Beechey

Beechey is an English surname and a toponym used in Arctic geography. The name has been associated with notable figures in art and exploration, and with places named in honor of those figures.

Notable people bearing the name include Sir William Beechey, an English portrait painter active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known for portraits of royal and noble subjects. Frederick William Beechey was a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer who conducted significant voyages to the Pacific and Arctic regions in the early 19th century.

Beechey Island is a small island in the Canadian Arctic named in honor of Frederick William Beechey. It is best known as the wintering site of the British Franklin Expedition in 1845–46, during which time several crew members died and were buried there. The island has become a site of historical interest due to the surviving huts, cairns, and inscriptions discovered by later expeditions and researchers.

In summary, Beechey refers to both a surname associated with British painters and explorers and a Arctic island linked to the history of Arctic exploration and the Franklin Expedition.