Osborn, SHERARD

Osborn, SHERARD, admiral and Arctic navigator, was born at Madras, 25th April 1822, the son of an English officer, and entered the navy in 1837. He took part in the capture of Canton (1841), and of the defences of Woo-sung (1842); commanded vessels in two expeditions sent out in 1849 and 1852-55 respectively to search for Sir John Franklin; was head of the division of the British fleet that served in the Sea of Azov during the Crimean war; and took a leading share in the Chinese war of 1857-59, penetrating up the Yang-tse-kiang as far as Hankow. After his retirement from active duty he superintended the construction of a submarine telegraph between Great Britain and Australia, and was made rear-admiral in 1873. He died 6th May 1875. Besides publishing Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal (1852), Journals of Robert M'Clure (1856), and Carcer, Last Voyage, and Fate of Sir John Franklin (1860), he proved his interest in Arctic exploration by inducing A. H. Markham to test the navigability of Baffin Bay in winter (1873) by steam-power, and by helping to fit out the expedition which sailed under Nares in 1875.