Henry Kellett

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir Henry Kellett (November 2, 1806 - March 1, 1875) was a British naval officer and explorer.

Kellett joined the British navy in 1822. He spent five years in the West Indies and then served on survey vessels under William Fitzwilliam Owen in Africa, and as second in command on HMS Sulphur under Edward Belcher in the East Indies and in the Opium War with China (1840–41).

In 1845 he was appointed captain of the survey ship HMS Herald, being reassigned in 1848 to join the search for Sir John Franklin. During this voyage he sailed through the Bering Strait across the Chukchi Sea and discovered Herald Island. Kellett landed on Herald Island and named it after his ship. He also sighted Wrangel Island in the western horizon. In 1852, he commanded HMS Resolute and went to the aid of Robert McClure, whose vessel, Investigator, was trapped in the Arctic.

Kellett became a rear-admiral in 1854, and subsequently had commands in the West Indies and China.