View source for Henry Mangles Denham

{{short description|British Royal Navy officer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir Henry Denham
|birth_date= {{birth-date|28 August 1800}}
|death_date= {{death-date and age|3 July 1887|28 August 1800}}
|birth_place=
|death_place=
|image=Portrait_of_Captain_Sir_Henry_Mangles_Denham_by_Charles_Baugniet,_1849.jpg
|caption=Henry Mangles Denham (1849)<br />by [[Charles Baugniet]]
|nickname=
|allegiance= {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
|serviceyears= 1812–1871
|rank= [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]]
|commands={{HMS|Avon|1837|6}}<br />{{HMS|Herald|1824|6}}<br />[[Pacific Station]]
|branch=[[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|23px]] [[Royal Navy]]
|unit=
|battles=
|awards=[[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
|laterwork=
}}
[[File:Shark Bay.svg|thumb|Map of the [[Shark Bay]] area of Western Australia, surveyed by Denham.]]
[[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] '''Sir Henry Mangles Denham''' (28 August 1800 – 3 July 1887) was a [[Royal Navy]] officer who went on to be [[Pacific Station|Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station]].
==Early career==
Denham joined the navy in 1809. He served on {{HMS|Vulture|1803|6}} between 1810 and 1814, initially under the command of Captain [[Martin White (Royal Navy officer)|Martin White]], engaged in survey work in the [[Channel Islands]]. He became a midshipman while serving on ''Vulture''. He continued to work on the Channel Islands survey until 1817, again under White. In 1817, White took command of the survey vessel {{HMS|Shamrock|1812|6}} and Denham worked under him on surveys in the [[English Channel]] and [[Ireland]].<ref name="NBC">{{cite book |last1=O'Byrne |first1=William R. |title=A naval biographical dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive |date=1849 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |page=277 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027921372}}</ref><ref name=Memoirs>{{cite book |last1=Dawson |first1=Llewellyn Styles |title=Memoirs of hydrography, including brief biographies of the principal officers who have served in H.M. Naval Surveying Service between the years 1750 and 1885. Part 1. - 1750 to 1830 |date=1885 |publisher=Henry W. Keay |location=Eastbourne |url=https://archive.org/details/memoirshydrogra01dawsgoog}}</ref><ref name="Robinson1962">{{cite book | first1 = Adrian Henry Wardle |last1=Robinson | date = 1962 | title = Marine Cartography in Britain: A History of the Sea Chart to 1855. With a Foreword by Sir John Edgell | publisher = Leicester University Press | page = 193| oclc = 62431872}}</ref> He was promoted to lieutenant in 1822.<ref name=loney>[http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=449 William Loney RN]</ref> From October 1827, he was lieutenant-commander in {{HMS|Linnet|1817|6}}, surveying the coast of France.<ref name=loney/> From September 1828 to March 1835, he surveyed the [[Bristol Channel]] and the ports of Liverpool and Milford.<ref name=loney/>
In the early 1830s, the expansion of the [[Port of Liverpool]] was being severely restricted by the silting of the channels leading to the port. The [[Mersey Docks and Harbour Company|Dock Trustees]] asked the Admiralty for help, and in 1833, Denham was assigned to survey the area.<ref name="Ritchie1967">{{cite book | first1 = George Stephen |last1=Ritchie | date = 1967 | title = The Admiralty Chart: British Naval Hydrography in the Nineteenth Century | publisher = Hollis & Carter | pages = 244–246| oclc = 1082888087}}</ref> He carried out the most thorough survey of the Mersey and its approaches and analysed the volumes and patterns of flow and the quantities of solid material transported during tide. He argued that if the existing channels were becoming blocked, the tidal flow must be going somewhere else. He was able to identify and chart a new channel and mark it with buoys. This led to a significant increase in the volume of shipping that the port could handle.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Denham |first1=H.M. |title=On the survey of the Mersey and the Dee |journal=British Association for the Advancement of Science Report |date=1835 |pages=64–65 |url=https://archive.org/details/denham-1835-reportofbritisha-05unse}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Denham |first1=H.M. |title=On the tidal capacity of the Mersey Estuary |journal=British Association for the Advancement of Science Report |date=1837 |pages=85–87 |url=https://archive.org/details/denham-1837-reportofbritisha-37brit}}</ref> He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Liverpool in 1834, and in 1835,he became Resident Marine Surveyor to the port and in 1837, when shoaling became problematic on the outer part of the channel, he introduced an innovative system for dredging.  This system involved using a steamer to tow a set of spiked cables spaced along an oak beam.<ref name="Ritchie1967"/>  The dredging method he introduced remained in use until 1890. On 28 February 1839, he elected as a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]].  According to Mountfield (1953), Denham's work during the 1830s and 1840s played a crucial role in establishing Liverpool as a major terminal port to meet the increasing demands of industrial trade in England<ref name=Mountfield>{{cite journal |last1=Mountfield |first1=A.S. |title=Admiral Denham and the approaches to the port of Liverpool |journal=Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society |date=1953 |pages=123–136 |url=https://www.hslc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/105-8-Mountfield.pdf}}</ref>
[[File:Admiralty Chart No 1826 England West Coast. Fleetwood to the Firth of Solway, Published 1850, Corrections to 1877.jpg|thumb|left|Admiralty Chart No 1826: Fleetwood to the Firth of Solway, Surveyed by Henry Denham and George Williams.]]
