Johann August Miertsching | |
|---|---|
| Jan Awgust Měrćink | |
.jpg) | |
| Born | August 21, 1817 |
| Died | March 30, 1877 (aged 59) Kleinwelka, Saxony, German Empire |
Johann August Miertsching (Upper Sorbian: Jan Awgust Měrćink, August 21, 1817 – March 30, 1875) was a Moravian missionary, noted for his service as an interpreter under Robert McClure during the search for Franklin's lost expedition. Born to a Sorbian and German parents, Miertsching was trained as a cobbler before joining the Moravian Church. After training, he was sent to Okak mission in northern Labrador, where he learned Inuktitut. Called upon by the British Admiralty to serve as an interpreter, he served for five years in the disastrous McClure expedition. He served at the mission of Genadendal in the Cape Colony before retiring to Germany.
Early life edit
Missionary service edit
McClure expedition edit
South Africa edit
Later life and death edit
References edit
Sources edit
- http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/miertsching_johann_august_10E.html
- Weil ich ein Inuk bin: Johann August Miertsching, Ein Lebensbild (978-3-86732-411-3)
- Frozen ships : the Arctic diary of Johann Miertsching
- Lobsticks and Stone Cairns: Human Landmarks in the Arctic