<P> Prompted by Charles Wyville Thomson -- of the University of Edinburgh and Merchiston Castle School -- the Royal Society of London obtained the use of Challenger from the Royal Navy and in 1872 modified the ship for scientific work , equipping her with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry . The expedition , led by Captain George Nares , sailed from Portsmouth , England , on 21 December 1872 . Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear . Under the scientific supervision of Thomson himself , she traveled nearly 70,000 nautical miles ( 130,000 km ) surveying and exploring . The result was the Report Of The Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873 - 76 which , among many other discoveries , cataloged over 4,000 previously unknown species . John Murray , who supervised the publication , described the report as `` the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries '' . Challenger sailed close to Antarctica , but not within sight of it . </P>
<P> Prompted by Charles Wyville Thomson -- of the University of Edinburgh and Merchiston Castle School -- the Royal Society of London obtained the use of Challenger from the Royal Navy and in 1872 modified the ship for scientific work , equipping her with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry . The expedition , led by Captain George Nares , sailed from Portsmouth , England , on 21 December 1872 . Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear . Under the scientific supervision of Thomson himself , she traveled nearly 70,000 nautical miles ( 130,000 km ) surveying and exploring . The result was the Report Of The Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873 - 76 which , among many other discoveries , cataloged over 4,000 previously unknown species . John Murray , who supervised the publication , described the report as `` the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries '' . Challenger sailed close to Antarctica , but not within sight of it . </P>
who led the challenger expedition from 1872 to 1876
who led the challenger expedition from 1872 to 1876
Captain George Nares
Captain George Nares