Denham's time at Liverpool ended in discord, with Denham frustrated at the lack of resources available. This frustration reached its peak during the great storm of 1839. The storm caused lightships and buoys to be torn from their moorings, and Denham found himself unable to hire boats and crews to address the situation. Additionally, tension arose among some committee members who felt that Denham was exceeding his role by advocating changes in the management of port approaches, He proposed the establishment of a body with authority over the entire river estuary, rather than just the port. As a result, his appointment was terminated in 1839.<ref name=Mountfield/><ref name="Ritchie1967"/>
Denham remained in the NW of England for several years, being appointed by the Admiralty to survey the coasts of Lancashire and Cumberland.<ref name="Ritchie1967" /> He published many of the results of his work in a set of Sailing directions for the area, published in 1840.<ref name="Denham1840">{{cite book | first1 = Henry Mangles |last1= Denham | date = 1840 | title = Sailing Directions from Point Lynas to Liverpool: With Charts, Coast-views, River-sections, Tidal Courses and Tide Gauge Table, for Navigating the Dee and Mersey, Including the Latest Alterations | publisher = Printed and published for H.M. Denham, by J. & J. Mawdsley, Liverpool | pages = | oclc = 1036228986 | url = https://archive.org/details/sailingdirectio00denhgoog}}</ref>
From 15 January 1842, Denham was commander (second in charge) in {{HMS|Lucifer|1837|6}}, commanded by [[Frederick William Beechey]], surveying the coast of Ireland.<ref name="loney" /> On 30 July 1845, he was made commander of {{HMS|Avon|1837|6}}, surveying  the west coast of Africa including the mouth of the [[Niger River]].<ref name="loney" /><ref name="ICE">{{cite journal |title=Obituary. Admiral Sir Henry Mangles Denham 1800-1887 |journal=Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |date=1888 |volume=91 |issue=1888 |pages=460–462 |doi=10.1680/imotp.1888.21004 |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/pdf/10.1680/imotp.1888.21004|doi-access=free }}</ref> From 1848 to 1851 he was employed in conducting inquiries into accidents at sea.<ref name="ICE" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Denham |first1=H.M. |title=Copy of the reports of the Board of Trade inspector on the loss of steamers 'Sirius', 'Tribune' and 'Finn McCool' on the coast of Ireland... |series=Accounts and papers |volume=52 |date=1851 |url=https://archive.org/details/denham-1851-accounts-and-papers}}</ref>
==Survey of the South Pacific, 1852-1861==
On 18 February 1852, Denham was appointed captain of {{HMS|Herald|1824|6}}.<ref>The 500-ton ''Herald'' was launched as ''Termagant'' on 15 November 1822, recommissioned as the survey ship ''Herald'' in 1824, and taken out of service in 1864.</ref> As captain of HMS ''Herald'', he carried out major survey work around [[Australia]], [[New Caledonia]] and other parts of the Southwest Pacific in the period 1852 to 1861.<ref name=loney/>
The voyage of HMS ''Herald'' earned him a lasting place in the history of maritime surveying. For a decade, the ''Herald'' surveyed and charted known land masses and suspected hazards in the south-west Pacific and substantial parts of the Australian coast, These efforts were instrumental in establishing safe shipping routes. Many of the charts produced by the Herald's surveying expeditions are still utilised today. At the time of Denham's voyages, the south-west Pacific was a mission field, a site of commercial activity, and a colonial outpost. The natural history specimens gathered by naturalists [[William Grant Milne]] and [[John MacGillivray]] on the expedition made substantial contributions to botanical and ornithological collections.
