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{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name = Henry Strachey
| birth_date = 1816
| death_date = 1912
| known_for = Extensive explorations and surveys in Western Tibet
| honours = [[Patron's Medal]]
}}

Lieutenant-Colonel '''Sir Henry Strachey''' (1816–1912) was a [[British Empire|British officer]] of the [[Bengal Army]].<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB12|wstitle=Strachey, Edward|last=Hunt|first=William|authorlink=William Hunt (priest)|volume=3}}</ref> Despite a longstanding prohibition by the Tibetan authorities on the entry of Europeans into [[Tibet]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies |last1=Dodin |first1=Thierry |last2=Räther |first2=Heinz |year=2001 |publisher=Publisher Wisdom Publications |location=Somerville |isbn=0-86171-191-2 |page=70}}</ref> Strachey surveyed parts of western Tibet during the late 1840s.

He was the second son of Edward Strachey, second son of [[Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet]]. His brothers included [[Richard Strachey|Sir Richard Strachey]], [[John Strachey (civil servant)|Sir John Strachey]] and [[Sir Edward Strachey, 3rd Baronet]].<ref name=DNB/>

==Tibetan surveys==
[[File:1851 Map of Ladak East with parts of Balti and Monyul by Strachey.jpg|thumb|266x266px|One of Strachey's maps (1851)]]
In 1846, while a lieutenant of the [[Bengal Native Infantry|66th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry]], Strachey explored the Tibetan regions surrounding Lakes [[Lake Manasarovar|Manasarovar]] and [[Lake Rakshastal|Rakshastal]]. He found a channel between the lakes, suggesting that Manasarovar, and not Rakshastal, was the source of the [[Sutlej River]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration |last=MacGregor |first=John |year=1972 |publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul |location=London |isbn=0-7100-6615-5|pages=253–54 }}</ref> Strachey's brother Richard, with J. E. Winterbottom, continued the exploration of the lakes in 1848.<ref name=Waller13>{{cite book |title=The Pundits: British Exploration of Tibet and Central Asia |last=Waller |first=Derek J. |year=2004 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington |isbn=0-8131-9100-9 |page=13 }}</ref>

In 1847 Strachey was appointed to a boundary commission of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] led by [[Alexander Cunningham]]. The third member was [[Thomas Thomson (botanist)|Thomas Thomson]]. The commission was set up to fix the boundary between Tibet and [[Ladakh]]. Raja [[Gulab Singh]]'s forces had previously annexed Ladakh and invaded Tibet in 1841. The British deemed it important to formalise the boundary so as to prevent any future conflicts.<ref name=Waller13/> However, the Tibetan authorities did not participate. Neither was the commission given permission to enter Tibet.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tourism in Ladakh Himalaya |author=Prem Singh Jina |year=1994 |publisher=Indus Publishing |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7387-004-7 |pages=38–39}}</ref> The commission based itself at [[Leh]], Ladakh.<ref name=PSJ31>{{cite book |title=Famous Western Explorers to Ladakh |author=Prem Singh Jina |year=1995 |publisher=Indus Publishing |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7387-031-4 |page=31}}</ref> It eventually drafted a description of the boundary and retired.<ref name=Waller13/> In 1848 Strachey was the first European to find the [[Siachen Glacier]], and ascended it for 2 miles.<ref>{{cite book |title=Across Peaks and Passes in Ladakh, Zanskar and East Karakoram |author=Harish Kapadia |year=1999 |publisher=Indus Publishing |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7387-100-0 |pages=173–74 }}</ref>

In 1849, Henry Strachey and his brother Richard Strachey briefly entered Tibet by following the [[Niti Pass]] out of [[Garhwal Division|Garhwal]].<ref name=Waller13/> Their route included [[Tholing Monastery]] and [[Hanle (village)|Hanle]].<ref name=PSJ31/>

Strachey's Tibetan surveys won him the [[Royal Geographical Society]]'s [[Patron's Medal]] in 1852.<ref>{{cite book |title=Year-Book and Record |year=1914 |publisher=[[Royal Geographical Society]] |location=London |page=26 }}</ref>

==Family==
On 6 September 1859, by this time a captain of the [[1 Gorkha Rifles|66th Goorkha Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry]], he married Joanna Catherine, daughter of Rudolphe Cloete, of [[Newlands, Cape Town|Newlands]], Cape Town, South Africa. The wedding was in [[Claremont, Cape Town|Claremont]], Cape Town.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marriages. |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=3 November 1859 |page=1 }}</ref> Their only child was Julia Charlotte, who in 1884 married barrister William Chance (2 July 1853 – 9 April 1935), son of James Timmins Chance of the glassmaking company [[Chance Brothers]].<ref name=WC>{{cite news |title=Obituary. Sir William Chance |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=10 April 1935 |page=19 }}</ref> Julia was an amateur sculptor, and a supporter of the [[Arts and Crafts movement]]. The couple's house, [[Orchards, Surrey|Orchards]] in Surrey, was designed by architect [[Edwin Lutyens]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Lutyens and the Edwardians |last=Brown |first=Jane |year=1996 |publisher=Viking |location=London |isbn=0-670-85871-4 |page=32}}</ref> In 1902, Sir William Chance succeeded his father to the [[Chance baronets|Chance baronetcy]].<ref name=WC/> Julia, Lady Chance died in 1949.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=1 September 1949 |page=7 }}</ref>

==Writings==
* {{citation |chapter=Narration of a Journey to Cho Lagan, (Rakas Tal), Cho Mapan (Manasarowar), and the valley of Pruang in Gnari, Hundes, in September and October 1846 |title=The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume 17 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiatic172asia |year=1848 |pages=98–120, 127–182, 327–351}}
*"Physical Geography of Western Tibet", ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'' 23, 1853.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Henry Strachey|Henry Strachey's maps}}{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachey, Henry}}

[[Category:1816 births]]
[[Category:1912 deaths]]
[[Category:Explorers of Asia]]
[[Category:British East India Company Army officers]]
[[Category:Strachey family|Henry]]
[[Category:English male writers]]

Henry Strachey (explorer) - Revision history

Bot at 14:50, 27 November 2022