Louis Bernacchi was born and was educated in
Tasmania, later joining the Melbourne Observatory as a student where
he gained the specialist knowledge in magnetism that led to his
being appointed to Borchgrevink's Southern Cross
expedition in 1898.
He was a very late recruit to the
Discovery expedition,
being appointed as physicist only after the original candidate had been
rejected on medical grounds. He did not join the expedition until the
Discovery had reached New Zealand.
At the time of the Discovery Expedition,
Bernacchi was the only man on the ship who had previously been to Antarctica.
Landmarks named after Louis Bernacchi
Feature Name:
Bernacchi
Head
Type: cliff
Latitude: 76°08´S
Longitude: 168°20´E
Description: A precipitous cliff forming the S extremity of Franklin
Island in the Ross Sea. Named "Cape Bernacchi" by the BrAE (1898-1900)
for Louis C. Bernacchi, a member of the expedition. The generic has
been changed to "Head" by the US-ACAN to avoid duplication with Cape
Bernacchi on the coast of Victoria Land.
Variant Name(s) - Cape BernacchiFeature
Name: Bernacchi Bay
Type: bay
Latitude: 77°28´S
Longitude: 163°27´E
Description: Bay about 3 mi wide between Marble Point and Cape
Bernacchi, on the coast of Victoria Land. Named after Cape Bernacchi
by the British Antarctic Expedition under Scott, 1910-13.
