mile-Frdric de Bray was born on 9 March 1829 in Paris. On completing his education at the cole Navale in 1846, he served in the French Navy, advancing to the rank of sub-lieutenant in 1851. In 1852, he volunteered for the British Naval Franklin Search Expedition, 1852-1854 (leader Henry Kellett), serving as enseigne de vaisseau and acting mate in HMS Resolute, sent to the Arctic by the Admiralty to search for Sir John Franklin's missing expedition. During the autumn of 1852, de Bray participated in a sledging journey to set up a depot at Cape Providence, Melville Island, and the following spring led a support party, which accompanied Francis Leopold McClintock's sledging party to northwest Melville Island.
On his return, de Bray was promoted lieutenant-commander in 1855 and commander in 1869. In 1871, he was made an officer of the Lgion d'Honneur for his role in the defence of Paris in 1870 when he commanded a marine battalion and an army brigade. He spent the remainder of his career on shore service in France, retiring due to ill health in 1878. He died on 19 March 1879 at Brest, France. His friend Jules Verne made extensive use of de Bray's knowledge of the Arctic in the novel Voyages et aventures du Capitaine Hatteras. Les Anglais au Ple Nord - Le Desert de glace .
Published work A Frenchman in search of Franklin, de Bray's Arctic journal 1852-1854, translated and edited by William Barr, University of Toronto Press Toronto (1992) SPRI Library Shelf (41)91(08)[1852-1854]
From the guide to the mile-Frdric de Bray collection, 1852-1854, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
