Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim Admiral Bedford Clapperton Trevelyan Pim , RN , MP , FRGS ( 12 June 1826 – 30 September 1886 ) was a Royal Navy officer , Arctic explorer , barrister , and author . He was the first man who traveled from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage to one on the western side . Early years . Pim was born in Bideford , Devon , England , son of Edward Bedford Pim of Weirhead , Exeter , a British navy officer who died of yellow fever in 1830 off the coast of Africa while engaged in the suppression of the slave trade , and Sophia Soltau Harrison , eldest daughter of John Fairweather Harrison , Esquire of Totnes . Educated at the Royal Naval School , the younger Pim went to India in the British Merchant Navy , and in 1842 , upon his return to England , was appointed a volunteer in the Royal Navy . Career . In 1845 , Pim was posted to the survey ship , HMS " Herald " , under Captain Henry Kellett . For the next six years , he took part in surveys in the Falkland Islands , the western coast of South America , and north to British Columbia . During this time , he took part in three detours to search for the missing Sir John Franklin expedition . He transferred from the " Herald " to HMS " Plover " , wintering at Chamisso Island in Kotzebue Sound 1849 - 1850 , spending considerable time with the local Malemiut , before returning to the " Herald " . He was promoted to lieutenant in 1851 , and in April 1852 , he returned to the Arctic , taking part in the rescue of Robert McClure and the crew of HMS " Investigator " . Pim was the first man to travel from a ship on the eastern side of the Northwest Passage to one on the western side . Pim served in the Baltic in 1855 during the Crimean War commanding HMS " Magpie " where he was wounded . He was wounded again in 1857 while commanding HMS " Banterer " in Chinese waters . He was made a commander in 1858 . The following year , he investigated the possibility of a transoceanic canal and became a proponent of the Nicaragua Canal . Pim went to the West Indies in command of the HMS " Gorgon " in 1860 and returned home on HMS " Fury " . He made post captain in 1868 and was compulsorily retired in 1870 . He studied law after retirement and was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple in 1873 . Pim practiced law in Bristol , mainly on admiralty cases , and became a magistrate for the county of Middlesex . He wrote , " When Do Sheriffs Take Office ? " in 1879 . A Conservative , Pim unsuccessfully stood for election in Totnes in July 1865 and Gravesend in December 1868 . He was elected a Member of Parliament for Gravesend in 1874 and 1880 . Pim was made rear - admiral in 1885 . Pim wrote several articles , books , and pamphlets . " Remarks on the Isthmus of Suez , with Special Reference to the Proposed Canal " was published in the " Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London " in 1859 , and " Proposed Transit - Route across Central America , from a New Harbour in Nicaragua " was published three years later . His 1839 " A Brief sketch of the life of the late Zachary Macaulay , Esq . , F . R . S . As connected with the subjects of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery " was his only biography . His journals as a Midshipman aboard the " Herald " provided most of the discussion for the Arctic portions of the six year cruise . Organizations . Pim belonged to several scientific organizations . He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1854 . In 1861 , he became an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers . He was also an honorary member of the Dulwich College Science Society . Personal life . Pim was a major landowner in Central America and the Caribbean . He married Susanna Locock on 3 October 1861 and they had two sons , including the Rev . Henry Bedford Pim . They lived for a time at Belsize and Dulwich . Pim died at Deal , Kent , England , on 30 September 1886 . A brass plaque honoring Pim was moved in 1981 from The Missions to Seamen Institute to St . Nicholas Church , Bristol , England .