Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/571

Rh and capture of Vera Cruz. He served on the coast survey, 1848-V50, in the brig "Washington" and steamers "Vixen" and "Legaiv." In !S50-'3 he cruised in the frigate "Congress." on the Brazil station, as acting master, and in 1853-'4 he was at- tached to the naval academy as assistant instructor in naval gunnery and infantry tactics. He was promoted to master, 10 July. 1S,">4. and to lieuten- ant, 18 April, 1855. and served in the -loop Ports- mouth" in the East India squadron. 1856-'8, par- ticipating in the capture of the Barrier forts near Canton, China. He went to the naval academy upon his return, and was in charge of the depart- ment of naval gunnery in 1858-'62, and comman- dant of midshipmen in 1862-'3. He was commis- sioned lieutenant-commander, 16 July, 1862, and in the monitor " Passaic." off Charleston, in 1863-'4, participated in various engagements. He was com- missioned commander. 3 March, 1865. and served as fleet-captain of the consolidated Gulf squad- ron, being present at the fall of Mobile and re- ceiving the surrender of the Confederate fleet on Tombigbee river. He was commissioned captain, 15 Aug., 1870, and went on a special naval mission to Europe in 1870-'2. He was in charge of the torpedo station at Newport, R. I., in 1873-'."i. wa- eommandant of the New London naval station in 1878-'80. and of the Philadelphia League island navy-yard in lsso-'4. He was promoted to com- modore, 2(> April, 1878, and to rear-admiral. 9 Feb., 4. and placed on the retired list, 3 March. 1886. Admiral Simp- son was presi- dent of the U.S. naval institute in 1886-'8, and was the senior member of the Naval academy graduates asso- - ciation. He had ?j devoted himself to the scientific development of the navy, espe- cially in the sci- ence of gunnery and torpedoes. Besides articles in magazines on professional subjects, he published " Ordnance and Naval Gun- nery," which was the text-book at the naval acad- emy until 1868 (New York, 1862); "The Naval Mission to Europe " (2 vols., Washington, 1873) ; and "Report of the Gun-Foundry Board" (1885). Several of his articles are republished in " Modern Ships of War" (New York. 1887).

SIMPSON, Sir George, British traveller, b. in Loch Broom. Ross-shire. Scotland, in 1792: d. in Lachine, near Montreal, 7 Sept., 1860. From 1809 till 1820 he was in the employ of a London firm engaged in the West India trade, of which his un- cle was a member. His energy and active business habil- attracted the attention of the Earl of Sel- kirk, then at the head of the Hudson bay com- pany, and Andrew Colville. the earl's brother-in- law, a large stockholder, and in February, 1820, he was selected to superintend the affairs of the com- pany in America. In May he left Montreal for the northwest, and in 1821 he succeeded in terminat- ing the long rivalry that had existed between the Hudson bay company and the Northwest com- pany by their union. He was soon afterward ap- pointed governor of the northern department, and subsequently became governor-in-chief of Rupert's laud, and general superintendent of all the Hud- son bay company's affairs in North America. In that capacity he planned the successful expedition under his cousin, Thomas Simpson (1836-"9), and great- ly aided other trav- ellers in their explo- rations. In 1841-'2 he made the over- land journey round the world, going from London to Montreal, thence to Vancouver and Sit- ka, thence by New Archangel and the Aleutian islands to Ochotsk.across Rus- sian Asia to Mos- cow and St. Peters- burg, and home by the Baltic. He claimed to be the first traveller to make the overland journey. For many years preceding his death he resided at La- chine, entertained the Prince of Wales during his visit in 1860, and was a director of the Bank of British North America and of the Bank of Montreal. In 1S41 he was knighted for his services in connec- tion with the cause of arctic exploration. He pub- lished " Narrative of an Overland Journey round t he World during the Years 1841-"2 " (2 vols.. London, 1S47|. His cousin, Thomas. British explorer, b. in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2 July. isns; d. near Turtle river, British America, 14 June. 1*40, was graduated in 1828 at the University ot Aber- deen, where he won the Huttonian prize. In 1S20 he entered the service of the Hud-on Bay com- pany as secretary to his cousin, Gov. Simpson, and soon afterward accompanied the latter on a tour through the southeastern part of the Hudson bay territory. In 1836 an expedition was arranged by Gov. Simpson to connect the discoveries of Sir John Ross and Sir George Back, and it was placed under the command of Thomas Simpson. After passing the winter at Fort Chipewyan, on Great Slave lake, Simpson and his party reached Mac- kenzie river in July. 18: J .7. and a few days afterward arrived at Foggy Island bay. the farthest point that had been attained by Sir John Franklin. They then traced the arctic coast of North America from the mouth of Mackenzie river to Point Bar- row, and from the mouth of Coppermine river to the Gulf of Boothia. The expedition was occupied in this service about three years, and, as it was claimed at the time, resulted in solving the problem of the existence of a passage by water between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. While returning with the valuable results of his discoveries, Simpson was either killed or met his death by suicide, as was asserted by some of the members of his party. The weight of. evidence is in favor of the former assumption. See "The Life and Travels of Thomas Simpson, the Arctic Discoverer," by his brother, Alexander Simpson (London. 1845). Thomas's brother, Alexander, author, b. in Rossshire in 1811. was educated at the University of Aberdeen. He spent several years in the service of the Hudson bay company, and was afterward British consul at the Sandwich islands. He published "The Sandwich Islands" (London. 1H43I: "Life and Travels of Thomas Simpson, the Arctic Discoverer" (1845); and "Oregon Territory Consid-