700 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
Exploration of the seas of course did not begin abruptly with the cruise of the 
Challenger -- for almost twenty years »efore 1872 British and Scandanavian 
naturalists had been dredging in deeper and deeper water to find strange and 
unknown animals. One of the greatest marine naturalists was Edward Forbes - or 
) B's, as he pronounced his name. Forbes studied the waters of the Aegean Sea, 
but was unable to find anything on the bottom below about 300 fathoms -- 1800 
feet, and postulated there was no life on the sea at depths. This of course 
stimulated others to go deeper and deeper. At this time, in the mid 19th century 
a new piece of apparatus was developed that made study of the deep sea possible 
-- the steam donkey engine. Fishermen were quick to adapt this engine to the 
hauling of larger nets. It was a successor of Forbes. C. Wyville Thomson, who 
became the prime mover for the study of the deepest parts of the ocean. It was 
his enthusiasm from the British admiralty, which made survey ships available to 
him -- vessels named H. M. S Lightning and Porcupine, for the study of the waters 
north of Scotland. 
It was soon apparent that some sort of life was to be found at all depths 
that could be reached by the bulky rope hawsers and donkey engines of the day, 
and further questions concerning the oceans were aroused by these preliminary 
studies carried out during the late 1860's. Furthermore, the advent of steam 
power to the fisheries greatly increased the haul of fish from the sea, and the 
beginning of telegraphic communication made it necessary to understand more about 
the nature of the bottom of the sea, across which the cables must be laid. 
Thus was born the Challenger expedition. Although the name of the vessel 
was singularly apt, it does not appear that the ship was selected because of its 
name, but because it was available and suitable for the purpose. The Challenger 
was an early version of a surplus naval vessel, so many of which are now in use 
as oceanographic vessels in this country. She was a steam corvette, displacing 
2,300 tons, which is about equal to some of the medium sized oceanographic 
vessels now in use, such as the Chain at Woods Hole and the Argo of Scripps Insti- 
tution. Sixteen of the ships 18 68 pound guns were removed and the ship was con- 
verted for use of a floating laboratory. While the officers and crew were regu- 
lar navy, considerable care was taken to select officers with surveying experi- 
ence and interest in scientific matters. The Scientific staff consisted of six 
persons, including the director, C. Wyville Thomson, and the staff artist. Only 
one of this staff, the german biologist Willemoes-Suhm, had the doctor's degree. 
The man who was selected at the last minute after another candidate could not 
accept, became one of the great names in Oceanography. This was John Murray, 
who succeeded Wyville Thomson as direétor of the collections and studies and saw 
the publication of results through to a successful conclusion in 1895, twenty 
years after the completion of the voyage. 
When she returned from her long cruise in the cause of science, the Challenger 
was decommissioned, and ended up ingloriously as a coal barge. However, her name 
has been revived from time to time tor survey ships, although currently no ship 
by the name of Challenger is in the oceanographic register. 
The Challenger spent more than three years at sea, returning to England on 
May 2) 1876. It was a long and fruitful voyage, expecially for the scientific 
staff -- except for the loss of Willemoes Suhm, who died at sea. Wyville Thomson 
survived the expedition by several years, and the remaining young men went on to 
distinguished and fruitful careers -- John Murray as director of the Challenger 
Office in Edinburgh, J Y Buchanan the chemist as oceanographer to the Prince of 
Monaco (in those days the prince of Monaco was a great patron of oceanography), 
