George Chaworth Musters
George Chaworth Musters (1841–1879) was a British Royal Navy commander and traveller, known as the "King of Patagonia".
Life
He was born in
His father dying in 1842, and his mother in 1845, Musters was brought up mainly by his mother's brothers, one of whom, Robert Hamond, had sailed with Admiral
Musters was entered on board HMS Algiers, 74 guns, in 1854, and served in her in the Black Sea during the Crimean War, receiving the English and Turkish Crimean medals by the time he was 15. In October 1856 he was transferred to HMS Gorgon, and served in 1857–8 in HMS Chesapeake, and in 1859–61 in HMS Marlborough. In 1861 he passed in the first class in his examination; was posted to the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert; promoted to lieutenant 4 September 1861, and appointed to the sloop HMS Stromboli, Captain Philips, serving in her on the coast of South America from December 1861 until she was paid off in June 1866. When at Rio de Janeiro in 1862 he and a midshipman of the Stromboli, as a prank, climbed Sugarloaf Mountain, and planted the British ensign on the summit.[1]
While on the South American station Musters bought land, and started sheep-farming at
Musters subsequently visited
In October 1878 Musters went to London, in order to prepare for Mozambique, where he had been appointed consul. He died on 25 January 1879, with a reputation as a fearless explorer, and a man of tact and winning manners.[1]
Works
The Patagonian journey of Musters was described by him in At Home with the Patagonians, a Year's Wanderings on Untrodden Ground from the Straits of Magellan to the Rio Negro, London, 1871, 2nd ed. 1873.[1]
Family
Musters married in 1873 Herminia, daughter of George Williams of
External links
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19679. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Royal Geographical Society, Proceedings vol. xlvii
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Musters, George Chaworth". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.