Biography

De Gerlache was an officer in the Royal Belgian Navy. On 16 August 1897, de Gerlache, his international crew, and Roald Amundsen departed on the "Belgica" from Antwerp to explore the Antarctic waters. By 12 February 1898, the expedition found and mapped a strait and islands along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, naming them Brabrant, Liège, Anvers and Wiencke. On 15 February 1898, they crossed the Antarctic Circle and were iced in on 2 March 1898, at 71°31'S. The "Belgica" was stuck for more than a year. This was the first time anyone had ever wintered south of the Antarctic Circle. After extensive suffering, the crew was saved by Frederick Cook. The "Belgica" finally left in February 1899, arriving at Punta Arenas on 28 March 1899. De Gerlache proved that explorers could build bases for research.

In 1903, de Gerlache accompanied Charcot on the "Francais" expedition, but parted from the voyage in Buenos Aires. Between 1914 and 1917, de Gerlache supported Shackleton with the arrangement of the "Endurance" expedition. The Endurance, earlier known as the "Polaris", was first owned by de Gerlache.

Following Adrien de Gerlache's footsteps, his son (Gaston de Gerlache) accompanied the Belgian Antarctic Expedition between 1957 and 1959.