Captain Henry Kellett was born on
2 November 1806 and entered the navy in
1822. Kellett served five years in the West Indies until he was appointed to the Eden
which sailed to the coast of Africa. Due to Kellett's work in the
scheme of colonization
, he was promoted to lieutenant on
15 September 1828. After
1831, he served on various ships across the world, some time being spent in South America
and later China. During this time, Kellett was promoted to commander in
1841 and made CB — he eventually returned to England in the summer of
1843. By
February 1845, he was appointed to command the
Herald, in which he surveyed
Vancouver Island and West Coast waters.
After his work on the Coast, in
February of 1852, Kellett commissioned the Resolute to search for
Franklin, who went missing from his last expedition to the Arctic. During the commission,
Kellett and the crew had to abandon ship in
1854, the group was soon picked up by another ship and brought back to England. Immediately
upon his return, he was appointed commodore of
Jamaica, serving here from
1855-59. Until the end of his life on
1 March 1875, Kellett served and was appointed to many other postions. From
1864-67, he served as superintendent of
Malta Dockyard, in
April 1868 he became vice-admiral, and in
1869 was made KCB. The last position Kellett held before his death at Clonacody House,
co. Tipperary, was commander-in-chief in China from
1869-71.