Giacomo Bove
| Giacomo Bove | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
23 April 1852 Maranzana |
| Died | 9 August 1887 (aged 35) Verona |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Explorer |
Giacomo Bove (23 April 1852 – 9 August 1887) was an Italian explorer. He sailed with Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld on the first voyage through the north-east passage, and later explored Tierra del Fuego and the Congo River.
Giacomo Bove was born in Maranzana, Asti, Piedmont, on 23 April 1852 to Francesco Bove and Antonia Garbarino. He was the eldest of five brothers. His family owned a vineyard and made wine for sale. He went to primary school in Maranzana and then in Acqui Terme, before being admitted to the Naval Academy in Genoa. He graduated with honors, and was able to serve as a midshipman on the scientific expedition of the Governolo to the Far East.
The Governolo mission (1872–1873) mapped the coast of Borneo, performed hydrological surveys, and studied the ethnography of the local people. The Governolo also visited Malaya, the Philippines, China and Japan. Apart from its scientific goals, Italy was interested in opening up trade with Japan, which was emerging from a long period of isolation, and if possible to obtain silk worms to replace those of northern Italy, which had been devastated by disease.
On 24 September 1876 Bove was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. In April 1877 he was sent to the Strait of Messina on the Washington to study ocean currents.
In 1878 Lieutenant Giacomo Bove was chosen to participate in the Vega expedition of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld to search for the north-east passage. Bove represented Italy on the expedition, and acted as sailing master. He was in charge of the chronometers and made the astronomical observations needed to fix the ship's position.
The steamer Vega left Karlskrona on 22 June 1878, picking up Nordenskiöld on 17 July at Tromsø. Vega crossed the Barents sea, and accompanied by three cargo vessels sailed along the northern coast of Russia, arriving at Dikson on 6 August 1878. Leaving two of the cargo ships to sail inland from that port to collect cargoes of grain, the Vega and Lena skirted the coast to the mouth of the Lena River, where the Lena left on 28 August 1878 to sail up the river to Yakutsk. The Vega continued onward, but was forced by worsening conditions to anchor on 28 September 1878 in Kolyuchinskaya Bay, only 130 miles (210 km) from the Bering Strait.
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