Edward Nicholas "Ned" Kendall, R.N. (October 1800 – 12 February 1845) was an English hydrographer, an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, and polar explorer. During one of his

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

expeditions, Kendall became the first known European to sight Wollaston Land.

Early years

He was born in 1800, probably in England. His father was the naval captain Edward Kendall. The family were natives of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, descending from the Kendalls of Pelyn, near

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increas ...

, who for many generations past had been active in the politics of Cornwall and England. It has been remarked of this family, that they have perhaps sent more members to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

than any other in the United Kingdom. His mother was Mary Champion Hicks (born ca. 1775). Mary's father was Admiral Thomas Hicks, of Maisonette, Stoke Gabriel, Devon. Kendall had three younger siblings: William Kendall, Mary Kendall, and Amelia Kendall. After receiving his education at the Royal Naval College in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, he entered the Royal Navy in 1814.

Career

Kendall's career began as a midshipman on board . While serving on that wrecked in 1819 on the Isle of

Sal, Cape Verde Sal (Portuguese for "salt") is an island in Cape Verde. Sal is a tourist destination with white sandy beaches and over 350 days of sunshine a year. It is one of the three sandy eastern islands of the Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic ...

, he sustained injuries. He served on other ships, usually as a surveyor, including the trigonometrical survey in Orkney, Shetland, the coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. In 1824, he volunteered his services for

William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was an Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Pass ...

's third expedition to find the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

, serving as assistant surveyor under

George Francis Lyon George Francis Lyon (23 January 1796 – 8 October 1832) was an English naval officer and explorer of Africa and the Arctic. While not having a particularly distinguished career, he is remembered for the entertaining journals he kept and ...

aboard . From 1825 to 1827, Kendall served on the

Mackenzie River expedition The Mackenzie River expedition of 1825–1827 was the second of three Arctic expeditions led by explorer John Franklin and organized by the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were u ...

, this time with

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

, exploring the Mackenzie River Delta as an assistant surveyor under the naturalist John Richardson. During this expedition, he became the first known European to sight Wollaston Land (actually a peninsula), and travelled from Fort Franklin to

York Factory York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. ...

. In 1827, he was commissioned lieutenant. The following year, at the recommendation of the Royal Geographical Society, Kendall travelled aboard during its scientific voyage, assisting in

pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...

experiments, and other research including the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

region of the Antarctic where again he conducted surveys. In 1830, he transferred to to survey the

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

coast, returning to England later that year. It was then that he became employed by the

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet-level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). The Secretary was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Hi ...

for the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

in a secret and confidential survey of the boundary line of the British and American states, in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. After conducting other surveys in New Brunswick, he worked on compiling a map of it in 1831. Though there were requests for promotion thereafter, Kendall remained a lieutenant. Approximately two years later, Kendall became involved in the

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company ''The New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company'' was one of several organizations which were established in Canada in the nineteenth century as a means of transferring land held by the Crown to individual owners. This company was chartered in Ne ...

, becoming its commissioner at Fredericton. He returned to Britain by 1838. During his later years, he served first as superintendent of the West India Mail Steam Navigation Company, and second as superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Packet Company in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Personal life

He had four children by prior issue: Edward Kay Kendall, Franklin Richardson Kendall, Robert Sinclair Kendall, and Mary Anne Kendall. His descendants include the Canadian rock musician and composer Simon Kendall and Canadian basketball player Levon Kendall. In 1832, he married Franklin's niece. Mary Anne Kay was the daughter of Joseph Kay, a London architect. Her mother was Sarah Henrietta Porden, sister of Eleanor Anne Porden, Franklin's first wife. Kendall died in 1845 in Southampton, England, and was buried at

Carisbrooke Carisbrooke is a village on the south western outskirts of Newport, Isle of Wight and is best known as the site of Carisbrooke Castle. It also has a medieval parish church. St Mary's Church (overlooking Carisbrooke High Street with views to the ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. His papers are in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Legacy

Kendall Island in the Mackenzie Delta, and Cape Kendall in view of the

Coppermine River The Coppermine River is a river in the North Slave and Kitikmeot regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada. It is long. It rises in Lac de Gras, a small lake near Great Slave Lake, and flows generally north to Coronation Gulf, ...

,Franklin, p. 215 were named in honour of Kendall by Franklin. Kendall Rocks, the southwest group of rocks in the

Palmer Archipelago Palmer Archipelago, also known as Antarctic Archipelago, Archipiélago Palmer, Antarktiske Arkipel or Palmer Inseln, is a group of islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends from Tower Island in the north to Anver ...

, are also named after Kendall.

Partial works

* (1842). ''Remarks on steam communication between England and Australasia: As combined with a system of weekly communication between the colonies of Australasia.''

References