The voyage began in England on 21 February 1852, arriving in Australia on 18 February 1853. On 30 October 1852, a deep-sea sounding taken on the passage between [[Rio de Janeiro]] and the [[Cape of Good Hope]] showed a depth of {{convert|7706|fathom|m}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Denham |first1=Henry Mangles |title=An Account of a Deep-Sea Sounding in 7706 Fathoms, in 36° 49' South Latitude, and 37° 6' West Longitude. |journal=Abstracts of the Papers Communicated to the Royal Society of London |date=1853 |volume=6 |pages=275–276 |url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-111213}}</ref> The ship then began its main survey by visiting [[Lord Howe Island]], the [[Isle of Pines, New Caledonia|Isle of Pines]] ([[New Caledonia]]) and [[Aneityum]] ([[Vanuatu]]) (19 February 1853 to 1 January 1854); New Zealand and [[Raoul Island]], (2 January 1854 to 2 September 1854); [[Fiji]], (3 September 1854 to 24 November 1854); and [[Norfolk Island]] (June 1855). After a second visit to Fiji, (25 June 1855 to 3 February 1856), the ''Herald'' was involved with the resettlement of the [[Pitcairn Island]]ers to Norfolk Island, (4 February 1856 to 26 June 1856). A third visit was then undertaken to Fiji, (27 June 1856 to 26 February 1857), followed by the survey of [[Port Jackson]], [[New South Wales]], (27 February 1857 to 20 December 1857); [[Bass Strait]], [[King George Sound]] and [[Shark Bay, Western Australia|Shark Bay]] (21 December 1857 to 29 June 1858). After three visits to the Coral Sea, (30 June 1858 to 23 May 1860), the ''Herald'' began the first leg of its homeward voyage, Sydney to [[Surabaya]], (24 May 1860 to 20 November 1860), departing Surabaya on 21 November 1860 and arriving at Chatham on 1 June 1861.
==Commander-in-chief, Pacific==
[[File:Merytadenhamiiak.jpg|thumb|''[[Meryta denhamii]]'', a New Caledonian tree is also named in his honour]]
Between 10 May 1864 and 21 November 1866, Denham served as [[Pacific Station|Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station]].<ref name=loney/> In 1866, he was knighted for his hydrographical services. In 1871,<ref name=loney/> he retired from service with the rank of vice admiral.
The town of [[Denham, Western Australia]],  was named after him, as is the New Caledonian endemic tree ''[[Meryta denhamii|Meryta]]''  [[Denham Island (British Columbia)|Denham Island, British Columbia]], was named after him by a fellow Royal Navy surveyor.
==Family==
In 1826, he married Isabella Cole, the daughter of the Reverend Joseph Cole of Carmarthen. Isabella passed away in 1865.<ref name=loney/> Denham's son, Fleetwood James Denham, served under his father on {{HMS|Herald|1824|2}}, tragically succumbing to a tropical fever at the age of 16 in 1854 while on [[Raoul Island]], a part of [[New Zealand]]'s [[Kermadec Islands]] chain. He was buried near the beach at the head of [[Denham Bay]].
==See also==
* {{cite wikisource |first=William Richard |last=O'Byrne |title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |year=1849 |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]}}
* [[John MacGillivray]]
* [[William Grant Milne]]
* [[European and American voyages of scientific exploration]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* David, A. (1995). ''The voyage of HMS Herald to Australia and the South-west Pacific 1852-1861 under the command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham''. Miegunyah Press Series. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press.
* Oliver, R., 'The Vegetation of the Kermadec Islands'. ''Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand'', Volume 42, 1909, p.&nbsp;121. URL: [http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_49/rsnz_49_00_003860.html RSNZ], Retrieved 3 January 2007.
==External links==
{{Commons category|Henry Mangles Denham}}
* [http://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/denham-henry-mangles.html Australian National Botanic Gardens, Biography]
* [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=449 Biography of Henry Mangles Denham, RN]
* [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=2166 Mid-Victorian RN vessel HMS Termagant (Herald)]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Henry Mangles Denham |sopt=t}}
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{{succession box|title=[[Pacific Station|Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station]]|before=[[John Kingcome|Sir John Kingcome]]|after=[[George Fowler Hastings|George Hastings]]|years=1864&ndash;1866}}
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[[Category:Royal Navy vice admirals]]
[[Category:Explorers of Australia]]
[[Category:English cartographers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:1800 births]]
[[Category:1887 deaths]]
[[Category:Shark Bay]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Raoul Island]]