The Challenger Expedition was a scientific and exploring expedition carried out at the expense of the British Government by means of the ship Challenger, a frigate-built vessel of about 2000 tons, fully equipped with all the most improved scientific appliances for ascertaining the depth, temperature, currents, etc, of the ocean, and the character of the ocean bottom, and for amassing natural history specimens. The ship set sail on December the 7th, 1872, under the command of Captain (afterwards Sir) George Nares, Professor (afterwards Sir) Wyville Thomson being at the head of the scientific staff attached to the ship. In the course of the expedition the ship called at Madeira, Teneriffe, the Bermudas, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Cape Verde Islands, Cape of Good Hope, Kerguelen Islands, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Japan, Valparaiso, etc, returning home by way of the Strait of Magellan, and arriving on May the 24th, 1876. During the three and a half years of the cruise the ship traversed about 70,000 nautical miles, and a vast amount of highly useful information was accumulated, the results being published at government expense in a great many volumes. Several popular works on the expedition were also published. Research Challenger Expedition
Albert Edward Trott was an Australian cricket player. He was born in 1873 at Melbourne and died in 1914. Moving to England he played for Middlesex, and represented Australia against England in the 1894 1895 season. During his career he twice scored over 1000 runs and took upwards of 200 wickets in one season. Research Albert Trott
Charles Grey (Earl Grey) was a British soldier. He was born in 1729 and died in 1807. A major-general, he accompanied Howe from England in 1775, surprised and defeated General Wayne's force near the Schuylkill on September the 20th, 1777, had a command at Germantown and Tappan, and destroyed the shipping and stores at New Bedford in 1778.
Charles Grey (Ear Grey) was an English statesman. He was born in 1764 and died in 1845. The eldest son of Charles Grey, the first earl Grey, he was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge. In 1786 he was returned to parliament as member for Northumberland. On the accession of the Grenville ministry in 1806, Charles Grey, now Lord Howick, was made first lord of the admiralty, and on the death of Fox succeeded him as secretary for foreign affairs and leader of the House of Commons. The death of his father in 1807 raised him to the House of Peers, and from this period up to 1830 he beaded the opposition in the Lords, and especially opposed the proceedings against Queen Caroline. On the accession of William IV and the retirement of the Wellington ministry, Earl Grey was summoned to office. The great event which marks his administration is the passing in 1832 of the first reform bill. In 1834 Earl Grey resigned, and was succeeded by LordMelbourne. The remainder of his life was chiefly spent in retirement. Research Charles Grey
Ernest Giles was an Australian explorer. He was born in 1839 at Bristol and died in 1897. He went to Melbourne at an early age and in 1874 to 1876 crossed from Adelaide to Perth with camels. Research Ernest Giles
James Service was an Australian politician. He was born in 1823 at Kilwinning, Scotland and died in 1899. He emigrated to Melbourne in 1853, where he founded a commercial firm. In 1857 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly; in 1860 he was minister for Lands, and introduced the first land bill involving the principle of 'selection before survey'. In 1883 he became premier of Victoria. In 1884 he carried a bill for the creation of the federal Council of Australasia. He was one of the four Victorian delegates at the colonial conference in 1887. He afterwards became a member of the upper house. Research James Service
Michael Faraday was a British chemist and physicist. He was born in 1791 at Newington Butts and died in 1867. At an early age he was apprenticed to a bookbinder in London, but occupied himself in his leisure hours with electrical and other scientific experiments.
Having been taken by a friend to Sir Humphry Davy's lectures, he attended the course, and conceived such an ardent desire for study that be resolved to quit trade. With this end he sent his notes of the lectures to Sir Humphry Davy, who was so struck with the great ability they showed that he appointed him his assistant at the Royal Institution. In 1829 he became lecturer at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and in 1833 he was appointed to the newly-established chair of chemistry at the Royal Institution. It was while in this office that he made most of his great electrical discoveries. He discovered electrical currents and invented the dynamo, for example. The farad is named after Michael Faraday.
His communications to the Philosophical Transactions were published separately in three volumes in 1839, 1844 and in 1855. In 1832 he received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from Oxford, was made an honorary member of the Academy at Berlin, with many other honours too numerous to mention. In 1835 he received a pension of 300 pounds a year from LordMelbourne.
As an experimentalist Michael Faraday was considered the very first of his time. As a popular lecturer he was equally distinguished, and used to draw crowds to the Friday evening lecture at the Royal Institution. Amongst his published works were: Researches in Electricity (1831-1855), Lectures on Non-metallic Elements (1853), Lectures on the Forces of Matter (1860), Lectures on the Chemical History of a Candle (1861). Research Michael Faraday
Victoria was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India. She was born in 1819 and died in 1901. She succeeded to the throne in 1837 at the age of 18 and reigned until her death in 1901. As women could not inherit the Hanoverian throne, when Victoria ascended the British throne the Hanoverian throne passed to her uncle and the union with Hanover that had lasted 123 years ended. During the early years of her reign, Victoria was heavily influenced by her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, and after her marriage in 1840 by her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The marriage was very happy and they had nine children, most of whom married into European royal families. In 1861, Albert died of typhoid. Victoria retreated into seclusion, but kept up her constitutional duties, eventually resuming her public life.
Victoria's long reign coincided with a fundamental change in the nature of the British monarchy by which its power declined and was replaced by influence. In 1837 the government was still seen to a large extent as the Sovereign's government. However, the defeat of Melbourne's government in the 1841 general election meant that, for the first time, the electorate had in effect chosen a Prime Minister (Peel) against the Sovereign's wishes. But since the political groups in Parliament were not wholly cohesive and none could form a majority on its own, the Queen could still exert influence. The coalition government of 1852, led by Aberdeen, was the last to be brought into existence by royal initiative, but royal support could not sustain this coalition when it was accused of incompetence during the Crimean War and it fell in 1855. With the growth of the two-party system, which increasingly limited the Queen's power to choose her Prime Minister, her influence was directed more towards matters of government policy, particularly foreign affairs, and she was occasionally able to mediate in political crises. In 1856, the Queen instituted the Victoria Cross, which was the highest award for valour open to all ranks, made from Russian guns captured in the Crimean War.
In 1877, Victoria became Empress of India under the Royal Titles Act. The Monarchy's importance increased at home and abroad. During Victoria's reign, the spread of self-government in the colonies (Dominions) coincided with a growth in imperial sentiment and the Queen's personal prestige. In 1897 the Queen celebrated her DiamondJubilee amid scenes of popular enthusiasm. She had reigned longer than any other British monarch. Research Queen Victoria
Jesse Spencer is an Australian actor. He was born in 1979 at Melbourne, Victoria. He is best known for playing 'Billy Kennedy' in the soap-opera 'Neighbours' from 1994 until 2000. Research Jesse Spencer
Abbreviations
Research Challenger Expedition
