Jules Sebastien Cesar Dumont d'Urville was born on 23 May 1790 in Conde-sur-Noireau, France. He entered the Imperial Lycee in Caen in 1804, where he developed an interest in classics, botany and archaeology and was particularly fascinated by exploration and the voyages of discovery. In 1807, he entered the French Imperial Navy, but initially saw relatively little active duty. He married Adele Pepin in 1815. He was singled out for expeditions involving survey and exploration, and his subsequent journeys to the Mediterranean and Black Sea gave him the opportunity to make use of his classical education. While on a visit to the Greek Island of Milos, he discovered an exhumed statue that transpired to be the Venus de Milo and for his efforts in alerting the French museum authorities, he was awarded the Legion d'honneur and promoted to substantive lieutenant in 1821.
d'Urville was then given command of the French naval expedition (from Toulon), 1826-1829, in the corvette Astrolabe, to explore and chart the coasts of Australia, New Zealand and the western Pacific Ocean. Extensive zoological and botanical collections were made and specimens included Antarctic marine species, although the expedition did not visit the Antarctic. He led a further scientific expedition, the French naval expedition (from Toulon), 1837-1840, to explore the South Pacific islands and the Southern Ocean, with mapping magnetic variation an important objective. He sailed south with two corvettes, Astrolabe and Zelee, visiting the South Orkney Islands and the South Shetland Islands. In February 1838, he mistakenly reported Terre Louis-Phillippe as forming an island north of the Antarctic Peninsula (Trinity Peninsula is actually part of the Antarctic continent), and Terre Joinville, considered by him as a single landmass but now known to consist of several islands. In January 1840, he discovered and claimed for France a sector of the Antarctic mainland that he named Terre Adelie for his wife. d'Urville returned to France in November 1840 and was promoted to rear admiral, returning to naval duties. On 8 May 1842, he was killed in a railway accident, together with his wife and son.
Published work, Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Oceanie sur les Corvettes l'Astrolabe et La Zelee execute par ordre du roi pendant les annees 1837-1838-1839-1840 sous le commandement de M.J. Dumont d'Urville ... publiee par ordonnance de Sa Majeste (French) by Jules Sebastien Cesar Dumont d'Urville, Gide Paris (1841-54) SPRI Library Shelf Special Collection (7)91(08)[1837-1840 Dumont d'Urville]
Biographical work, Dumont d'Urville, le dernier grand marin de decouvertes (French) by Yves Jacob, Glenat Grenoble, France (1995) SPRI Library Shelf 92[Dumont d'Urville] and Dumont d'Urville by Jacques Guillon, Editions France-Empire Paris (1986) SPRI Library Shelf 92[Dumont d'Urville]
From the guide to the Jules and Adele d'Urville collection, 1830-1842, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
