| Alexander Dalrymple |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT ALEXANDER DALRYMPLE | |
| scottish geographers | |
| dalrymple | |
| fellows of the royal society | |
| dalrymple, alexander | |
| 1737 births | |
| 1808 deaths | |
| hydrographers | |
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Dalrymple was the first Hydrographer of the British Admiralty . He was the brother of Scottish judge and earl, David Dalrymple . He was the main proponent of the theory that there existed a vast undiscovered Continent in the South Pacific , Terra Australis Incognita . He produced thousands of nautical charts mapping a remarkable number of seas and oceans for the first time and contributing significantly to the safety of shipping. His theories prompted a number of expeditions in search of this mythical land, until James Cook demonstrated its non-existence on his second voyage in 1772 – 1775 . Dalrymple published the ''Historical Collection of the Several Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean'' in 1770-1771 which aroused widespread interest in his claim of the existence of an unknown continent. This led Captain Cook to undertake another voyage into the South Pacific . He was bitterly disappointed that it was Captain Cook and not him who was appointed commander of the expedition which eventually led to the British discovery of Australia (the Dutch had found it a century earlier) in 1770 . |
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