presented in his bookThe Origin of Species.Later, when Beaufort persuaded theBoard of Tradeto set up a Meterorological Department, Fitzroy became its first director

Using his many connections, including theRoyal Society,Beaufort helped to obtain funding for theAntarcticvoyage of 1839–1843 byJames Clark Rossfor extensive measurements ofterrestrial magnetism,coordinated with similar measurements in Europe and Asia.(This is comparable to theInternational Geophysical Yearof our time.)

Beaufort promoted the development of reliable tide tables around British shores, publishing the first edition of theAdmiralty Tide Tablesin 1833.This inspired similar research for Europe and North America. Aiding his friendWilliam Whewell,Beaufort gained the support of the Prime Minister,Duke of Wellington,in expanding record-keeping at 200 BritishCoastguardstations. Beaufort gave enthusiastic support to his friend,Sir George Airy,theAstronomer Royaland noted mathematician, in achieving a historic period of measurements by the Greenwich and Good Hope observatories.

By the time Beaufort retired the Admiralty Chart series was a truly worldwide resource with 2,000 charts covering every sea.

Retirement

Beaufort retired from the Royal Navy with the rank ofrear admiralon 1 October 1846, at the age of 72. He became "Sir Francis Beaufort" on being appointedKCB(Knight Commander of the Bath) on 29 April 1848, a relatively belated honorific considering the eminence of his position from 1829 onward. In 1840, he was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society.

Personal life

Beaufort's extant correspondence of more than 200 letters and journals contained portions written in personal cipher. Beaufort altered theVigenère cipher,by reversing the cipher Alpha bet, and the resulting variant is called theBeaufort cipher.The deciphered writings have revealed family and personal problems, including some of a sexual nature. It appears that between 1835 and his marriage to Honora Edgeworth in November 1838, he had incestuous relations with his sisterHarriet.His diary entries, incipher,show that he was tortured by guilt over this.

The Beaufort family tomb inSt John's Church Gardens,London

He died on 17 December 1857, at age 83 inHove,Sussex,England. He is buried in the church gardens of St John atHackney,London, where his tomb may still be seen. His home in London, No. 52 Manchester Street,Westminster,is marked by an historicblue plaquenoting his residency and achievements.

Family

Beaufort married, firstly, Alicia Magdalena Wilson, daughter of Lestock Wilson R.N. under whom he had first served; she died in 1834.Of their children, three daughters and three sons were living in 1859.They included:

• Daniel Augustus Beaufort (1813/4–1898), cleric, married in 1851 Emily Nowell Davis, daughter ofSir John Francis Davis, 1st Baronet.
• Francis Lestock Beaufort(1815–1879), served in theBengalcivil service, from 1837 to 1876.
• Sophia Mary Bonne married the Rev.William Palmerin 1838.
• Emily Anne Smythe(1826–1887) was a hero of Bulgaria, a writer, illustrator and advocate of change in the training of nurses.

Beaufort married again in 1838, to Honora Edgeworth, the daughter of his brother-in-lawRichard Lovell Edgeworthand his second wife. (Francis' sister Frances Beaufort had married Edgeworth as his fourth wife years earlier in the 1810s.)

Legacy

Wind force scale

Main article:Beaufort scale

During these early years of command, Beaufort developed the first versions of hisWind Force Scaleand Weather Notation coding, which he was to use in his journals for the remainder of his life. From the circle representing a weather station, a staff (rather like the stem of a note in musical notation) extends, with one or more half or whole barbs. For example, a stave with 31⁄2barbs represents Beaufort seven on the scale, decoded as 32–38 mph, or a "moderate Gale".

Geographical legacy

Beaufort, like other patrons of exploration, has had his name given to many geographical places. Among these:

• Beaufort Sea(arm of Arctic Ocean)
• Beaufort's Dyke,North Channel
• Beaufort Island,Antarctic

Cryptographic legacy

Beaufort created theBeaufort cipher.It is asubstitution ciphersimilar to theVigenère cipher.

Further reading

• Webb, Alfred(1878)."Beaufort, Sir Francis".A Compendium of Irish Biography.Dublin: M. H. Gill & son.
• Alfred Friendly.Beaufort of the Admiralty.Random House, New York, 1973.
• Nicholas Courtney. "Gale Force 10, the life and legacy of Admiral Beaufort". London: Review. 2002.
• Huler, Scott (2004).Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale, and How a 19th-Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry.Crown.ISBN1-4000-4884-2.
• Laughton, John Knox(1885)."Beaufort, Francis".InStephen, Leslie(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 04. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Laughton, John Knox; Rodger, Nicholas (2008) [2004]. "Beaufort, Francis".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/1857.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

External links

• Works by Francis BeaufortatOpen Library
• Works by or about Francis Beaufortat theInternet Archive