Centenary Talk: Collecting Whales and Dolphins: Voyages of Discovery from 1831 to 1922

Richard Sabin, Principal Curator of Mammals at the Natural History Museum

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, several notable British maritime expeditions resulted in significant scientific collecting, including specimens of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Much of this material forms part of the research collections at the Natural History Museum (NHM) London. Richard Sabin, Principal Curator in the Mammals Group at the NHM will take us on a journey through time to share stories of how the specimens were collected, which species were targeted, their ongoing importance for scientific study and our understanding of life in the ocean.

Voyages and vessels:

The Voyage of HMS Beagle: 1831-1836
Antarctic Expedition (HMS Erebus and HMS Terror): 1839-1843
Challenger Expedition: 1872-1876
HMS Alert Expedition: 1879-1882
Southern Cross (British Antarctic) Expedition: 1898-1900
British National Antarctic (Discovery) Expedition: 1901-1904
British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition: 1910-1913
Shackleton-Rowett (Quest) Expedition: 1921-1922