Entrecasteaux, Joseph Antoine Bruni d' [key], 1739–93, French navigator. He entered the French navy in 1754, fought (1756) at Minorca, commanded (1786) the French fleet of the East Indies, and was appointed governor of Mauritius and the Isle of Bourbon in 1787. While in command of an expedition to search for La Pérouse (1791–92) he determined the position of Amsterdam island, explored the coastlines of New Caledonia, Tasmania, and New Holland, and located several groups of islands. Many of the charts made by the expedition (particularly those of South Australia produced by Beautemps-Beaupré) were of unusually high standards. An archipelago, a point on the coast of Australia, and a channel are named for him. The journal of the voyage was published in Paris in 1807.
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